"This book examines mobile media use among children and youths within an Asian context. By studying the impact of mobile media on children and youth in Asia, it focuses on the explosive growth of mobile media among young people and seeks to understand the potential consequences of mobile media use o
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n society, relationships, and what it means to be a young person. With this, it provides a richly contextualized Asian voice to research on mobile media and young people, enriching the global conversation surrounding an increasingly central aspect of youths’ everyday lives. Research on mobile media and its impact on children and youths in Asia is not thoroughly represented, despite the proliferation of smartphone and tablet use in the region. This volume fills this gap by canvassing contemporary research on mobile media, children, and youth in Asia through the perspectives of emerging scholars in the region and beyond. It promotes an understanding of the motivations and patterns of use by children and youth in the region, examines contemporary research on the antecedents and consequences of mobile media use on society, relationships, and the individual, and provides a critique of mobile media use among children and youth. The volume also provides a culturally sensitive examination of mobile media use among children and youth, describing and analyzing policies enacted to manage young people’s smartphone use." (Publisher description)
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"Digital monopolies shape ever larger parts of our lives. The platforms are increasingly controlling the public formation of political opinion and at the same time abolishing our free market economy. Digital expert Martin Andree shows in detail how far the hostile takeover of our society by the tech
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giants has already progressed - and how we could reclaim the Internet." (Publisher description)
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"Ist Künstliche Intelligenz der neue Gott des digitalen Zeitalters? In diesem tiefgründigen Essay entfaltet Claudia Paganini eine philosophisch brisante These: Erstmals erschafft der Mensch einen Gott, statt ihn nur zu denken. Die KI übernimmt zunehmend, was einst der Religion vorbehalten war: Si
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nnstiftung, Orientierung, allzeit verfügbare Antworten. Wir beten nicht mehr, wir klicken. Mit analytischer Schärfe und theologischem Weitblick untersucht Paganini die spirituellen Konsequenzen dieser Entwicklung und zeigt: Im anbrechenden dritten Jahrtausend könnten nicht nur Menschen durch KI ersetzt werden, sondern auch kein geringerer als Gott selbst. Eine provokante Überlegung an der Schnittstelle von Religion und Technik." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Covering a wide range of different online platforms, including social media sites and chatrooms, this volume is a comprehensive exploration of the current state of sociological and criminological scholarship focused on online deviance. Understanding deviance broadly, the handbook acknowledges both
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an objective normative approach and a subjective, reactivist approach to the topic, putting into sharp relief the distinctions between cybercrime and online deviance on the one hand, and wider concerns of online communities related to online deviance on the other. Divided into five sections, the first section is devoted primarily to scholarship about the theories and methods foundational to exploring online deviance. The second section, "Gender, Sex, and Sexuality", presents empirical research on expressions of gender, sex, and sexuality in online spaces considered deviant. The third section, "Violence and Aggression," highlights scholarship on types of violent communications such as hate speech and cyberstalking. The fourth section, "Communities and Culture," describes empirical research on online communities and networks that can be described as deviant by wider society. Lastly, the fifth section, "Regional Perspectives," highlights research in which a terrestrial location is impactful to the online phenomena studied." (Publisher description)
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"In the Santiago River Basin of Peru’s Amazonas region, an ambitious initiative is underway to bridge the digital divide and bring reliable internet connectivity to rural communities. The “Connectivity for the Santiago River Basin” project, led by a multi-stakeholder alliance, aims to foster s
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ocio-economic development in this underserved area. This initiative is part of a broader effort to expand access to digital services and telecommunications, an essential component for reducing inequalities and improving lives in remote regions. The project takes inspiration from earlier successes in the Napo River in Loreto (Peru) and aims to develop a sustainable model for broadband deployment. With the involvement of national and local governments, academia, and national/international development cooperation, the project seeks to provide crucial internet connectivity, enabling enhanced educational, healthcare, and communication services to these isolated communities. In addition, the project was designed to be complementary to a major government initiative for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure called the Amazonas Regional Project." (Introduction)
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"We are at an inflection point, where 5G and the ecosystem are set to unleash a wave of innovation. In this Ericsson Mobility Report, we explore how an ecosystem partner is leveraging 5G, network slicing and dynamic Quality of Service (QoS) that will take live broadcasting to a new level, by ensurin
