This study uses network analysis to examine Twitter's level of autonomy from external influences, being the political and the media field. The conceptual framework builds upon Bourdieu's field theory, appropriated on social media as mediated social spaces. The study investigates conversation patterns on Twitter between political, media and citizen agents during election times in Belgium. Through the comparison of conversational practices with the positions users hold as political, media or citizen agents, we understand how the former is related to the latter. The analysis of conversation patterns (based on replies and mentions) shows a decentralized and loosely knit network, in which primarily citizen agents are present. Nonetheless, the prominence of citizens in the debate, mentions or replies to political and media agents are significantly higher, placing them more centrally in the network. In addition, politicians and media actors are closely connected within the network, and reciprocal communication of these established agents is significantly lower compared to citizen agents. We understand different aspects of autonomy related to the presence, positions and practices of the agents on Twitter and their relative positions as politicians, media or citizens. To conclude, we discuss the promises of Bourdieu's relational sociology and the limitations of our study. The approach proposed here is an attempt to integrate existing work and evolve towards a systematic understanding of the interrelations between political, media and citizen agents in a networked media environment.
This increasingly saturated media environment potentially alters how viewers engage with tele-visual media and with each other. In this respect, we address how mobile devices, such as tablets, have entered our living rooms and alter TV's social uses and practices. By means of in-depth interviews, we revisit the enquiry of the audience in the living room context, with specific attention to Lull's typology of social uses. The study shows the use of these mobile Internet devices in front of the TV is integrated in our everyday TV viewing behavior. In addition, we recognize the complex nature of physical and verbal avoidance and affiliation in a multiscreen living room. Participants personally consume media content in the presence of other family members, which allows physical contact but reduces the opportunities for conversation. In addition, these computer technologies allow online sociability, which we label as 'outbound affiliation'. These tendencies are discussed in a broader understanding of contemporary (media) culture, with a particular focus on the reflexive audience and the related broader process of individualization. In conclusion, we understand the findings as emerging trends that are likely to evolve in the future. In addition, we define the value of traditional audience research as well as the necessity to understand the mediated nature of audience conversations
Both practitioners and researchers embrace the increasing volume of digital data to measure and understand audiences. This study focuses on Twitter use during an eminent Belgian current affairs television (TV) programme to investigate how people talk about TV on Twitter. The main objective of the study is to understand how we can interpret these digital traces and, in extension, discuss its utility and value for audience studies. More specifically, we define two validity issues related to the use of social media data: that is, the technological bias of data analysis and the alleged objectivity of the data. These issues are addressed through the combination of Twitter data and user insights. In particular, we focus on interaction patterns and the content of Twitter messages in relation to TV content. We compliment these analyses with in-depth interviews with a selection of Twitter users. The results confirm the variations and complexities of the use of digital objects such as the @-sign and the hashtag. In addition, although Twitter messages are unobtrusive measures, they reflect performances in the sense that they entail interpretations as well as representations of the self and one's programme taste. Users predominantly feel the need to scrutinize the actions and utterances of politicians and experts. The use of irony and sarcasm exemplifies the playfulness and fun factor of these activities. To conclude, we elaborate on the results in relation to the validity issues we put forth and discuss methodological and epistemological concerns related to the use of social media data in audience studies
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