Digital networks: Elements of a theoretical framework

Abstract

The proliferation of new, digital communications technologies and platforms over the past few decades has transformed the way humans relate to one another. In turn, there has been an explosion of scientific research using data on these interactions to better understand how social networks emerge and evolve. Curiously, this agenda has proceeded with little theoretical foundation—typically assuming digital and face-to-face ties operate the same way. The purpose of this article is to interrogate this assumption: I identify when, how, and to what consequence digital networks are similar to and different from other kinds of social networks and thereby attempt to strengthen the available theoretical scaffolding for this important and rapidly growing body of work.