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g seamless, high-quality video streaming – even in crowded environments. The recent advancements in 5G standalone (SA) networks, coupled with the progress in 5G-enabled devices, have led to an ecosystem poised to unlock transformative opportunities for connected creativity. Service providers have recognized this potential of 5G and are beginning to monetize it through innovative service offerings that extend beyond merely selling data plans. To fully realize the potential of 5G, it is essential to continue deploying 5G SA and to further build out mid-band sites. 5G SA capabilities serve as a catalyst for driving new business growth opportunities [...] On the forecast side, we see continued mobile network traffic growth with a 20 percent increase year-on-year, meaning it’s expected to more than double in five years. Fixed Wireless Access is experiencing robust growth and is projected to make up over 35 percent of all new fixed broadband connections by 2030, as service providers capitalize on its flexible and rapid deployment capabilities, offering extensive coverage and an exceptional user experience, compared to other technologies. Finally, we explore the impact of increased usage of GenAI on the consumer side, as it moves from text to voice, video and multimodal. We analyze how GenAI could impact mobile data traffic volumes and characteristics going forward. Differentiated connectivity will be key in enabling a high-quality user experience for these and other conversational applications. There will be no personal AI without mobile." (Letter from the publisher, page 2)
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"Die audiovisuelle Plattform TikTok bildet mittlerweile einen relevanten Aushandlungsort für soziale Gruppen aller Art. User*innen bietet sich die Möglichkeit, eigene Räume für Vernetzung zu schaffen und Identitätsmanagement zu betreiben. Aufgrund der Plattformaffordanzen – vor allem Multimod
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alität –bieten sich in der Theorie die Möglichkeit, auch dissente Diskurse über die eigenen Netzwerke hinaus zu teilen. So können auch geschichtsbezogene Inhalte, die beispielsweise den Holocaust delegitimieren oder Adolf Hitler heroisieren, ein Publikum jenseits der eigenen Ingroup erreichen. Der interdisziplinär gestaltete Beitrag möchte aus geschichtswissenschaftlicher Perspektive die Praktik der vergangenheitsbezogenen Hate Speech im Spannungsfeld von (Gegen-)Öffentlichkeiten in den Blick nehmen. Für die Untersuchung des Beobachtungsgegenstands auf der Plattform selbst wurde ein explorativer Zugang mit dem thematischen Fokus auf #Holocaust gewählt. Die daraus resultierenden Feldnotizen wurden mittels einer induktiven Inhaltsanalyse bearbeitet. Im Kontext dieser Betrachtung zeigt sich, dass Nutzer*innen auf multimodale Formate der Plattform zurückgreifen, um eigene Themen zu setzen und Netzwerke aufzubauen. Es wurden drei wesentliche Ebenen ausgemacht: (1) die Ebene der Kommentare, (2) die Ebene der Videos und (3) die Ebene der vernetzenden Medienhandlungen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Grenzen zwischen Öffentlichkeit(en) und Gegenöffentlichkeit(en) auf der Plattform flexibel sind und mäandern." (Abstract)
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"The promise of technology as a vehicle for African economic development often comes wrapped in the values and norms of the Global North. Western-designed software, pervasive across the Continent, reflects ideologies that may not align with indigenous African values. Digital colonialism is the enfor
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cement of Silicon Valley software values and systems on African countries and indigenous communities that imposes values that can undermine local traditions and socio-political systems. A compelling solution to digital colonialism lies in the African philosophy of Ubuntu – a communitarian ethos emphasizing interconnectedness and mutual care. This philosophy is separate from the Ubuntu open-source software, which does have many tenants of the Ubuntu philosophy. The academic research paper 'Digital Coloniality' explores the concept of digital colonialism, its detrimental impact on African communities, and how applying an Ubuntu philosophic framework can lead to a more inclusive and ethical digital future." (Introduction)
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"I’ve been building open source software technology for NGOs for over a decade, and I have a confession: we’ve been living a lie. For years, I firmly believed that open source was the moral imperative that would democratize technology for the Global South. I championed platforms that could be fr
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eely downloaded, customized, and deployed by anyone. I evangelized the virtues of collaborative development and shared knowledge. Today, as I watch our sector implode under the weight of USAID’s near-total elimination, I realize we’ve built a movement that’s structurally impossible to sustain. Our open source revolution in global development just hit the brick wall of economic reality. Our obsession with open-everything has created organizations that are fundamentally incompatible with financial sustainability. We’ve spent decades perfecting the art of giving away our intellectual property while simultaneously begging donors for the money to keep the lights on. The recent cuts of US foreign aid dollars are a reckoning for an entire sector that chose ideological purity over business sense." (Introduction)
