The Four Phases of Internet Research: A Proposal for a Critical Periodization

The paper sketches a critical periodization of Internet qualitative research. Four phases are distinguished, depending on the metaphor through which researchers frame their research object: in the first two phases, internet is conceived as a channel and as a place respectively. In the third phases, researchers focus on the metaphors implied by users to make sense of the Net. Finally, the paper addresses the challenge represented by mobile devices and Urban space to Internet studies, describing how a fourt phase of research seems to be taking shape within the field.