Connectivity (media)

Connectivity refers broadly to social connections forged through mediated communications systems. That is, "since the arrival of the World Wide Web and the spread of mobile communications, mediated connectivity has been quietly normalized as central to a consolidating 'global imaginary'".[1] One aspect of this is the ability of the social media to accumulate economic capital from the users' connections and activities on social media platforms by using certain mechanisms in their architecture.[2][better source needed] According to several scholars (van Dijck and Poell) "it is a key element of social media logic, having a material and metaphorical importance in social media culture".[3] This concept originates from the technological term of "connectivity" but its application to the media field has acquired additional social and cultural implications.[4][5][6] The increasing role of social media in everyday life serves as the basis of such connectivity in the 21st century. It shows the interrelations between the users activities on social media and at the same time the empowerment of the social media platforms with the data that was produced by the users and given to those services for granted.

  1. ^ James, Paul; Steger, Manfred B. (2016). "Globalization and Global Consciousness: Levels of Connectivity". In Roland Robertson and Didem Buhari (ed.). Global Culture: Consciousness and Connectivity. Ashgate. p. 21.
  2. ^ van Dijck, José (2013). "The culture of connectivity: a critical history of social media". www.dawsonera.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  3. ^ Light, Ben; Cassidy, Elija (2014). "Strategies for the suspension and prevention of connection: Rendering disconnection as socioeconomic lubricant with Facebook" (PDF). New Media & Society. 16 (7): 1169–1184. doi:10.1177/1461444814544002. S2CID 33482703.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference facebook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference creative was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ van Dijck, José; Poell, Thomas (2013). "Understanding social media logic". Media and Communication. 1 (1): 2–14. doi:10.17645/mac.v1i1.70. Retrieved 4 September 2018.