Emerging Digital Media Ecologies

Emerging Digital Media Ecologies: The Concept of Medialogy investigates the profound ways in which digital media reshapes our cultural, socio-technological, political, and natural landscapes. Through interdisciplinary empirical and creative case studies, the book defines and illuminates the nuances of medialogy, emphasising the often-underestimated impact of emerging technologies across interactive education, data gathering, visual-data representations, and creative practice. It explores the intersection of the natural and technological worlds, contextualising our use of natural resources against climate change and sustainable economies.

Divided into two parts, the book delves into the theoretical underpinnings of digital media ecologies and their practical applications. Part 1 traces the evolution of media technologies, examining their environmental impact and the foundational approaches to understanding media’s complex interconnections. Part 2 focuses on contemporary issues such as hyperpersonalised media, digital literacy, and the transformative power of Indigenous media narratives.

Additionally, the monograph explores the revolutionary role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large language models like ChatGPT-4o and those that follow in shaping our digital future. It investigates how AI transforms creative practices, data processing, and communication, contributing to the formation of new media ecologies. The ethical implications, commodification, identity formation, and the impact of AI-driven technologies on everyday life are critically examined, offering insights into the future of human–technology interactions.

This book is a crucial reference for scholars, practitioners, and students in digital humanities, media studies, environmental humanities, and anyone interested in the cultural implications of emerging digital technologies and their impact on our environment and society.

Toija Cinque is an associate professor in communications (digital media) whose research explores the challenges and opportunities of digital life. Their work examines the media developments of digitisation, datafication, and platformisation, focusing on the socio-cultural and environmental implications of data-driven and algorithmically steered infrastructures and interfaces. Cinque co-produced Memories That Make Us: Stories of post World War 2 Italian Migration to Australia, a feature documentary that won Best Ethnographic Film in the New York International Film Awards and was an official selection at the Asti International Film Festival, Italy; and Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival, Italy. Cinque’s works include Changing Media Landscapes: Visual Networking (2015); The Dark Social: Online Practices of Resistance, Motility and Power (co-edited, 2023); Materializing Digital Futures: Touch, Movement, Sound and Vision (co-edited, 2022); Communication, Digital Media and Everyday Life (co-written, 2015); and Communication, New Media and Everyday Life (co-written, 2012).