Digital Media Sociology
Introduction (les 1)
What is this course about
1. knowledge: Developing a thorough socio-historical understanding of how digital media
shape society and vice versa (you as a digital media sociologist)
2. skills: Developing abstract thought by deconstructing everyday media phenomena with the
aid of abstract theory and concepts (you as a social scientist)
3. attitude: Developing the capacity to make informed judgments
over societal issues (you as a digital citizen)
Digital media sociology aims to lift the veil over the taken-for-grantedness.
How does digitization affect…
our everyday practices (micro-level)
our social institutions and the social order (macro-level)
exam info
Sociology
Sociology studies the social organization of society
How do people live together?
What opportunities and problems arise from this?
Questions revolve mainly around:
, Social order (and social cohesion)
Social inequality, in a material and symbolic sense
Identity, as a group and as individual
<--> Psychology: Individual: cognition, emotion, behavior
Digital Media society
How do digital media…
… are implicated in ‘the way we do things’ (social order)?
… disrupt or reproduce power? (social inequality)?
… shape the meaning of things (identity)?
Micro-level: Changes in our everyday practices
bv: Increased use of food delivery apps instead of cooking at home.
Macro-level: Changes to our societal institutions
Bv: Growth of the food delivery industry, impacting traditional restaurants
Of bv: Digitalization of education (e-learning, online classes).
media sociology studies how media affect the social organization of society
media psychology how media affect individual cognition(thoughts), emotion and behavior
media studies = focus on the media industry and how it delivers messages to audiences
Vb: Does TV viewing lead to a child obesity epidemic?
SOCIAL STRUCTURE, POSITIONS AND ROLES
Social structure refers to the organized patterns of relationships and rules that shape how people
interact and live together.
Organized ≠ formal → Social structure includes both formal (laws, institutions) and informal
(social norms, traditions) elements. = Het gaat niet alleen om wetten en officiële regels, maar
ook om gewoontes en ongeschreven regels.
Rules form systems → social institutions = Als regels en afspraken zich herhalen en
georganiseerd worden, vormen ze grotere systemen.
vb: In onderwijs zijn er regels over wie les mag geven en hoe examens werken → scholen en
universiteiten zijn een sociale institutie. Of In rechtspraak zijn er wetten en rechters die
bepalen wat legaal is → rechtbanken en het rechtssysteem vormen een sociale institutie.
Relationships form roles → social positions = Mensen hebben verschillende rollen en
posities in de samenleving, afhankelijk van hun relaties met anderen.
Vb: Een leraar heeft een formele positie in een school en geeft les aan leerlingen.
Een ouder heeft een sociale rol binnen een gezin en zorgt voor een kind.
Een werknemer heeft een positie binnen een bedrijf en voert taken uit.
,Platform Economy as an emerging social institution Social
= De platformeconomie (zoals Uber, Deliveroo, Airbnb, en Bol.com-partners) verandert de manier
waarop werk en economie georganiseerd zijn. Omdat steeds meer mensen via platforms werken,
begint dit op een sociale institutie te lijken, net zoals onderwijs of de zorg. Het heeft eigen regels en
structuren die bepalen hoe mensen werken en met elkaar omgaan.
Social Position: Self-employed or Employee?
Platformwerkers hebben geen vast contract, maar ook weinig controle over hun werk. Zijn ze
zelfstandigen of eigenlijk werknemers zonder rechten?
Social Identity: Brand Ambassadors or Algorithmic Slaves?
Sommigen zien zichzelf als ondernemers en merkambassadeurs, anderen voelen zich
gestuurd door algoritmes zonder echte vrijheid.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE & CULTURE
Culture = a shared set of beliefs, norms, behaviors, values, symbols, rituals, attitudes, …
The link with social structure:
values and beliefs are forces that shape social order = how society is organized.
norms are expectations of how people should behave.
patterns of behavior normatively expected for certain social positions are social roles
vb teacher, parent
rituals are habitual behaviors or objects that carry symbolic meaning … and thus value
vb: birthdays, national holidays
SOCIAL STRUCTURE: WHY DO WE DO THE THINGS WE DO?
The way we do things in everyday life (= our everyday practices) is not random—it follows patterns
shaped by society. These patterns reflect the relationship between individuals and the social order
(the rules and norms that structure society).
Social order = rules that order society.
Individuals can either follow or break these rules, which means they either maintain or change the
system. (= they are either reproducing the social order or challenging it)
Our behaviors (or practices) are:
Social (they happen in relation to others).
Stable over time (they come from history and tradition).
Shaped by culture (they depend on the context).
Social change happens when people, together, successfully create a new way of organizing society.
GIDDENS’ STRUCTURATION THEORY (1984)
Duality of structure: structure and agency as mutually constitutive = society and individuals influence
each other
Social structures: enable and constrain human action (provides rules & resources for meaningful
action) -> rules and systems both help and limit what people can do.
