Sociología de la comunicación

The high levels of violence in video games have often been linked to an apparent decrease in empathy and increase in selfishness in Western society, yet surprisingly little research has been conducted on the role of empathy in the context of media. Through three empirical studies, this book explores the mechanisms behind moderating functions of empathy. The chapters discuss factors such as character played and players' interpretation of the character, as well as the effects of inducing empathy before playing a video game upon emotion, cognition and behaviour. The book reveals new insights that will inform the ongoing debates about the effects of violent media content.

O imaginário não é apenas um novo conceito, é um modo diferente de olhar para o mundo da Comunicação. Conectar os imaginários e colocá-los em rede é uma tarefa que exige diálogo permanente com outras áreas do conhecimento humano. Nos ensaios deste livro, fica evidente que há um esforço coletivo na busca desses cruzamentos conceituais, mesmo que os próprios autores ainda não tenham percebido sua nova condição epistemológica. Estamos imersos num mundo complexo, que nos causa perplexidade e nos empurra para um fazer científico novo, mais ousado, com menos amarras metodológicas, com mais emoção, com mais riscos. As regras mudaram, e os jogadores precisam se adaptar. Sempre haverá espaço, é claro, para que os especialistas continuem aprofundando seus temas favoritos, mas o diálogo com os colegas “diferentes” é a melhor maneira de garantir relevância social às universidades e às pesquisas acadêmicas. Este livro aponta para várias direções, mas sempre com um olhar aberto e sem os preconceitos antigos quanto às fronteiras das áreas de pesquisa. Cabe a cada leitor descobrir o que há de novo neste novo mundo comunicacional.

En la actualidad, advertimos la prodigiosa velocidad con la que cambia el panorama en el mundo virtual y tecnológico. Esto implica el estudio de nuevos paradigmas de la comunicación como las infomorfosis y el surgimiento de las “Hub News”. La blogosfera y las redes sociales, como parte del ecosistema de los medios sociales, afectan a toda la sociedad, creando un nuevo mapa de usos y costumbres en la vida de las personas.

Cuando se les preguntó a los jóvenes españoles en el último Informe de la Fundación SM por el rasgo más importante que les define como generación, lo tuvieron muy claro: somos «consumistas», dijeron, por delante de cualquier otra característica generacional. Hace años ya que los expertos en juventud señalan que las actuales generaciones de jóvenes y adolescentes son las más consumistas que ha conocido el mundo occidental, unas generaciones para las que este adjetivo, «consumista» va mucho más allá del mero hecho de tener la habitación llena de ropa o dispositivos electrónicos, para convertirse en una forma de pensarse a sí mismos, relacionarse con los demás y proyectarse al mundo.

El presente libro nace para llenar un importante vacío en la investigación en nuestro país, centrándose en cómo la cultura consumista influye y da forma a la juventud actual, como sujetos y como objetos de consumo, algo sin lo que, a día de hoy, se haría muy difícil analizar la mayoría de los fenómenos sociales relacionados con ella: sus valores, sus señas de identidad colectiva o las nuevas formas de acción social.

¿Siguen los jóvenes de hoy soñando con ser androides y evitando hacerse adultos? ¿Siguen siendo temidos y venerados por la sociedad, como sucedía en la antigua Mesopotamia y en la Grecia clásica? ¿Sigue siendo hoy la juventud la edad más bella de la vida, como cuestionaba Paul Nizan en los años treinta? ¿Siguen los jóvenes deseando morir antes de llegar a viejos, como cantaban The Who en los años sesenta? ¿Siguen los jóvenes retratando con trazos fuertes a la sociedad global —que acostumbra a reaccionar mal ante este retrato— como sugería José L. Aranguren en los años ochenta? ¿Son los adolescentes actuales la primera generación que adelantará a los adultos, gracias a su mayor dominio del mundo digital, como predijo Don Tapscott en los años noventa?¿Por qué l@s Indignad@s propugnan una sublevación de los jóvenes contra la juventud? ¿Puede existir una cultura juvenil sin jóvenes?

