"This book provides case studies on the strategies used by African governments in monitoring and controlling digital and social media, as well as the implications of such actions for claims about media freedom and freedom of expression. Further, the book examines the human rights challenges posed by
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state control and monitoring of digital and social media forms of communication. In the context of a digital surveillance state, it questions how digital and social media can possibly enhance the democratisation of both the communicative and political spaces. The book focuses on questions of censorship and control of digital and social media in ‘supposedly’ democratic societies. It discusses regulation and how governments have imposed their state power by ‘switching off’ the internet and blocking social media sites under the guise of national security and order maintenance." (Back cover)
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"La información que se presenta a continuación desafía premisas establecidas sobre el uso de plataformas digitales en Costa Rica. Por ejemplo, sen confirma que Facebook sigue siendo la red social más utilizada en el país, a pesar de la variedad de oferta, el surgimiento de nuevas opciones y not
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ables tendencias sociodemográficas en Costa Rica. Asimismo, queda claro que las redes sociales y aplicaciones de mensajería son ampliamente utilizadas en el Valle Central y las provincias costeras del país, disputando así la noción de que estas plataforma son el privilegio de unos cuantos grupos en Costa Rica. El uso de las plataformas digitales tiene consecuencias que pueden apreciarse en ámbitos sociales, culturales y políticios. "Nuestras apps de cada día" ofrece insumos relevantes para entender mejor esas consecuencias, incluyendo fenómenos complejos y cruciales como la coirculación de desinformación en plataformas digitales, la construcción de la cultura política en el país, las crecientes tendencias de consumo en redes sociales, el surgimiento de la inteligencia artificial generativa en tareas cotidianas, y la consolidación de formas de sociabilidad mediante tecnologías digitales." (Introducción)
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"The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh is home to numerous Indigenous ethnic communities, and their languages, rituals, and values are distinct from those of the mainstream population. These diferences, coupled with the past eight decades of turbulent political history, have contributed to
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the decline of communal harmony among diferent stakeholders in this region, which has been further aggravated by the advent of social media. In this work, we study the unique challenges faced by Indigenous young community members in Bangladesh when using the social media. Through a qualitative approach involving interviews and focus group discussion sessions, we investigate the online experiences encountered by this population along with their protection and coping mechanisms. Our fndings provide a nuanced portrayal of both the internal and external challenges faced by these users. We further connect our findings to the broader issues in HCI and offer a few design recommendations." (Abstract)
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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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"In einer zunehmend digitalisierten Welt prägen soziale Medien wie Facebook unseren Alltag - aber ermöglichen sie auch echte Resonanzerfahrungen? Basierend auf der Resonanztheorie von Hartmut Rosa untersucht Lisa Waldenburger, ob und unter welchen Bedingungen Nutzer*innen in den sozialen Medien Re
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sonanz erleben oder ob das Medium eher zur Entfremdung beiträgt. Anhand qualitativer Interviews und der Entwicklung von fünf Idealtypen zeigt sie: Resonanz ist möglich, aber voraussetzungsvoll und immer mit dem Potenzial der Entfremdung verbunden. Die Analyse bietet neue Einblicke in digitale Weltbeziehungen und regt zum Nachdenken über die Bedingungen eines resonanzstiftenden Miteinanders im digitalen Zeitalter an." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This study modelled the factors that influence fake news spreading behaviour among social media users. To gather our data, we used an online survey to sample 385 social media users in Nigeria, using a chain referral approach. Smart PLS structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data (SEM
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). We discovered that lack of mindfulness, religiosity, instant news sharing, self-expression all predicted fake news sharing behaviour of social media users. The impacts of lack of mindfulness and religiosity were found to have a greater effect on fake news sharing behaviour. Exploration was found to have a negative effect on fake news sharing. We concluded this study with some theoretical and practical implications." (Abstract)
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"Set in the Global South context of India, this article examines how users of digital media used their platforms and devices to mitigate loneliness and create moments of solitude during the Covid-19 pandemic. Historically, experiencing loneliness has been understood as debilitating but solitude has
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been deemed necessary for individuality and achieving self-growth. This study, qualitative in nature, examines how users of digital media distinguished between the two and charts this engagement to examine their capabilities while using their platforms and services of choice. By adopting a longitudinal design of iterative interviews with 10 participants across age groups and demographics, our findings indicate that digital media users in the Global South repurposed their platforms and services in many ways during the pandemic but found little meaning in their online interactions. The participants, while critically reflecting on their online practices, found social media isolating, and digital media’s attempts at remediating solitude suspect." (Abstract)
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"Un total de 22,5 millones de conexiones móviles celulares estaban activas en Venezuela a principios de 2025, siendo esta cifra equivalente al 79,1 por ciento de la población total. Sin embargo, hay que tener en cuenta que algunas de estas conexiones sólo incluyen servicios como voz y SMS, y otra
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s no incluyen acceso a Internet. A principios de 2025, 17,5 millones de personas utilizaban Internet en Venezuela, con una penetración del 61,6%. Venezuela contaba con 15,1 millones de usuarios de redes sociales en enero de 2025, lo que equivale al 53,1% de la población total." (https://guayoyomarketing.com)
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"Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) face unique development challenges. Higher transportation costs, trade barriers, and limited connectivity impede economic integration. LLDCs rely on neighbouring countries for access to trade routes, resulting in delays and higher costs. These countries also
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tend to lag in investment, limiting resources available for infrastructure and human capital development. Together, these factors undermine competitiveness and slow development. Digital technologies offer transformative potential for LLDCs. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can mitigate physical barriers by enabling access to global markets, improving logistics and public services, and expanding education and entrepreneurship opportunities. When combined with enabling policies and investment, they can accelerate structural transformation." (Introduction)
