Unit 2.

The Concept of Network and

Local Networks

Trends, Networks, and Critical Thinking in the 21st Century Culture

General Academic Strand | Humanities and Social Sciences
“Man is by nature a
social animal.”
- Aristotle

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The networks we
belong to play a
significant role in our
lives and in our
movement in society.

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Knowing more about
networks is important
in understanding
ourselves and our role
in society.

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 Tracing My Virtual Network
Let’s
Connect
1. Choose a social media platform that you
frequently use.
2. Think of the names of the people you have
connected with due to common connections
with your family or friends.
3. Answer the questions that follow.

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 1. Which social media platform do you use
most frequently? How many people are
Let’s
Connect connected with you through that social
media account?

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 2. How many people in that social media
account have you built connections with
Let’s
Connect because your family and friends know
them? Provide a short description of such
connections (at least two to three
sentences).

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 3. What are the factors that have helped
Let’s maintain your connection with the friends
Connect
of your friends?

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Essential
Question

How do networks enable the progression of

trends?

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The Concept of Network

Two or more entities interrelated with one

another is called a network. 10
The Concept of Network

Networks are all about connections.

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The Concept of Network

The universe is filled with

various types of networks.

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 The Concept of Network

● The bonds between entities within a network is

commonly mutual.
● These entities are called nodes connected by links.
● These nodes can represent our family, friends, and
classmates, among others.

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 Networks and the Self

As social beings, it is natural for us to relate, communicate,

group together, and create ties. As the famous maxim
goes, “no man is an island.”
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Networks and the Self

Building and sustaining

networks is corollary to
the completion of an
individual’s sense of
self.

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 Local Networks

What are Local Networks?

● those that extend outside the self

● human relations with fellow humans
● those that are necessary to ensure survival
● e.g. family and community

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 Local Networks

The Family

It is the basic unit of

society.

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 Local Networks

The links that bind the family are as follows:

1. lack of self-sufficiency
2. need for reproduction
3. fulfillment of basic needs
4. necessity of labor
5. child-rearing
6. worship of the gods

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 Check
Your
Progress

What makes the family important in society?

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 Local Networks

The Community
● the network that extends
outside of the family
● allows us to join groups and
expand our connections
● includes networks with
friends and peers,
neighbors, churchmates,
teachers, etc.
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 Local Networks

The Community

● where exchanges of fads,

ideologies, and cultures
happen
● gives us a broader
perspective of ourselves
and others

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Trends and Networks

Networks expand and

enable the progression of
trends.

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Trends and Networks

The continuous
communication of people
within a network is
important for the
emergence and
sustainability of trends.

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 Identification. Supply the missing letters to complete
the word in the statement. Each blank represents one
Try This!
letter.
1. Since it is naturally difficult for humans to
live in isolation, the famous maxim says that
no man is an _ s _ a _ d.

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 Identification. Supply the missing letters to complete
the word in the statement. Each blank represents one
Try This!
letter.
2. A network is a constellation of n _ _ _s
connected by links.

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 Identification. Supply the missing letters to complete
the word in the statement. Each blank represents one
Try This!
letter.
3. The local network called _ a _ _ l _ is the basic
unit of society.

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 Identification. Supply the missing letters to complete
the word in the statement. Each blank represents one
Try This!
letter.
4. The c _ _ m _ _ i t _, which is a kind of a local
network, may include our friends and
classmates.

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 Identification. Supply the missing letters to complete
the word in the statement. Each blank represents one
Try This!
letter.
5. The progression of _ _ e n _ s is dependent on
the exchanges of information and resources
between networks.

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 Wrap-up

● A network is composed of two or more entities

Wrap-Up interrelated with one another. It is a
constellation of nodes connected by links.
Networks enable and expand the progression
of trends.
● The self plays an important role in building and
sustaining networks.
● Local networks are the kinds of networks that
extend outside the self, such as the family and
the community.
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 Wrap-up

● The necessity of a family is based on humans’

Wrap-Up
lack of self-sufficiency, need for reproduction,
fulfillment of basic needs, necessity of labor,
child-rearing, and worship of the gods.
● The community is a local network that extends
beyond the self and the family. It is important for
the emergence of fads and trends.

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Challenge
yourself

What are the advantages and disadvantages of

a person’s immersion in local networks?

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Photo Credits

● Slide no. 4: Head of Aristotle. Vienna, Museum of Art History, Collection of Classical Antiquities by Sergey
Sosnovskiy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr.

● Slide no. 17: Hubble’s colourful view of the Universe by Hubble Space Telescope / ESA is licensed under CC BY 2.0
via Flickr.

● Slide no. 19: Health People's Beach by paaddor is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.

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Bibliography
Aristotle. Politics. Translated by Ernest Barker. Revised with an Introduction and Notes by R. F. Stalley. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1995.

Himelboim, Itai. “Social Network Analysis (Social Media).” The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research
Methods 1, no. 1 (August 2017): 1-15. 10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0236.

Keeley, Brian. Human Capital: How What You Know Shapes Your Life. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2007.

Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Menand, Louis. “The Elvic Oracle: Did Anyone Invent Rock and Roll?” The New Yorker, November 16, 2015.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/16/the-elvic-oracle.

Mohsim, Maryam. “10 Facebook Statistics Every Marketer Should Know in 2020”. Oberlo, May 10, 2020.
https://www.oberlo.com.ph/blog/facebook-statistics#:~:text=1.-
,How%20Many%20People%20Use%20Facebook%3F,site%20on%20a%20daily%20basis.

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