From Mediatized Emotion to Digital Affect Cultures: New Technologies and Global Flows of Emotion

Abstract

Research on the processes of mediatization aims to explore the mutual shaping of media and social life and how new media technologies influence and infiltrate social practices and cultural life. We extend this discussion of media's role in transforming the everyday by including in the discussion the mediatization of emotion and discuss what we conceptualize as digital affect culture(s). We understand these as relational, contextual, globally emergent spaces in the digital environment where affective flows construct atmospheres of emotional and cultural belonging by way of emotional resonance and alignment. Approaching emotion as a cultural practice, in terms of affect, as something people do instead of have, we discuss how digital affect culture(s) traverse the digital terrains and construct pockets of culture-specific communities of affective practice. We draw on existing empirical research on digital memorial culture to empirically illustrate how digital affect culture manifests on micro, meso, and macro levels and elaborate on the constitutive characteristics of digital affect culture. We conclude with implications of this conceptualization for theoretical advancement and empirical research.

Genres as Social Affect: Cultivating Moods and Emotions through Playlists on Spotify

“…Unlike "networked publics," "intimate publics" are not oriented toward collective action or power disruption but rather coalesce around emotional attachments to certain discourses of how to make sense of ordinary and extraordinary experiences, which then serves political-economic projects such as Spotify's. We also prefer Berlant's notion to the concept of "affect cultures" (Döveling et al, 2018) because it highlights the sense of intimacy that playlists seek to evoke by articulating sequences of songs, titles, and images. We posit "intimate publics" as one possible means to better understand how "affect cultures" actually come into being around the world and why they matter.…”

Mobiles Facing Death: Affective Witnessing And The Intimate Companionship Of Devices

“…The emotional impact or sentiment surrounding consumption of these images is correlated closely with socio-cultural identity. 34 Access to these images via social and mobile media means that this impact will be uneven in that some consumers will feel highly identified with the images and some will not. This unevenness and ambiguity can then cause additional emotional and ethical issues as social media allows for impressions of such imagery to be known, shared and manipulated while, at the same time, control of the spreadability of such images becomes elusive.…”

Refleksi Penerokaan Etnografi Peminat Gelombang Korea di Malaysia (A Reflection of Ethnographic Exploration on Korean Wave Enthusiasts in Malaysia)

“…Kajian mediatisasi sebelum ini turut menyentuh perihal emosi boleh menerangkan mengenai isu ini. Kajiankajian di bawah cabang Mediatization and Mourning, yang mengupas peningkatan isu emosi dan berkabung dari sudut media sosial (Döveling et al, 2018;Harju, 2015).…”

“…Media sosial telah menjadi suatu ruangan yang popular untuk berkabung dan mengingati individu ataupun memberi penghormatan kepada tokoh masyarakat dan juga selebriti (Döveling et al, 2018;Harju, 2015). Harju (2015) turut menegaskan, amalan sosial berkabung telah berubah di sebabkan oleh media sosial.…”

“…Namun, ciri-ciri yang dikongsi dan di ubah suai dari berkabung di luar talian kepada berkabung di atas talian ini, memperlihatkan ia nya muncul dalam konteks dan format baru serta mempunyai makna dan khalayak yang baru. Namun, Döveling et al (2018) pula mendapati, aktiviti berkabung atas talian turut tertanam di dalam aktiviti di luar talian. Amalan ini menurut mereka, saling berkaitan dan budaya itu dipengaruhi oleh proses pendigitalan yang memiliki sifat ketahanan yang tertentu.…”