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"The messenger Telegram has gained importance for the mediated constitution of counterpublics in German-speaking countries since 2020. However, most research on Telegram focuses on the content shared and the networks that have developed on the platform. Meanwhile, knowledge about the users of counte
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rpublic Telegram channels and groups and their processes of appropriating the messenger is very limited. Based on 14 in-depth interviews with users, this article explores how individuals connect with like-minded people on Telegram, how they process the information they receive there and why they are attracted to the medium in general. We group them in our analysis according to the meaning they ascribe to the Telegram community, their media repertoires, and how they negotiate contradictions between counterpublic and mainstream information, developing a typology of four types: (1) topic-oriented users, (2) confident researchers, (3) libertarian activists and (4) alienated users." (Abstract)
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"[...] Let me, therefore, reiterate today the Church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for seeking to report the truth, and with these words I also ask for the release of these imprisoned journalists. The Church recognises in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on
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war even at the cost of their lives – the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices. The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press [...] Today, one of the most important challenges is to promote communication that can bring us out of the “Tower of Babel” in which we sometimes find ourselves, out of the confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan. Therefore, your service, with the words you use and the style you adopt, is crucial. As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion. In looking at how technology is developing, this mission becomes ever more necessary. I am thinking in particular of artificial intelligence, with its immense potential, which nevertheless requires responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity. This responsibility concerns everyone in proportion to his or her age and role in society." (https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv)
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"• Engagement with traditional media sources such as TV, print, and news websites continues to fall, while dependence on social media, video platforms, and online aggregators grows. This is particularly the case in the United States where polling overlapped with the first few weeks of the new Trum
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p administration. Social media news use was sharply up (+6pp) but there was no ‘Trump bump’ for traditional sources.
• Personalities and influencers are, in some countries, playing a significant role in shaping public debates. One-fifth (22%) of our United States sample says they came across news or commentary from popular podcaster Joe Rogan in the week after the inauguration, including a disproportionate number of young men. In France, young news creator Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) reaches 22% of under-35s with content distributed mainly via YouTube and TikTok. Young influencers also play a significant role in many Asian countries, including Thailand.
• News use across online platforms continues to fragment, with six online networks now reaching more than 10% weekly with news content, compared with just two a decade ago. Around a third of our global sample use Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) for news each week. Instagram (19%) and WhatsApp (19%) are used by around a fifth, while TikTok (16%) remains ahead of X at 12%.
• Data show that usage of X for news is stable or increasing across many markets, with the biggest uplift in the United States (+8pp), Australia (+6pp), and Poland (+6pp). Since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022 many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently. Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news.
• Changing platform strategies mean that video continues to grow in importance as a source of news. Across all markets the proportion consuming social video has grown from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025 and any video from 67% to 75%. In the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and India more people now say they prefer to watch the news rather than read it, further encouraging the shift to personality-led news creators.
• Our survey also shows the importance of news podcasting in reaching younger, better-educated audiences. The United States has among the highest proportion (15%) accessing one or more podcasts in the last week, with many of these now filmed and distributed via video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. By contrast, many northern European podcast markets remain dominated by public broadcasters or big legacy media companies and have been slower to adopt video versions.
• TikTok is the fastest growing social and video network, adding a further 4pp across markets for news and reaching 49% of our online sample in Thailand (+10pp) and 40% in Malaysia (+9pp). But at the same time people in those markets see the network as one of the biggest threats when it comes to false or misleading information, along with Facebook.
• Overall, over half our sample (58%) say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year. Concern is highest in Africa (73%) and the United States (73%), with lowest levels in Western Europe (46%).
