Alexander Rozmanov

The study includes a critical analysis of the last 10 chapters exploring the implications of digital technological change, including social, digital, and educational inequalities. These chapters cover a wide range of research from empirical to interpretive approaches and demonstrate a methodological and theoretical mix of different research orientations. Particular emphasis has been placed on the analysis and practices ofadolescents’ use of information and communication technologies at home and at school, social and economic inequalities in children’s digital literacy from primary to secondary school, adolescent mental health in the context of digital inequalities, gender gap in digital skills, and family matters and concerns in digital era. The price of mental health associated with the use of swipes and dating apps, the interrelationship of social media and well-being at work and at home, home-work-digital interrelationships, the characteristics of the digital transition and its implications for labor markets, the skills development issues in the context of digital transformation, and the impact of digital campaigning and media on elections have been considered. The handbook describes sociological and digital academic fields and assumes that both perspectives are equally legitimate, as they reflect the two academic identities of the vast and heterogeneous academic field called digital sociology. This paper is a continuation of the review of the research handbook on digital sociology edited by J. Skopek.

The review of the research handbook on digital sociology, edited by J. Skopek, provides a critical analysis of this field, encompassing studies on digital society, digital life, digital engagement, digital scientific and technological changes, and their consequences, alongside many related pressing issues. The book is both empirically oriented and fundamentally robust, maintaining its analytical and scientific depth. The purpose of the review is to present the key ideas of all 25 chapters of the handbook, which, due to editorial requirements, we must present in two parts. The handbook is structured into 5 sections reflecting key areas of digital sociology: social theory and the internet in everyday life, research of digital society, analysis of digital life and online interactions, digital participation and inequality, and consequences of digital technological changes. Each chapter is supported by extensive academic literature, both classical and modern, mostly published in recent years, which significantly expands the radius of the proposed subject contexts. The first part of this review presents the key ideas of 15 chapters, focusing on the foundational components of social theory and their connections to the internet in daily life, digital technologies for surveys and data processing, the significance of mobile devices, big data, machine learning, agent-based models of social phenomena, inclusive digital focus groups, social networking sites in professional contexts, online dating, partner selection based on digital information, the use of digital approaches in online markets, the application of YouTube in social sciences, and automated image analysis. A distinctive feature of the review is its exploration of the intersection between the digital and social spheres, framed as a contradiction between the proper (computer sciences) and the actual (social sciences), reflecting the search for meaning in communication and action within digital and social spaces.