ABSTRACT

Mass society theory was originally a discourse on crowds, popular culture and revolutionary change. It portrayed the ideological control of the many by the few in situations of close contact without the complexities of mediated connectivity. The notion of social change was premised on analogue forms of collective behaviour within society rather than digital flows in networks. Reviving this theory in the digital era requires a reconsideration of connectivity and control transacted in mediated publics that support virtual gatherings centred on mass- self communication. Smartphones may be considered the iconic connectors that channel such communication. These electronic devices provide a vital understanding not only of the way information and communication technology is reshaping mass society but also the repositioning of the individual in networked relationships. It implies that mass in digitized environments is not simply a concept of nameless uniformity but one stressing the parasitic nature of networked connectivity. At the same time, it also suggests a connectivity made fragile by forms of remote control that are predatory on mass-self communication.

摘要

大众社会理论最初是关于人群、流行文化和革命变革的话语。它描绘了在没有中介连接的复杂性的情况下，在密切接触的情况下少数人对多数人的意识形态控制。社会变革的概念以社会内部集体行为的模拟形式为前提，而不是网络中的数字流动。在数字时代复兴这一理论需要重新考虑在支持以大众自我交流为中心的虚拟聚会的中介公众中交易的连通性和控制。智能手机可被视为引导此类通信的标志性连接器。这些电子设备不仅提供了对信息和通信技术重塑大众社会的方式的重要理解，而且还提供了对个人在网络关系中的重新定位的重要理解。这意味着数字化环境中的质量不仅仅是一个无名均匀性的概念，而是一个强调网络连接的寄生性质的概念。同时，它还暗示了一种通过远程控制形式变得脆弱的连接，这些远程控制形式对大众自我交流具有掠夺性。