• When it comes to underlying sources of false or misleading information, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest threat worldwide (47%), along with national politicians (47%). Concern about influencers is highest in African countries such as Nigeria (58%) and Kenya (59%), while politicians are considered the biggest threat in the United States (57%), Spain (57%), and much of Eastern Europe." (Executive summary, page 10-11)
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"Das Versprechen der Digitalen Revolution ist die Heilserzählung unsererZeit. Dieses Buch erzählt eine andere Geschichte: Die des digitalen Kolonialismus. Statt physisches Land einzunehmen, erobern die heutigen Kolonialherren den digitalen Raum. Statt nach Gold und Diamanten lassen sie unter mensc
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henunwürdigen Bedingungen nach Rohstoffen graben, die wir für unsere Smartphones benötigen. Statt Sklaven beschäftigen sie Heere von Klickarbeiter:innen, die zu Niedriglöhnen in digitalen Sweatshops arbeiten, um soziale Netzwerke zu säubern oder vermeintlich Künstliche Intelligenz am Laufen zu halten. Der Kolonialismus von heute mag sich sauber und smart geben, doch eines ist gleich geblieben: Er beutet Mensch und Natur aus und kümmert sich nicht um gesellschaftliche Folgen vor Ort. Im Wettkampf der neuen Kolonialmächte ist Digitalpolitik längst zum Instrument geopolitischer Konflikte geworden - der Globale Süden gerät zwischen die Fronten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The textbook applies media literacy principles and critical thinking to the key issues facing young adults today, from analyzing and creating media messages to verifying information and understanding online privacy. rough discussion prompts, writing exercises, key terms, and links, readers are pro
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vided with a framework from which to critically consume and create media in their everyday lives. is new edition includes updates covering privacy aspects of AI, VR and the metaverse, and a new chapter on digital audiences, gaming, and the creative and often unpaid labor of social media and in uencers. Chapters examine news literacy, online activism, digital inequality, social media and identity, and global media corporations, giving readers a nuanced understanding of the key concepts at the core of media literacy. Concise, creative, and curated, this book highlights the cultural, political, and economic dynamics of media in contemporary society, and how consumers can mindfully navigate their daily media use." (Publisher description)
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"This chapter examines the digital surveillance and harassment experiences faced by female journalists in Zimbabwe in the 2023 pre-election period covering the year 2022 up to August 2023. The examination is based on interviews conducted with seven purposefully selected female reporters and editors
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in Zimbabwe. It suggests that within our information-driven society, both personal data and physical bodies are subject to surveillance; for female journalists in particular, this surveillance materialises as instances of harassment occurring both online and offline, including within newsroom settings. Evidence shows that there is both the physical and psychological intimidation of female journalists and periods of political unrests are particularly unsettling. Female journalists are subject to unique forms of hostility absent in their male counterparts’ experiences. To cope the journalists, adopt various survival strategies, from cyber defence techniques and keeping a low online profile to outright evasion or extreme cases of leaving the country. The female journalists advocate for thorough protection measures, including legal reforms, strict penalties, and holding online platforms accountable. They emphasise the importance of mental health support, training, and guidance from media organizations, in addition to institutional and legislative action. The chapter employs a feminist perspective to highlight the importance of power dynamics in surveillance. Feminist politics within media call for women not only to be visible but also heard, which can only occur if they have representation in decision-making processes that shape news coverage and can write stories without fearing harassment. Drawing inspiration from the Panopticon theory of surveillance, this chapter explores the idea that individuals may be monitored without their awareness. With this framework in mind, three key questions are addressed: Did journalists experience any form of digital or physical surveillance? Were they subjected to any type of harassment stemming from such monitoring? And did they receive support from media organizations during these incidents?" (Abstract)
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"This little booklet is brimming with AI knowledge and sample prompts that can help with brainstorming ideas, conducting research and preparing for interviews. How does artificial intelligence work? How did it come about, and what impact does it have on the environment? What are the legal parameters
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for using AI tools responsibly? And what should media professionals keep in mind when creating company-specific AI guidelines? Constructive AI Compass answers these questions and many more, providing orientation and inspiration for everyday work." (Back cover)
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