Diggit magazine

30/06/2025

How can the popular television series help academics to think in novel ways about the uses and meanings of emojis? In this reflective piece, Agnese Sampietro explains why it is important to understand that emojis like 🫘 and 💊 have vastly different meanings for different communities.

I stare in horror at my recently used emojis and spot a pink heart. I don’t remember why I used it. I just hope the recipient doesn’t interpret it as a sign of romantic interest, as Adam, the son of the policeman investigating a murder, explains in the second episode of Adolescence, the popul .....

27/06/2025

For some individuals and communities, 'phatic communication' is not just meant to express some kind of sociability. For people that live in difficult circumstances, it is a vital strategy to cope with their various challenges.

By Fie VelgheIntroductionImagine walking down the road in your neighbourhood and the old lady at the corner who usually greets you when you walk by suddenly not answering your friendly greeting anymore. You open your front door and your neighbour, with whom you do not exchange much more than some .....

25/06/2025

Behind the glossy PR of tourism and Martian dreams lies a scramble for power, profit, and strategic control. Space isn’t just about exploring new worlds—it’s about dominating this one.

A few weeks back, the media was awash with images of Blue Origin’s space flight—an event touted as a preview of the future of space tourism. We watched as six millionaires travelled to the edge of space for roughly eleven minutes, spending about four of those in zero gravity. The experience, ...

24/06/2025

Objective reality is no longer the foundation of democratic decision-making but has instead become a pawn in a contest where dominant narratives shape the direction of societies.

Democracies have always been susceptible to information manipulation. Today, however, the distortion of truth has intensified to a degree that shifts politics from rational debate to a strategic battle over perception. Objective reality is no longer the foundation of democratic decision-making bu .....

20/06/2025

In this working paper, Paul Mutsaers and Hans Siebers introduce the notion of ‘low intensity ’ to discuss the connection between migrant-hostile politics in the and abhorring events like the Balkan massacres.

By Paul Mutsaers and Hans SiebersAbstractThis article can be read as a trenchant discussion of current migrant-hostile politics in the Netherlands. Analogous to the notion of low intensity conflict it introduces the term ‘low intensity ethnic cleansing’ and explores whether it can be applied ...

18/06/2025

According to Qudsiya Contractor, Sagnik Dutta’s book ‘In the Shadow of minority rights’ is an interesting and timely intervention into debates surrounding minority rights, and the post-colonial Indian state that have animated the question in the context of the rise of nationalism in mainstream politics.

The relationship of the state and family laws has always been a vexed one in India with recent developments bearing witness to the fact that the separation between state and family, individual and community are riddled with paradoxes. Earlier this year, the northern state of Uttarakhand ...

16/06/2025

Ever wonder where the foil you use in your kitchen comes from? The process of making aluminium is surprisingly . Cultural studies scholars collaborated with Irish artist Michele Horrigan to explore how can provide new ways to think about the , , and the future of our planet.

What happens when art meets environmental justice? In the spring of 2025, scholars and students explored this question together with Irish artist Michele Horrigan, whose work grapples with the ongoing environmental injustices in the region where she lives and works. Horrigan’s ...

13/06/2025

How should teachers deal with grammatical and lexical mistakes that are becoming common practice in national media and other domains? Will still be one of the pivotal canonical pillars amongst which a national , culture and are built? In this working paper, Jos Swanenberg discusses how more language variation on Dutch television and binding rules about in educational settings lead to challenges.

By Jos SwanenbergIntroductionA language of instruction is usually conceived to be a clearly defined language category. In the classroom teachers and students are supposed to know how to learn, teach and use ‘proper’ Dutch. Outside the classroom however, the Dutch language obviously is a conti .....

12/06/2025

What would it feel like if technologies like would refuse to reply to us, or would remain silent, pause, or hesitate? Wouldn't that be the most response they could produce?

In her keynote lecture titled 'Gestures of silence in digital infrastructures', Taina Bucher discusses the meaning of in a world infused with information and chatty technologies. You can find the full recording of the lecture here: https://www.diggitmagazine.com/keynote-lecture-gestures-silence-digital-infrastructures-taina-bucher

11/06/2025

Technologies like always seem to have an answer, even if they are programmed to 'beat around the bush'. In this keynote lecture, Taina Bucher discusses the meaning of 'silence' in a world of chatty technologies.

https://www.diggitmagazine.com/keynote-lecture-gestures-silence-digital-infrastructures-taina-bucher

At the heart of democratic theory lies a fundamental belief in the power of speech as essential to democratic engagement. This presentation shifts the focus from active participation and vocal citizenship to explore the critical role of silence within the context of digital infrastructures. In a ...

10/06/2025

Eva is emerging as a prominent figure in transatlantic right-wing activism. By leveraging algorithmic populism and social media platforms, she plays a significant role in shaping and disseminating ideological narratives across European and American political discourse.

Who is Eva Vlaardingerbroek?This article discusses how Eva Vlaardingerbroek uses algorithmic populism to influence and mobilise users of Instagram, and revealswill reveal how she plays a crucial role in the landscape of digital media and politics, both in Europe and in the USA.Eva Vlaardingerbroe .....

06/06/2025

Where do people go to consult 'the norm' when they attempt to write 'correctly'? In the working paper, Juan Eduardo Bonnin examines the production of normative discourse on language in a corpus of threads expressing normative doubts in the Internet forums.

By Juan Eduardo BonninAbstractThe main purpose of this paper is to discuss new forms of creating and observing linguistic norms in Spanish which abandon the idea of a central institutionally-defined normative discourse. Instead of accepting the linguistic instruments designed by the Royal Spanish .....