Digital Media Metaphors
Edited By Johan Farkas & Marcus Maloney
Bringing together leading scholars from media studies and digital sociology, the book provides a comprehensive introduction to digital media metaphors, unpacking their power and limitations. Among the contributors are Valentyna Shapovalova and Lisa Reutter from the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen.
Digital technologies have reshaped our way of life. To grasp their dynamics and implications, people often rely on metaphors to provide a shared frame of reference. Scholars, journalists, tech companies, and policymakers alike speak of digital clouds, bubbles, frontiers, platforms, trolls, and rabbit holes. Some of these metaphors distort the workings of the digital realm and neglect key consequences.
This edited collection, structured in three parts, explores metaphors across digital infrastructures, content, and users. Within these parts, each chapter examines a specific metaphor that has become near-ubiquitous in public debate. Doing so, the book engages not only with the technological, but also the social, political, and environmental implications of digital technologies and relations.