Facebook - et netværk i fællesskabet [Facebook - a network within the societal community]

Abstract

This article addresses the question of what the new "social media", like Facebook, mean for the way we are together, develop social identity and shape society. With the point of departure in the works of Luhmann, the article proposes that community-communication is the essence of the self-regulation of our society’s self-regulation and that this type of communication also provides the basis for the formation and maintenance of the person's social identity in harmony with the society. In contrast to community-communication, the article provides the notion of network-communication, classified as a type of communication that may have some positive effects but also might pose risks to modern society and the development and maintenance of social identity. Finally, the article argues that communication around status updates on Facebook may be categorised as network-communication and discusses whether and to what extent this provides the aforementioned risks.