"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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"The world’s information systems are arguably owned by American and Chinese companies. So far, studies on China’s globalising Internet adopt either monolith approach or fragmented approach, lacking a comprehensive image to capture the architecture of China’s global information systems. Critica
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lly adopting the metaphor of ‘platformisation tree’, this article maps China’s network of global platform ecosystems and identifies its main stakeholders, based on a 2022–2023 ethnography with Chinese tech personnel and venture capitalists in Shenzhen, Indonesia and Vietnam. It argues that China’s globalising Internet shows a triangulation of China, the US, and recipient countries. Similarly to how vines grow and spread using various climbing strategies, Chinese tech companies have developed their ecosystem of digital infrastructures, intermediary platforms, and sectional apps. However, they significantly depend on the GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft)-led ecosystem, interact with their surroundings, and embed deeply into recipient countries’s digital geographies. This research provides a grounded, empirical perspective to the contemporary debate on China’s digital expansion, highlighting varying techno-mediated positionalities and socially driven innovation in the Global South. It contributes to the conceptualisation of ‘global platform ecosystems’ as a relational and ecological social technical system, situated within a dynamic integrity of ‘centre-periphery’, ‘onlineoffline’and ‘human-non-human’." (Abstract)
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"This article conceptualizes the critical online diasporic infosphere as an online space constituted by diasporic media, exile media, and overseas-based influencers who share an oppositional orientation toward the home state. The infosphere proffers a constant stream of critical information and pers
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pectives to users in both the diaspora and the home country. Drawing upon theorizations of alternative media and counter-publicity, this study examines the role of the diasporic infosphere in sustaining a counter-public in a home country undergoing rapid autocratization. Analysis of an online survey in Hong Kong shows that a distinction between diasporic information sources and domestic information sources underlies people’s information consumption and sharing via social media. Consumption of diasporic information sources relates to lower levels of political trust, the pro-democracy stance, negative feelings about the contemporary political environment, and perceptions of legal and political risks. Consumption of domestic media sources relates to such variables in the opposite manner." (Abstract)
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"The article explores the phenomenon of political deification within the framework of religious populism, focusing on the leadership of Narendra Modi in India. Drawing on discourse theory, religious studies, and critical media studies, the paper examines how Modi’s image is sacralized, positioning
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him as more than a political leader – transforming him into a deity-like figure. Furthermore, by employing the concept of populist darshan, the article highlights how Modi’s visual and rhetorical strategies, amplified by digital media and mass communication technologies, construct a direct and intimate connection between him and the people. The Modi effect, characterized by the projection of an omnipresent and accessible leader, mirrors religious practices, fostering a perception of authority and reinforcing the Modi myth. This fusion of religious symbolism and political rhetoric is central to religious populism, where the boundaries between the sacred and the secular are fluid, and the leader is elevated to an exalted status. The article argues that Modi’s political deification is a powerful tool in consolidating power, offering insights into the intersection of religion, media, and populism in contemporary political life." (Abstract)
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"Since 2020, Douyin, an app known for its interactive entertainment and vibrant youth cultures, has risen to dominance in the retail sector. Douyin stands out by making paid traffic a significant revenue stream alongside commissions. This strategy, which restricts organic growth, compels sellers to
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make additional investments in traffic. Drawing from Douyin walkthroughs and the company’s business development presentations, this article analyzes how audience attention and platform traffic are manufactured and integrated with retail in the context of China’s recent national policy that positions data as a factor of production equal to labor, land, technology, and capital. In contrast to Instagram, traffic conversion into sales takes precedence over product visibility on Douyin. In this process, Douyin actively uses user data to manufacture high-traffic keywords with buying intent. This involves measurements employing surveillance technologies that span imageand speech recognition, keywords, performance metrics, and pricing algorithms. The article argues that Douyin e-commerce cannot be fully explained by the current visibility research paradigm centered on metrics such as likes, shares, and comments, which are considered indications of interests and preferences. It is suggested that Douyin uses historical data to invoke momentary interests and produce desired user actions for conversion. Traffic investment alone cannot result in the conversion of momentary interests into sales; it needs to be combined with pricing that incorporates discounts, coupons, and reductions. The integration of traffic investment with pricing strategy has emerged as a dominant e-commerce practice that fosters retail growth." (Abstract)
