engleski

How social media enforce glocalization - the processes of identity change in selected Central and Southeast European countries

This article deals with interactions between technological, social and cultural factors through the perspective of globalization and glocalization (Robertson, 1995). In more precise terms, the process of cultural change enforced through the use of social media and seen from a global perspective is the main focus of the article. Through theoretical arguments and statistical data the article is focusesd on the questions of redefining cultural identities through two prominent but diametrically opposite social media: Facebook and Wikipedia. We define the Internet and social media as specific types of disembedding mechanisms (Giddens, 1990) which create the communication backbone of the globalization processes. The global process of media and communication change through digitalization influences our understanding of what a medium is. In an institutional (meaning the social role and function of a specific medium) and the technological dimension, it is difficult to delineate precisely the traditional and mass from social media. They are also increasingly interacting within the space opened up by the World Wide Web. This space should not be seen as a reality apart from the “real” but as an integrated part and a supplement to the media and communication environment that humans use. The case of Facebook clearly demonstrates this as the specific technological preconditions of the platform enable users to make their offline social networks visible online. In that process people re-negotiate their existing identities in an online environment. As a global-repository of human knowledge and as a global memory place (Pentzold, 2009) Wikipedia also influences the process of identity re-establishment. However, it does this in an entirely different manner than Facebook. While Facebook is based on personal social networks and micro group identity management, by dealing with historical and cultural topics of national and global interest, Wikipedia redefines national identity and produces content which is publicly available in an online environment.

glocalization; disembedding mechanisms; cultural identity; Soiutheastern Europe; transition; social media; mass media; cyberspace

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