This paper uses a critical interdisciplinary method to explore the process of redefinition of presence within the discourses of the metaverse and VR, particularly by Big Tech or platform capitalism companies marketing of virtual travel media. For this end, critical discourse analysis is applied in the context of qualitative platform studies. The paper examines the use of digital means to subvert scale and transcend the dimensions at which human contact, social and political action and events typically occur. This raises the question: what exactly is being mediated and which aspects of place are being re-mediated? Alongside a widespread belief that a media culture of distance and passive reception has ended, the promises and perils of the virtual are linked to the hopes of redefining and continuing community, both local and global, and (dis)ordering the social. Lastly, the paper identifies, through a speculative critique method, two parallel trends in the process of virtualizing places and spaces designing a typology for virtualization or tele-immersiveness: an ontological/epistemological mode (representational or correlational) and a periled sociopolitical mode, and oposes them to the concept and pratices of operational materialism.

This research aims to reveal the social representation of voluntary childlessness (VC) on Instagram, focusing on how individuals construct and defend their childfree identity in a digital visual environment. Grounded in Social Representations Theory (SRT), the analysis examines 212 posts from Instagram accounts dedicated to VC content. Using netnography—a qualitative method for studying online communities—and thematic analysis, recurring patterns in how VC is communicated and negotiated are explored. Posts were selected based on relevant hashtags (e.g., #childfreebychoice) and representation-focused content, excluding promotional or antinatalist material. The analysis identifies three key mechanisms of representation: anchoring (e.g., the use of terms like “childfree” instead of “childless”), objectification (e.g., memes that visualize social stigmas), and repudiation (e.g., direct responses to common stigmas such as regret or selfishness). Findings demonstrate how Instagram functions as a space for identity performance, defensive communication, and resistance to dominant pronatalist narratives. This research contributes to digital representation scholarship by showing how platform affordances and user-generated content reshape marginalized social identities and offers practical implications for understanding how visual media enables counter-narratives that challenge traditional norms around parenthood.

Esta reseña examina News Nerds: Institutional Change in Journalism, de Allie Kosterich, poniendo de manifiesto su contribución al estudio de la evolución del periodismo en la era digital. Se subraya la figura emergente de los “nerds de las noticias” como nuevos agentes clave de esta transformación, en su integración de capacidades técnicas y narrativas. La crítica valora el enfoque teórico y la estructura analítica de la autora, pero también señala algunos puntos débiles, como su excesivo foco en redacciones de gran escala en Estados Unidos y una atención limitada a contextos diversos o a los dilemas éticos que plantea la digitalización del periodismo.

The present study investigates the evolution of public institutional communication in the European Union in the context of accelerating digital transformation. It introduces a conceptual framework for understanding the emergence of a ‘post-digital’ European public sphere, where digital technologies –rather than becoming obsolete– are deeply integrated into human-machine interactions. A key driver of this shift is generative artificial intelligence (AI), which increasingly mediates public discourse and governance processes. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on expert interviews, examining how AI-driven systems are transforming institutional communication practices and reshaping citizen participation within the EU’s multilevel governance and regulatory environment. Findings show that EU institutions are progressively integrating AI tools, such as chatbots, into their communication strategies to enhance efficiency and citizen engagement. However, this transformation raises critical challenges, including algorithmic bias, transparency, ethical governance, and democratic accountability. The discussion addresses the epistemological implications of AI integration, highlighting how digital automation is influencing both theoretical approaches and research methodologies in the social sciences. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the socio-technical dynamics underpinning the EU’s evolving public communication and the broader consequences of AI-driven governance in a post-digital context.

El phubbing, la conducta de ignorar las interacciones cara-a-cara por usar el smartphone, se ha normalizado entre los jóvenes y está vinculado al uso excesivo del smartphone y las redes sociales. Se ha evidenciado que estas últimas tratan de captar la atención mediante herramientas persuasivas como las notificaciones o técnicas conductistas ofreciendo recompensas variables, que refuerzan hábitos compulsivos. Este estudio analiza la relación entre el phubbing y variables sociodemográficas, rendimiento académico, malestar psicológico e impulsividad en una muestra de 783 estudiantes de la Universidad de Barcelona. Mediante la Escala de Phubbing, el Inventario Breve de Síntomas y la Escala de Impulsividad de Barratt, los resultados revelan que el phubbing no está significativamente relacionado con factores sociodemográficos ni con el rendimiento académico. Se observó una fuerte asociación del phubbing con altos niveles de impulsividad, ansiedad [OR=1.041, p=0.004] y falta de atención [OR=1,081, p=0,002], siendo estas dos últimas variables predictoras del fenómeno. Estos hallazgos refuerzan la idea de que el uso de redes sociales en los smartphones contribuye a la compulsión por revisar constantemente el dispositivo, afectando el bienestar emocional y las relaciones interpersonales. Es necesario diseñar estrategias educativas y de prevención para mitigar sus efectos negativos en los estudiantes universitarios.

The rationality of modern aesthetics is not limited to art but extends to news. However, an ideological approach to news aesthetics remains, at best, unfulfilled. By applying a global South approach, this paper offers an alternative understanding of how television platforms employ aesthetic value. It first offers an ideological description of news aesthetics—that is, the conversion of an incident into a media event by the creation of popular appeal, and its mythification in society. By situating the media prosumer in this ecosystem, it exposes the bond between presented beauty and absented truth, arguing that this conflicted relationship marks the essence of news aesthetics. This theory-building paper explores the relationship between aesthetics and the production of news. Based on this premise, four features of news aesthetics are propounded. Using a case study, it illustrates how these features operate in tandem to suture a media prosumer’s truth that may be quite different from reality.

Transgressions triggered by social media influencers’ inappropriate statements lead to social media hypes. The online public arena in Romania was dominated by a ‘stretch mark’ scandal when a famous influencer (George Buhnici) body shamed women. His controversial remarks urged a wave of outrage in the digitalized environment. Applying a sociocultural approach to character assassination and a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, we aimed at identifying how the social media influencer (SMI) was represented in the online users’ comments and how the commenters discursively represented themselves. The main findings showed that name calling, ridicule, social identity denial, and disgracing were the four main character attack strategies present in the cancelation supporters’ representation of the influencer as the ‘other’. In their attempt to protect the body shamer (the influencer) from losing his social capital, cancelation resisters employed minimizing, bolstering, transcendence (freedom of speech), and attacking the accuser (the canceler) as main strategies to represent the influencer as ‘one of us’. Online users adopted three main roles in their discursive self-representation: delegitimators of collective Us, experiencers, and social advisers. In the end, the study provides a threefold relationship framework for the cancelation process triggered by social media influencers’ transgressions.

Examinar la gestión que las parejas hacen de las discrepancias por los estándares domésticos resulta fundamental para comprender la persistente brecha de género en la división del trabajo doméstico. En base a esto, este artículo tiene como objetivo construir una tipología de parejas enfocada en analizar los efectos que dichas discrepancias causan en el reparto de las tareas. A partir de entrevistas semiestructuradas se han identificado tres perfiles de parejas que muestran diferentes formas de resolver los desacuerdos sobre la organización del hogar. Los resultados confirman que los desacuerdos por los estándares afectan al reparto de tareas. Asimismo, también se ha constatado que la manera en que mujeres y varones interiorizan las normas sobre la organización del hogar está condicionado por la socialización previa en la familia de origen. Como conclusión, en todos los tipos de parejas el reparto doméstico se veía afectado por las diferencias de estándares, excepto en aquellas que compartían criterios similares desde el inicio de la convivencia o tendían a una alta especialización en el reparto. Por tanto, las dificultades para gestionar los desacuerdos por los estándares domésticos revelan uno de los aspectos menos visibles de la reproducción de las desigualdades de género.

While digital media have become integral parts of young adults' everyday lives, it remains unclear whether health-focused media, like health apps, hold the same importance. This study explores health app usage patterns among young adults in Portugal, analysing tracking data from 342 participants over 90 days. The main findings reveal that contrary to global trends, engagement with health apps remains relatively low. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased adoption of certain public health-related apps, this surge did not translate into sustained engagement. Gender and regional disparities were the most evident, with women and young adults in Lisbon showing higher usage levels. Additionally, the study highlights that a portion of the health app usage is connected with the COVID-19 context, where those apps function more as tools for navigating institutional requirements—such as COVID-19 certifications—rather than for sustained self-care practices. Our findings challenge assumptions about the widespread adoption of health-tracking technologies and emphasise the need for further research on sociocultural factors shaping digital health engagement in Portugal and beyond.