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"This paper explores the transformative impact of social media on mediumship practice within the context of Mother Goddesses worship (Dao Mâu) in contemporary Vietnam. By examining the ways in which spirit mediums and practitioners utilise social media platforms, the study reveals that these digita
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l spaces facilitate the open expression of belief, foster connections among practitioners, and enable the sharing and promotion of spiritual services as well asthe online trade in ritual costumes and objects. Furthermore, social media has become a catalyst for emerging trends directly influencing the ritual practices and increasing the visibility of spirit mediums in today's society, creating generational shifts between younger spirit mediums and their predecessors, who practiced their belief in pre-renovation Vietnam under precarious circumstances. As rituals become more visible and accessible through social media, the interplay between digital and spiritual realms becomes increasingly significant. The findings suggest that social media not only enhances a sense of community among practitioners that transcends geographical boundaries, but also shapes the continuing developments of this traditional practices, contributing to a dynamic landscape of Mother Goddesses worship in Vietnam today. This research underscores the agency and significance of digital platforms, in particular social media, in transforming spiritual expressions and adapting cultural traditions in the modern era." (Abstract)
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"This sociolinguistic study examines the Facebook page of a Catholic parish in the Philippines as a figured world. The figured world framework is a way of viewing a particular locus of interaction as a product of social and cultural construction. This lens, which has been widely used to examine educ
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ation contexts, is applied in this study to the novel context of online religious community interactions. By using the figured world approach to discourse analysis, this research extends the view of social media for religious purposes beyond its usual attractions of entertainment, selfdocumentation, and self-expression. This paper argues that Facebook, as a platform for the digital staging of Catholic parish life, is an important space for the discursive (re)construction of church purpose, participation, interaction, and identity, with potentially important implications to the Catholic Church’s missiological trajectory." (Abstract)
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"This sociological and ethnographic study develops and employs an ecosystemic approach to examine the effects of digitalization on religious beliefs and practices among young Christians in a Pentecostal megachurch in Singapore. Through extensive fieldwork and qualitative data analysis, this paper un
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covers how the religious identity of young Christians evolves within a dynamic ecosystem shaped by indirect and direct digitalization. It outlines how Christian beliefs and practices transform indirectly through the digitalization of faith-based communities and religious authorities, and directly through individual engagement with social media and communication apps. This research contributes to understanding the interplay between religion and digitalization in the lives of young Christians in Southeast Asia, which calls for further exploration in this diverse cultural context. Conceptually, this paper proposes a framework for a more systematic and comprehensive study of the blended nature of online and offline religion, digital religion." (Abstract)
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"The way people communicate, gather, and process information continues to evolve in response to new communication technologies. With the rise of the internet and digital media, the use of traditional media platforms, such as radio, decreased. Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a non-profit Catholic radio sta
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tion, transitioned from shortwave broadcasting to a digital online format to address the decline in its radio listenership. With these changes in RVA, this study aimed to understand the media consumption patterns, preferences, and satisfaction levels of religious online media consumers in South and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, with a specific focus on their engagement with the Radio Veritas Asia website. Through online surveys, the study found that media consumption patterns, preferences, and satisfaction levels vary moderately across the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The frequency of religious content consumption, such as news about the Catholic faith and daily Gospel reflections via the RVA website, ranges from three to seven days per week. While the internet offers multimodality-encompassing textual, visual, audio, and audiovisual formats-there remains a strong preference for written text among South and Southeast Asian audiences. Satisfaction levels were consistently high across all areas. This satisfaction is influenced by RVA's digital platform's characteristics, its usability, and its content, which effectively address the cognitive, emotional, and social needs of the audience." (Abstract)
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"[...] While mobile broadband covers over 95 per cent of the population, disparities persist. High-income economies lead in 5G deployment and innovation, while lower-income countries face infrastructure, affordability, and digital literacy gaps. The urban-rural divide remains, and women and marginal
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ized communities still encounter barriers to digital inclusion. Closing these gaps is both an economic necessity and a social imperative, as digital transformation expands access to services and strengthens resilience. Small island developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific face distinct challenges due to their geographic isolation, small populations, and vulnerability to climate change. Reliable connectivity is crucial for economic development, disaster resilience, and access to essential services. To sustain the region’s momentum, achieving universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC) is a policy imperative. UMC enables people to access knowledge, build livelihoods, and connect with their communities while also driving economic growth through digital trade, e-commerce, and innovation. Achieving this goal requires strengthened digital skills, improved regulatory frameworks, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive innovation ecosystems." (Foreword)
