Fifteenth International Conference on Technology, Knowledge & Society

Abstract

Beginning as an elitist technological innovation whose sole function was to transmit data, today the Internet and digital media play a central role in a global transformation process that affects all sectors of society, economy, politics, and the single individual (Castells 2005). Both the enormous growth of Internet users during the last decade and the increasing diversity of the respective usage possibilities reflect today’s societal importance of the Internet and digital communication. The integration of the Internet into everyday life leads to a redefinition of lifestyles within an entirely mediatized society (Krotz 2012). In this paper, we will analyse by way of example some of the fields where technological innovation meets social transformation. The area of work may serve as a first example. The working environment is being transformed fundamentally along with the use of digital media: Not only communication has accelerated and proliferated, but also a blurring of the boundaries between leisure time and worktime can be observed (Roth-Ebner 2016). Second, childhood is increasingly being affected by the ubiquitous exposure to media, e.g. smartphones and tablets, which has consequences for peer communication, the organisation of family life and the way learning is performed (Livingstone 2013). As a third example, media content production has transformed in a way that users are participating much more in production processes. Traditional media are losing their function as gatekeepers (Bruns 2008), meanwhile bloggers and YouTubers attract diverse audiences. Therefore, we have to rethink common models of the public (Van Dijk 2013).

Presenters

Christian Oggolder
Senior Scientist, Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC), University of Klagenfurt (AAU) / Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Austria

Caroline Elisabeth Roth-Ebner
Associate Professor, Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Austria