Jan van Dijk
Encyclopedia
Jan A.G.M. van Dijk is a professor of sociology
and communication science
at the University of Twente, The Netherlands
. He teaches and investigates the sociology of the information society
and the social aspects of the new media. He developed one of the several existing concepts of the Network society
in his book The Network Society and extended the concept of the Digital Divide
in his book The Deepening Divide, Inequality in the Information Society. He reframed the concept from a focus on inequality of physical access to digital technology to a focus on inequality of digital skills (literacy), motivation to use and actual use of this technology.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and communication science
Communication Sciences
Communication sciences refers to the schools of scientific research of human communication. This perspective follows the logical positivist tradition of inquiry; most modern communication science falls into a tradition of post-positivism. Thus, communication scientists believe that there is an...
at the University of Twente, The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He teaches and investigates the sociology of the information society
Information society
The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...
and the social aspects of the new media. He developed one of the several existing concepts of the Network society
Network society
The term Network Society describes several different phenomena related to the social, political, economic and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies. A number of academics are credited with coining the term since the 1990's and...
in his book The Network Society and extended the concept of the Digital Divide
Digital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
in his book The Deepening Divide, Inequality in the Information Society. He reframed the concept from a focus on inequality of physical access to digital technology to a focus on inequality of digital skills (literacy), motivation to use and actual use of this technology.