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"This publication offers a comprehensive overview of digital development in the CIS region. The data reveal a region where nine in ten people are online—well above the global average—and where mobile broadband networks now cover virtually the entire population. These are important milestones. At
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the same time, disparities remain between countries and communities. Fixed broadband is still out of reach for many, ICT regulation is uneven, and digital skills remain limited in key areas. Seven of the nine CIS countries are landlocked, which presents unique challenges for international connectivity, infrastructure deployment, and access to global Internet infrastructure. These constraints make regional collaboration particularly important—not only for physical infrastructure development but also for the harmonization of policies and regulatory frameworks. The second part of this report features case studies that illustrate how digital initiatives are making a tangible impact across the region. From expanding rural broadband access to enhancing youth entrepreneurship and strengthening cybersecurity readiness, these stories highlight the diversity of challenges—and the creativity of responses—emerging across the CIS." (Foreword)
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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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"The WRTH 2025 is the world's most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to broadcasting. This is the 79th edition of World Radio TV Handbook and this great directory continues to offer the most comprehensive guide to broadcasting on the planet. Step into the world of radio like never before with the W
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RTH 2025 edition, your definitive companion for all things broadcasting. This 79th edition of the World Radio TV Handbook offers over 800 pages of unparalleled content, bringing you closer to the heart of the global radio community. Join us in celebrating the timeless magic of radio. Witness the evolution and be part of this exciting journey with WRTH 2025.
Comprehensive Data: WRTH 2025 is tailor-made for the dedicated radio enthusiast. Discover frequencies and broadcasting evolution across LW, MW (AM), SW, FM, Digital Radio (HD and DAB), and National TV channels. Expert Insights: Now under the expert administration of Radio Data CenterGmbH, WRTH remains an unrivaled source of broadcasting knowledge, guiding you through the ever-changing landscape of radio. Global Perspective: Embrace a worldwide view of broadcasting, exploring new territories and understanding the future of shortwave broadcasting by major players." (Publisher description)
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"Organisations that take extreme risks to document atrocities, corruption and war crimes fear for their future after USAid cuts." (Introduction)
"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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"For fact-checks to be effective, they must first and foremost reach their intended audience. Yet, little is known about what determines engagement with fact-checks and how to enhance their reach. We conducted a pre-registered online survey experiment in Pakistan (N participants = 302, N observation
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s = 1208) investigating the effectiveness of fact-checking, and the determinants of engagement with factchecks and misinformation. We found that fact-checking reduced misperceptions, especially among the most misinformed. Trust was an important moderator of the effectiveness of fact-checking and of engagement with both the fact-checks and misinformation. For instance, fact-checks were more effective among participants who trust the news the most and least effective among participants who trust social media the most. Participants more concerned about misinformation were more likely to like and share fact-checks on social media. Understanding and promoting engagement with factual corrections on social media is a pressing challenge to increase the quality of our information ecosystem." (Abstract)
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"The mapping shows that the funding opportunities for media development and journalism support in the Asia region are concentrated in six countries of South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and four countries of Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia and the
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Philippines), with large grants predominantly packaged as broader civil society-focused development interventions on democracy and human rights that also include provisions for media support. The funding situation was disrupted by the U.S. funding freeze on foreign aid initiated in January 2025 and will continue to affect the media development landscape in Asia for the foreseeable future. Core institutional assistance to independent news media organisations and local media development organisations remains limited, even though new mechanisms during 2020-24 such as the Google News Initiative’s Innovation Challenge and the Media Development Investment Fund’s Amplify Asia programme have provided significant but highly competitive opportunities for local independent news media in the region. Media development aid transparency is still limited and many notable funders do not provide disaggregated data on funding awards, thereby limiting the potential data and impact of such mapping exercises." (Conclusions)
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