Agency = people’s ability to act: Individuals produce and reproduce social structure.
They are knowledgeable, rational actors with:
, 1. the capacity for ‘reflexivity’: a capacity to reflect on the social structure and their role as
reproducing agent in it
-> Individuals are not just passive followers of rules; they can think about the system and
their role in it (reflexivity).
2. the capacity to act ‘intentionally rational’ : to modify their behavior in line with certain goals
that they can reasonably justify as being worthy of pursuit.
-> They can also make choices to change their behavior based on their goals (intentional
rationality).
=> This constant interaction between structure and agency shows how power works in society—who
sets the rules and who has the ability to change them.
OKAY… BUT WHY IS THIS RELEVANT FOR THIS COURSE?
Just like society has structures that shape behavior (= prescriptive), media and technology also
follow certain “logics” that influence how people use them.
Apparatgeist: The "Spirit of the Machine" (Katz & Aakhus, 2002)
Technology guides human behavior, but it does not completely control it.
It does this by:
o Giving us tools to act in certain ways (rationality of means).
o Limiting other possibilities (constraint upon possibilities).
For example, smartphones encourage instant communication, but also limit the way we interact
compared to face-to-face conversations.
Understanding these structures helps us see how media shape society and how people can use (or
resist) these influences.
ORLIKOWSKI’S (1992) DUALITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Orlikowski argues that technology and society shape each other in a continuous cycle.
Technology is created by humans → It is designed and built within a specific social context.
It is also shaped by how people use it → Different users attach different meanings to it and
emphasize different features.
Over time, technology becomes “fixed” and feels like an independent force → It gets
institutionalized, meaning people start seeing it as a natural part of society rather than
something humans originally created.
Example: Think about how social media started as a way to connect with friends, but over time, it
became a major influence on politics, business, and culture. At a certain point, it feels like an
unstoppable system that shapes behavior, even though people originally built and controlled it.
The History of SMS: A Case of Technology Shaping Society
The development of SMS (Short Message Service) is a perfect example of how technology and
society influence each other:
1. Accidental invention → SMS was originally an insignificant byproduct of mobile telephony. It
was not designed for heavy use.
2. Unexpected popularity → People discovered they could use it as a form of cheap or ‘free’
communication, leading to mass adoption.
3. Business adaptation → Due to its success, telecom companies introduced tariff plans to
monetize SMS.
Introduction (les 1)
What is this course about
1. knowledge: Developing a thorough socio-historical understanding of how digital media
shape society and vice versa (you as a digital media sociologist)
2. skills: Developing abstract thought by deconstructing everyday media phenomena with the
aid of abstract theory and concepts (you as a social scientist)
3. attitude: Developing the capacity to make informed judgments
over societal issues (you as a digital citizen)
Digital media sociology aims to lift the veil over the taken-for-grantedness.
How does digitization affect…
our everyday practices (micro-level)
our social institutions and the social order (macro-level)
exam info
Sociology
Sociology studies the social organization of society
How do people live together?
What opportunities and problems arise from this?
Questions revolve mainly around:
, Social order (and social cohesion)
Social inequality, in a material and symbolic sense
Identity, as a group and as individual
<--> Psychology: Individual: cognition, emotion, behavior
Digital Media society
How do digital media…
… are implicated in ‘the way we do things’ (social order)?
… disrupt or reproduce power? (social inequality)?
… shape the meaning of things (identity)?
Micro-level: Changes in our everyday practices
bv: Increased use of food delivery apps instead of cooking at home.
Macro-level: Changes to our societal institutions
Bv: Growth of the food delivery industry, impacting traditional restaurants
Of bv: Digitalization of education (e-learning, online classes).
media sociology studies how media affect the social organization of society
media psychology how media affect individual cognition(thoughts), emotion and behavior
media studies = focus on the media industry and how it delivers messages to audiences
Vb: Does TV viewing lead to a child obesity epidemic?
SOCIAL STRUCTURE, POSITIONS AND ROLES
Social structure refers to the organized patterns of relationships and rules that shape how people
interact and live together.
Organized ≠ formal → Social structure includes both formal (laws, institutions) and informal
(social norms, traditions) elements. = Het gaat niet alleen om wetten en officiële regels, maar
ook om gewoontes en ongeschreven regels.
Rules form systems → social institutions = Als regels en afspraken zich herhalen en
georganiseerd worden, vormen ze grotere systemen.
vb: In onderwijs zijn er regels over wie les mag geven en hoe examens werken → scholen en
universiteiten zijn een sociale institutie. Of In rechtspraak zijn er wetten en rechters die
bepalen wat legaal is → rechtbanken en het rechtssysteem vormen een sociale institutie.
Relationships form roles → social positions = Mensen hebben verschillende rollen en
posities in de samenleving, afhankelijk van hun relaties met anderen.