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"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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"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 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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"Mit den Digital Media Types wurde die MedienNutzerTypologie für die digitale Welt weiterentwickelt. Sie bilden verschiedene Lebensstile und -welten ab, die Einfluss auf die Mediennutzung haben. Programmentwickler können sie als strategisches Instrument einsetzen, um spezifische Interessen und Bed
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ürfnisse des Publikums zu identifizieren und Portfoliolücken zu schließen. Die Digital Media Types tragen so dazu bei, als öffentlich-rechtliches Angebot ein Angebot für alle Bevölkerungsgruppen zu machen." (Kurz und knapp, Seite 1)
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"Looking at patterns between those with meaningful connectivity — defined as having daily internet use with 4G-like speeds, owning a smartphone, and an unlimited access point at home, work, or a place of study — and those with just basic or no internet access at all, we saw key distinctions betw
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een women based on geography and education in our study sample which impacted their experiences of the internet. Across our six survey countries [Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda], women with a tertiary education were nearly twice as likely to be meaningfully connected compared to their peers with less education. Women living in rural areas were three times more likely to lack internet access than their urban-dwelling peers, while women living in cities were over 50% more likely to have meaningful connectivity. Meaningful connectivity enabled women around the world to learn, earn, access government and financial services, and connect with family and communities, thereby also saving essential time and money in transport costs. Women’s educational level and having meaningful connectivity are the strongest predictors of finding information online or participating in the digital economy. Women int erviewed in underserved localities — such as remote villaes in India and impoverished urban settlements in Nigeria — reported restricted digital access due to: lack of infrastructure (such as mobile towers); high cost of devices and data services; income-generating activities and unpaid care work leave little to no time available to access connectivity or digital skills educational initiatives; dependency on men in their family to use devices [...]
We propose four tiers of achievable solutions — and call attention to policymakers, investors, and the ICT sector at large to fast-track meaningful connectivity and inclusive digital development for all:
1. Deep investments that use substantial resourcing to make profound changes in a specific policy area or for a specific community. Universal Service and Access Funds (USAFs) represent a key mechanism across the majority world for deep investment strategies. When well executed, they provide clear interventions with measurable changes in the lives of affected communities.
2. Grand visions that combine years of effort with substantial funding resources to revolutionize the status quo. National broadband plans and other key strategy documents — when appropriately supported and resourced through implementation stages — represent a core example of grand visions within this space.
3. Easy wins that are comparatively discreet and specific changes that can still create tangible value at their scale. Gender data — collecting it, creating it, analyzing it, and using it — is a critical component to several easy wins that have been implemented in recent years. Policymakers can start from this level of research and measurement to make clear steps in the right direction.
4. Scalable systems that represent large, programmatic change in the pre-existing ways of working. Multistakeholder approaches and gender targets can provide the foundation for long-term, ongoing processes that scale progress towards closing the gender digital divide. By using policy and regulation to create mechanisms and procedures that consider digital inclusion, policymakers can build habits and routines that gradually and consistently change the course of history." (Executive summary, pages 2-4)
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This book illuminates the complex relationship between social media, identity, and youth in the Global South. By examining the profound impact on the psychosocial well-being and economic prospects of young people across diverse regions, the collection present empirical evidence from scholars spannin
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g Asia, Africa, North America, Central, and South America. Contributors show how young people experience adverse side-effects online, such as social withdrawal, or animosity to others, and how good social health and social media use can help young people develop economic resources, become independent, and socially responsible. Additionally, the book explores the role of social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram, in the rise of cyberbullying, sexting, and online radicalization; how these platforms re-negotiate identity in developing countries and compromise productivity; and how the behaviour of celebrities on said platforms influence youth behaviour. Structured into five thematic sections, this book presents a nuanced understanding of the well-being implications arising from social media use among young people hailing from diverse socio-cultural and economic backgrounds and political exigencies.
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"Contrary to the prevailing narratives of "digital empowerment" and opportunities for every individual, this book argues that digitalisation massively curtails social advancement opportunities, consolidating existing social relations. From a spatial perspective, Scheffer demonstrates how socially di
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sadvantaged groups are faced with reproducing mechanisms as part of a new data economy. Surprisingly, the more intensively digital services are used, the more this happens. Building on Löw´s sociology of space and Bourdieu´s concept of habitus, this book shows how practices of social exclusion are transferred to the digital present in an innovative way. The image of "mirrored" spaces describes a new mechanism that explains social exclusion in the age of digitalization." (Publisher description)
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"Most scholars focus on the prevalence and democratic effects of (partisan) news exposure. This focus misses large parts of online activities of a majority of politically disinterested citizens. Although political content also appears outside of news outlets and may profoundly shape public opinion,
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its prevalence and effects are understudied at scale. This project combines three-wave panel survey data from three countries (total N = 7,266) with online behavioral data from the same participants (over 106M visits). We create a multi-lingual classifier to identify political content both in news and outside (e.g. in shopping or entertainment sites). We find that news consumption is infrequent: just 3.4% of participants’ online browsing comprised visits to news sites. Only between 14% (NL) and 36% (US) of these visits were to news about politics. The overwhelming majority of participants' visits were to non-news sites. Although only 1.6% of those visits related to politics, in absolute terms, citizens encounter politics more frequently outside of news than within news. Out of every 10 visits to political content, 3.4 come from news and 6.6 from non-news sites. Furthermore, exposure to political content outside news domains had the same – and in some cases stronger - associations with key democratic attitudes and behaviors as news exposure. These findings offer a comprehensive analysis of the online political (not solely news) ecosystem and demonstrate the importance of assessing the prevalence and effects of political content in non-news sources." (Abstract)
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