Media and Everyday Life

Media and Everyday Life offers an accessible overview for students of media, communication and cultural studies looking to explore how modern-day media practices impact on the experience of everyday life, making this the essential companion to introductory media studies courses.

This innovative introduction to media studies challenges conventional accounts of what media do to people – focusing instead on what people do with media in the course of everyday life. By rejecting the conventional media studies approach, the book provides a fresh way of thinking about media cultures and provokes thought into how media influences daily social norms. Each chapter offers a broad discussion of various facets of media, such as technology, social media and industries. Key trends and traditions are also considered, helping to define how media has become so entwined in the everyday experience.

This second edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate all the recent developments in media including new social media platforms, new technologies like wearables and smart speakers, and the spread of algorithms into so much of the media we encounter every day. The second edition also takes stock of the environmental impact of digital media and its hidden infrastructures, as well our engagement with social issues and movements from Black Lives Matter to Extinction Rebellion.