With the marked expansion of mediation of communicative practices in digital networks, signi?cant changes have happened in the sociocultural landscape. We are only just beginning to grasp the consequences of these changes, and they raise a number of issues. Where do such socio-technical apparatuses ?gure in the practices of sociability and solidarity, and indeed in the very nature of the social bond? What economic, political, and ethical challenges are linked to these new modes of exchange, coordination, and communication? Our response is structured through two cross-cutting questions, situated upstream from trajectories of network use. First, does the fact of large-scale participation in a «knowledge-based society» require appropriation of a core set of related technical knowledges? And, second, should we expect the emergence of a new form of thinking based on cooperation, exchange, and gift-giving, and associated with intensive use of digital communication networks?
mass communication; human communication; information technology; sociocultural environment; telecommunication network; culture; technique; society