New Media & Society

New Media & Society
Title	New Media & Society
Discipline	Media studies; Communication studies; Cultural studies; Sociology
Editor in chief	---
Publisher	Academic publishers; Journals; University presses
Country	International
Established	Late 20th century
Frequency	Continuous

New Media & Society is an interdisciplinary field examining the emergence, diffusion, and social consequences of digital communications, interactive technologies, and networked platforms. Research draws on traditions from Marshall McLuhan-inspired media theory through to contemporary work by scholars associated with Oxford Internet Institute, Center for Internet and Society, and university departments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, and Stanford University. The field bridges empirical studies of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with normative debates traced to actors like Noam Chomsky, Jürgen Habermas, and Michel Foucault.

History and Evolution

The genealogy of the field traces roots to early communication inquiries by figures associated with Columbia University and Chicago School research programs, subsequent technological imaginaries shaped by ARPA and Bell Labs, and the commercialization waves led by Microsoft, Apple Inc., and Google. Key historical moments include the rise of the World Wide Web, the dot-com boom and bust involving firms such as Amazon and Yahoo!, the expansion of mobile broadband through standards from 3GPP and innovators like Nokia, and the platform turn signified by the ascent of Facebook and Twitter. Social movements such as Arab Spring and campaigns like Black Lives Matter exemplify contested moments where networked communication influenced public mobilization, while regulatory milestones from the European Union and rulings like those by the United States Supreme Court shaped legal responses. Intellectual lineage includes debates between proponents of technological determinism associated with Marshall McLuhan and critical theorists linked to Frankfurt School figures such as Theodor Adorno.

Theoretical Frameworks and Key Concepts

The field synthesizes frameworks including Actor–network theory, Political economy of communication, and approaches derived from Cultural studies scholars like Stuart Hall. Core concepts include platformization examined relative to corporate actors such as Amazon and Tencent, algorithmic governance theorized alongside work by Cathy O'Neil and debates prompted by Tim Berners-Lee, and affordances discussed in relation to design labs at MIT Media Lab. Scholars draw on evidence from staples of social theory—Pierre Bourdieu on capital, Erving Goffman on presentation of self, Bruno Latour on networks—and intersect these with analytic tools from Harvard University and research centers such as Berkman Klein Center. Concepts of surveillance capitalism foreground critiques from thinkers linked to Shoshana Zuboff, while discussions of digital labor engage cases from Uber Technologies and Airbnb. Theorists also interrogate identity politics through the work of Judith Butler and feminist technology critiques from Donna Haraway.

Technologies and Platforms

Research maps diverse technical architectures: peer-to-peer protocols incubated by actors like BitTorrent, cloud infrastructures operated by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, content moderation systems experimented with by YouTube and TikTok (ByteDance) and cryptographic innovations championed by communities around Bitcoin and Ethereum. Hardware ecosystems from Samsung and Intel Corporation interface with software stacks from Linux and proprietary systems by Apple Inc.. The platform ecology also includes news intermediaries such as The New York Times and BBC adapting to distribution via RSS and APIs, and open-source movements embodied by Apache Software Foundation and Mozilla Foundation.

Social and Cultural Impacts

Studies document transformations in cultural production involving institutions like Hollywood studios, Comic-Con, and festival circuits such as SXSW; shifts in journalistic practice at outlets like The Guardian and ProPublica; and reconfigurations of everyday life shaped by Instagram and Snapchat. Research addresses identities formed on communities like Reddit and 4chan, mental health debates reflecting work at World Health Organization, and education innovations connected to Coursera and Khan Academy. Cultural consequences are analyzed through case studies involving celebrities such as Beyoncé and influencers associated with YouTube, as well as folkloric transformations captured by archives like Internet Archive.

Political Economy and Regulation

Analyses examine the concentration of market power among corporations such as Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc., antitrust inquiries led by institutions like the Federal Trade Commission and European Commission, and taxation controversies involving jurisdictions like Ireland and Luxembourg. Regulatory responses include data protection regimes exemplified by General Data Protection Regulation and adjudication by courts such as the European Court of Justice. Geopolitical dimensions engage actors including People's Republic of China with firms like Huawei, export controls by United States Department of Commerce, and governance experiments through multistakeholder forums at Internet Governance Forum.

Research Methods and Empirical Findings

Methodologies span quantitative techniques from network analysis practiced at Santa Fe Institute and natural language processing researched at Carnegie Mellon University to qualitative ethnographies inspired by scholars at Goldsmiths, University of London and University of California, Berkeley. Mixed-methods projects combine platform data from Twitter (now X) archives, content analysis of BBC programming, and experimental designs deployed via labs associated with Yale University. Empirical findings reveal patterns of misinformation studied in relation to events like the 2016 United States presidential election, dynamics of online harassment scrutinized following cases involving Gamergate, and labor precarity documented in gig-economy studies of Uber Technologies and delivery platforms. Ongoing work evaluates interventions by policymakers such as those at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and civil society campaigns by Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Category:Media studies