Vb: Een leraar heeft een formele positie in een school en geeft les aan leerlingen.
Een ouder heeft een sociale rol binnen een gezin en zorgt voor een kind.
Een werknemer heeft een positie binnen een bedrijf en voert taken uit.
,Platform Economy as an emerging social institution Social
= De platformeconomie (zoals Uber, Deliveroo, Airbnb, en Bol.com-partners) verandert de manier
waarop werk en economie georganiseerd zijn. Omdat steeds meer mensen via platforms werken,
begint dit op een sociale institutie te lijken, net zoals onderwijs of de zorg. Het heeft eigen regels en
structuren die bepalen hoe mensen werken en met elkaar omgaan.
Social Position: Self-employed or Employee?
Platformwerkers hebben geen vast contract, maar ook weinig controle over hun werk. Zijn ze
zelfstandigen of eigenlijk werknemers zonder rechten?
Social Identity: Brand Ambassadors or Algorithmic Slaves?
Sommigen zien zichzelf als ondernemers en merkambassadeurs, anderen voelen zich
gestuurd door algoritmes zonder echte vrijheid.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE & CULTURE
Culture = a shared set of beliefs, norms, behaviors, values, symbols, rituals, attitudes, …
The link with social structure:
values and beliefs are forces that shape social order = how society is organized.
norms are expectations of how people should behave.
patterns of behavior normatively expected for certain social positions are social roles
vb teacher, parent
rituals are habitual behaviors or objects that carry symbolic meaning … and thus value
vb: birthdays, national holidays
SOCIAL STRUCTURE: WHY DO WE DO THE THINGS WE DO?
The way we do things in everyday life (= our everyday practices) is not random—it follows patterns
shaped by society. These patterns reflect the relationship between individuals and the social order
(the rules and norms that structure society).
Social order = rules that order society.
Individuals can either follow or break these rules, which means they either maintain or change the
system. (= they are either reproducing the social order or challenging it)
Our behaviors (or practices) are:
Social (they happen in relation to others).
Stable over time (they come from history and tradition).
Shaped by culture (they depend on the context).
Social change happens when people, together, successfully create a new way of organizing society.
GIDDENS’ STRUCTURATION THEORY (1984)
Duality of structure: structure and agency as mutually constitutive = society and individuals influence
each other
Social structures: enable and constrain human action (provides rules & resources for meaningful
action) -> rules and systems both help and limit what people can do.
Agency = people’s ability to act: Individuals produce and reproduce social structure.
They are knowledgeable, rational actors with:
, 1. the capacity for ‘reflexivity’: a capacity to reflect on the social structure and their role as
reproducing agent in it
-> Individuals are not just passive followers of rules; they can think about the system and
their role in it (reflexivity).
2. the capacity to act ‘intentionally rational’ : to modify their behavior in line with certain goals
that they can reasonably justify as being worthy of pursuit.
-> They can also make choices to change their behavior based on their goals (intentional
rationality).
=> This constant interaction between structure and agency shows how power works in society—who
sets the rules and who has the ability to change them.
OKAY… BUT WHY IS THIS RELEVANT FOR THIS COURSE?
Just like society has structures that shape behavior (= prescriptive), media and technology also
follow certain “logics” that influence how people use them.
Apparatgeist: The "Spirit of the Machine" (Katz & Aakhus, 2002)
Technology guides human behavior, but it does not completely control it.
It does this by:
o Giving us tools to act in certain ways (rationality of means).
o Limiting other possibilities (constraint upon possibilities).
For example, smartphones encourage instant communication, but also limit the way we interact
compared to face-to-face conversations.
Understanding these structures helps us see how media shape society and how people can use (or
resist) these influences.
ORLIKOWSKI’S (1992) DUALITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Orlikowski argues that technology and society shape each other in a continuous cycle.
Technology is created by humans → It is designed and built within a specific social context.
It is also shaped by how people use it → Different users attach different meanings to it and
emphasize different features.
Over time, technology becomes “fixed” and feels like an independent force → It gets
institutionalized, meaning people start seeing it as a natural part of society rather than
something humans originally created.
Example: Think about how social media started as a way to connect with friends, but over time, it
became a major influence on politics, business, and culture. At a certain point, it feels like an
unstoppable system that shapes behavior, even though people originally built and controlled it.
The History of SMS: A Case of Technology Shaping Society
The development of SMS (Short Message Service) is a perfect example of how technology and
society influence each other:
1. Accidental invention → SMS was originally an insignificant byproduct of mobile telephony. It
was not designed for heavy use.
2. Unexpected popularity → People discovered they could use it as a form of cheap or ‘free’
communication, leading to mass adoption.
3. Business adaptation → Due to its success, telecom companies introduced tariff plans to
monetize SMS.
