Media Disconnection as a Self-Assertion Tactic in the digital Age

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Guido Zurstiege
• Subject Area: Communication Sciences
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440842815

In mediatized societies of the 21st century, not only phenomena of increased communication and connectivity can be observed, but also phenomena of disconnection. Be it out of frustration due to the decline of political discourse or as a reaction to the compulsion for permanent self-revelation in the social media, be it out of fear of the media of the technological habitat programmed for surveillance or as an attempt to regain control over one's own media use that has gone off the rails. The wish to disconnect is an expression of the fact that the increased possibilities of communication and connectivity are not only a blessing for many of today's media users, but also a challenge. This project deals with this challenge as well as with the tactics of disconnection today's media users employ.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants