This review focuses on New Media and how peoples conceptions of 'Me' are changing.
Media has come to represent multiple channels of communication substantiated in the form of newspapers, radio, TV and now the Internet. What was once possible for the largest circulation or broadcast, however, is now a part of digital life – in the pockets of people everyday and almost everywhere – a ‘participatory culture’ (Lovink, 2016:37) of peer-to-peer networks.
Table of Contents
1. Examining Mediatization: Literature Review, and Theoretical Guideline for Conceptualising the New ‘Me’ in New Media
2. The Social Media Service as a Symbiotic Relationship
3. Economy and Media Institutions
4. Building Conceptions of ‘Me’ through a ‘Configurable Networked Self’
5. Intimate Media Cultures of Mediatization and Sexual Identity
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this review is to explore the paradigm of mediatization and its profound influence on the construction of identity and self-conception within the digital age. The paper investigates how social media platforms and computer-mediated communication transform human connection, social norms, and the manifestation of sexuality, arguing that identity is increasingly shaped by algorithmic processes and media logic within a communicative capitalist framework.
- The theoretical evolution of mediatization as a tool for understanding social change.
- The relationship between neoliberal economic pressures and social media architecture.
- The emergence of the "configurable networked self" and "toolhood" in identity construction.
- The role of media infrastructures in normalizing sexual norms and communicative sexualities.
- The intersection of algorithmic categorization and individual self-identification.
Excerpt from the Book
Examining Mediatization: Literature Review, and Theoretical Guideline for Conceptualising the New ‘Me’ in New Media
Media has come to represent multiple channels of communication substantiated in the form of newspapers, radio, TV and now the Internet. What was once possible for the largest circulation or broadcast, however, is now a part of digital life – in the pockets of people everyday and almost everywhere – a ‘participatory culture’ (Lovink, 2016:37) of peer-to-peer networks.
The human experience or life-world has molded into a mediatized world (Hepp 2012; Hepp & Krotz 2014; Deuze 2014), where mass communication inhibits ‘media-embedded processes of social transformation’ (Ekstrom et al. 2016:1100). The paradigm of mediatization analyzes this ‘emergence, and increasing dominance from the mid 1990s, of approaches to power that no longer located it inside powerful institutions, let alone powerful people, but saw it being reproduced everywhere in a huge network of linkages, apparatuses, and habits within everyday life’ (Couldry & Hepp, 2013:3). Proponents of mediatization call attention to the paradigmatic shift in power relations and negotiating factors when encoding/decoding a media text (Hall, 1980). What was once the world of ‘push' or ‘pull’, media are now ‘perceived as cultural properties as well as social technics' (Jansson, 2015:2).
In a digital age of computer-mediated communication (CMC), media logic – ‘the institutional and technological modus operandi of the media’ (Hjarvard, 2008, p. 113)’ - has taken an introverted leap into social life i.e., human connection as a form of media practice (Couldry, 2004). Pre-Internet literature focused on the way media affect what people think (Entman, 1989; 1993), as a reader, consumer or decoder, of a media text, message or encoder. Mediatization, however, is focused on the way ‘new’ media effect how people think, as a user, (re)producer, or agent of media.
Summary of Chapters
1. Examining Mediatization: Literature Review, and Theoretical Guideline for Conceptualising the New ‘Me’ in New Media: This chapter introduces the paradigm of mediatization and shifts the focus from traditional mass media effects to the pervasive influence of digital media on human cognitive and social processes.
2. The Social Media Service as a Symbiotic Relationship: This section explores how social media platforms function as institutions that provide stability to social behavior while simultaneously exploiting user data and motivations.
3. Economy and Media Institutions: This chapter examines the intersection of capitalist market pressures and technological advancement, highlighting how consumption and data collection drive modern digital interaction.
4. Building Conceptions of ‘Me’ through a ‘Configurable Networked Self’: This part focuses on how individuals navigate identity construction within digital environments, specifically through the lens of social norms and platform-based "toolhood."
5. Intimate Media Cultures of Mediatization and Sexual Identity: This chapter analyzes the transformation of sexual norms, values, and discourse within digital spaces, emphasizing the mediatized nature of modern sexuality.
6. Conclusion: This final section synthesizes the literature review findings and suggests that future research must employ multidisciplinary approaches to understand the ongoing ontological shifts driven by communication technology.
Keywords
Mediatization, Social Media, Identity Construction, Communicative Capitalism, Computer-Mediated Communication, Networked Self, Digital Culture, Media Logic, Sexual Identity, Algorithmic Processes, Participatory Culture, Sociosexuality, Neoliberalism, Media Infrastructure, Identity Politics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper provides a literature review on mediatization and develops a theoretical framework for understanding how digital media shapes the construction of the "self" and identity in contemporary society.
What are the central themes covered?
The central themes include the paradigm of mediatization, the economic drivers of social media services, the formation of digital identities, and the transformation of sexual identity and social norms through media platforms.
What is the core research question?
The research seeks to conceptualize the "new me" in new media by investigating how mundane, media-embedded forces and algorithmic processes influence human self-conception and social interaction.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
This work utilizes a comprehensive literature review and theoretical synthesis, evaluating existing sociological and media studies research to establish a conceptual link between technology, power, and identity.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the transition of media from "push/pull" channels to cultural properties, the role of capitalism in shaping media usage, the concept of the "configurable networked self," and the normalization of sexual discourse on social platforms.
Which keywords best characterize the paper?
Key terms include Mediatization, Identity Construction, Communicative Capitalism, Networked Self, and Algorithmic Processes.
How does the author define "mediatization"?
The author defines it as the emergence and dominance of power dynamics reproduced throughout everyday life, where communication media effectively mold the human experience and social transformation processes.
What role do social media platforms play in sexual identity?
The paper argues that platforms serve as computational ecosystems that categorize and alias information, thereby modulating lived sexual traditions into symbolic content and managing sexual identity through platform-specific norms.
What does the paper imply about "communicative capitalism"?
It suggests that communication platforms capitalize on personal information and identities, creating an ideological formation where democracy and creativity are used to produce subjects that serve a capitalist, technocratic system.
Why is the "configurable networked self" important?
It represents an adaptive response where individuals build and maintain identities in digital environments, utilizing platforms as tools for interpersonal interaction while adhering to the technological and algorithmic constraints of those platforms.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Henry Appleyard (Autor:in), 2017, Examining Mediatization. Literature Review, and Theoretical Guideline for Conceptualising the New ‘Me’ in New Media, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/367733