Who decides what you see on television? Which issues are important, and who gets to speak their mind in the news? How are women and men featured in texts, photos, computer games, advertising and movies?

Questions like these are of great importance when it comes to gender equality in society, and therefore the media is a relevant sector to reach with gender mainstreaming efforts. The media can both hinder and accelerate the development towards gender equality. They can communicate results of gender equality efforts but can also contribute to the production of gender stereotypes. There is an increasing pressure on media to step up and take measures to ensure women’s access to the media industry and to combat gender stereotypes. The UN member states committed to this already in 1995 in the Beijing Platform for Action, but how gender equal is the media?

Making Change. Nordic Examples of Working Towards Gender Equality in the Media presents a collection of inspiring media practices in the Nordic region and a compilation of comparative data on gender equality in the Nordic media sector (film, journalism, advertising and computer games). Contributing authors are representatives from academia, civil society, activism and industry.

How do individuals perceive the increasingly open-ended nature of mediated surveillance? In what ways are mediated surveillance practices interwoven with identity processes, political struggles, expression of dissent and the production of social space? One of the most significant issues in contemporary society is the complex forms and conflicting meanings surveillance takes. Media, Surveillance and Identity addresses the need for contextualized social perspectives within the study of mediated surveillance. The volume takes account of dominant power structures (such as state surveillance and commercial surveillance) and social reproduction as well as political economic considerations, counter-privacy discourses, and class and gender hegemonies. Some chapters analyse particular media types, formats or platforms (such as loyalty cards or location based services), while others account for the composite dynamics of media ensembles within particular spaces of surveillance or identity creation (such as consumerism or the domestic sphere). Through empirically grounded research, the volume seeks to advance a complex framework of research for future scrutiny as well as rethinking the very concept of surveillance. In doing so, it offers a unique contribution to contemporary debates on the social implications of mediated practices and surveillance cultures.

The emergence of what are called ‘new media’ and ‘social media’ is one of the most discussed topics in contemporary societies. Because media and public communication are mostly analyzed within particular theoretical frameworks and within specific disciplinary fields, polarized views have been created with cyberoptimists and celebrants on one side and cyberpessimists and skeptics on the other. Thus we lack an understanding of the interdependencies and convergence between disciplines and practices.
The second edition of this book expertly synthesizes competing theories and disciplinary viewpoints and examines the latest data, including international research from fast-growing markets such as China, to provide a comprehensive, holistic view of the twenty-first century media (r)evolution. Dr. Macnamara argues that the key changes are located in practices rather than technologies and that public communication practices are emergent in highly significant ways.
Engaging and accessible, this book is essential reading for scholars and professionals in media and communication and an invaluable text for courses in media studies, journalism, advertising, public relations and organisational and political communication.

Mediated Communities brings together a diverse, global cohort of academics and professional communicators to assess the current state of democratic mobilizing around the world and the ways in which protest movements are being transformed in the midst of a communication revolution. Contributors draw on a variety of international settings – from Greece to Lebanon, China to Argentina – to demonstrate the ways in which community organizing in the digital age relies increasingly on digital media to communicate, help participants find common ground, and fight for change. Contributors acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead for creating real and lasting democratic change, but at the same time are able to draw attention to the potential that digital media hold for strengthening citizen voices around the globe.

The Internet’s explosive growth over the past decade is nowhere more visible than in Asia. Fueled by an expanding middle class, thousands of people connect to the Internet for the first time each day to explore and discuss issues that are relevant to them and their lives.
This book provides an in-depth look at the impact of social media on political engagement among young citizens in this rapidly changing region of the world. Leading media scholars from nine Asian nations focus on three main questions:
How frequently do Asians use social media to access and discuss political information?
Does the use of social media increase political participation?
What political, social and cultural factors influence the impact of social media on political engagement in each nation?
To answer these questions, contributors first analyze the current state of social media in their nations and then present the findings of a cross-national survey on social media use that was conducted with over 3,510 Asian respondents. By employing a comparative approach, they analyze how social media function and interact with the cultural and political systems in each country – and how they might affect political engagement among individual citizens.