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398 Imma Tubellainteraction which involve media products such as books, television, cinema,and the Internet.The increasing importance of communication media in a changing anddynamic society and the development of information and communicationtechnologies have created a new situation where communication and identityneed to be rethought. Such development belies any idea of culture or identityas a monolithic force and reinforces the idea of community and connectivity,a community that has its own cultural specificity but is open to explore distantworlds. The construction of identity has to be shaped in relation to the rapidlychanging circumstances of social life on a local and global scale where theindividual and the collectivity must integrate information and knowledge froma diversity of communication-mediated experiences. The Internet, and itsassociation with globalization, can have a “pluralizing impact” (Hall, 1997) onthe construction of collective identity, producing a less fixed identity becausecommunication flows and interconnection promote cultural encounters andinteractions.Today, classical elements of collective identity definition, such as language,territory, religion, common past or common culture, are still relevant but thereare other important factors to be considered, like the capacity for connectivity,cooperation, and interaction. In other words, individuals and collectivitieshave, on the one hand, the ability to network, and, on the other hand, the abilityto present and represent themselves. Using Castells’s terminology, we canspeak about the space of places and the space of flows. These two differentspaces coexist and the Internet is the instrument able to connect them. The newapproach to identity building works through the interaction of places andflows, through the interaction of language, culture, history, and territory, withthe ability of integration, cooperation, and networking.Clear evidence of the Internet as an identity builder does not exist.However, in Catalonia, our research for the Project Internet Catalonia (2002)shows us that, once we have analysed the different dimensions of projects ofpersonal autonomy, such as entrepreneurial, sociopolitical, psychosocial, orpersonal projects, we see that the more autonomous people are, the moreCatalan identity they have, and, on the other hand, the more autonomouspeople are, the more they use the Internet and with more intensity.Evidence for the influential role that the media play in societies is overwhelming.Perhaps most significant of all is the fact that people attach centralimportance to the media as critical contributors to the way in which they thinkand live their lives. In this way, it is very important to remember that collectiveidentity is collective consensus, a symbolic project, and shared interests,and that the media in general and the Internet in particular are powerful toolsto actively build it.