The Migration Process in the Network Society

The article deals with the impact of the use of information and communication technologies on the migration process. In this context, it gives special emphasis to the individual action independent of time and space which is enabled by these technologies. In addition to the fact that this kind of action causes the transition from the territorial to the network organization of society, it allows migrants never to leave their physically distant homelands emotionally and socially, which is not in line with the current sociological portrait of a migrant. Starting from this premise, the article proposes a reconsidering of the concept of migrant, based on the conditions of the network society.
KEY WORDS: migration process, information-communication technologies, migrants, network society

In the first part of the article, the author presents the concept of a network society, in which relationships and processes are based on network principles. In this context, particular attention is paid to the action of individuals that is independent of time and place, which is a key feature of the network society. At an experiential level, such action allows the world to be perceived as smaller or more manageable, meaning that individuals have the possibility of interconnecting beyond territorial and national borders, which has important effects on the migration process. In the second part of the article, the author focuses on the study of the use of information and communication technologies in the migration context. In addition to the fact that such research has only begun to develop rapidly in the last decade, the author notes that certain changes are needed in explaining the contemporary migration process, which must go beyond interpretations related to the context of physical distance. In this sense, the author argues that information and communication technologies are an inseparable part of contemporary (developed) society, and just as the current economic, political and cultural spheres cannot be understood without considering the technological dimension, the same goes for understanding the migration process. On this basis, the author presents the individual phases of the migration process (pre-migrant, travel, post-migrant and established phase) and the role and use of information and communication technologies in each of them, which among other things demonstrates that this is a rather broad and diverse field of research. At the same time, it shows that these technologies significantly change the migration experience and, consequently, influence the understanding of the very concept of migrant.