How do people think about and engage with the materiality of digital media technologies and thereby try to transform the devices and society? The article discusses this question by presenting the results of two qualitative studies in which people reflect on and engage with the materiality of media technologies. In the first case, the repairing of media devices in Repair Cafés was analyzed, in the second, the focus was on the production and appropriation of the Fairphone, a smartphone which should be produced under fair working conditions. In both initiatives people reflect on the materiality of media technologies, criticize the production and disposal of the devices, and engage with the materiality of the apparatuses in order to change not only the technologies but also society as a whole by contributing to sustainability and the “good life.” The article adds to the field dealing with materiality and digital media technologies.
Efforts to produce social change are often connected to the aim of creating the good life. Against the background of the current ecological crisis and climate change as well as exploitive globalization processes, I argue in this article that the good life is currently connected to sustainability, which not only implies ecological aspects but also economic and social ones. In this article, the research question looks at how both companies and users of media technologies can contribute to social change in general and sustainability in particular through media innovation. To answer this question, the results of a qualitative study are discussed in which the Fairphone was analyzed as a case study for media innovation. The Fairphone is a smartphone which is supposed to be produced under fair working conditions using sustainable resources. Putting the focus on the Fairphone, innovative production and appropriation processes that materialize in fair media technology are taken into account. The article contributes to research in the field of media innovation (in technology, production and appropriation) in general and media innovation with respect to social change, the good life and sustainability in particular.
Computerization, digitalization and datafication are by far no neutral or self-dependent occurrences. They are, to a large degree, co-determined by heterogeneous actors who reflect about, construct, configure, manipulate or even control media. The contributors to this issue put the spotlight on these actors and investigate how they influence, shape and (re)configure broader social constellations. Instead of exploring what people do with media, the articles focus on the many ways individuals, civil society initiatives, corporations and social movements act on media. The notion of acting on media denotes the efforts of a wide range of actors to take an active part in the molding of media organizations, infrastructures and technologies that are part of the fabric of everyday life. Therefore, by conceptualizing acting on media as a form of political action, the issue aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on the media practice paradigm.
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