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Societies
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Society and Communication in the Digital Era
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Society and Communication in the Digital Era

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 14166

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Claudiu Coman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Sciences and Communication, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Interests: communication; mass–media; society; education; political communication
Prof. Maria Cristina Bularca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Sciences and Communication, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Interests: online communication; education; society; institutional branding; city branding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In a society dominated by technological development, it is of great importance to understand how people and organizations make use of communication channels in order to interact with one another. In the context of communication processes, the digital tools that we have access to nowadays have managed to eradicate the barriers of time and space and to facilitate collaboration between people from all around the world. However, the question that remains is whether mass-media channels are the ones who change society or the development of society changes peoples’ way of communicating?

In this regard, this Special Issue aims to asses the way society is changing from the perspective of communication and interaction in the digital era. Hence, we invite researchers to submit original papers which address (but are not limited to) subjects such as: direct communication between individuals, organizational communication, mass communication, social media communication, traditional media and new media, and the role of digital tools in optimizing communication processes.

Prof. Dr. Claudiu Coman
Prof. Maria Cristina Bularca
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • online communication
  • communication challenges
  • traditional media versus new media
  • mass-media influence

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 537 KiB  
Article
E-Government—The Inclusive Way for the Future of Digital Citizenship
by Miroslava Tokovska, Vanessa Nolasco Ferreira, Anna Vallušova and Andrea Seberíni
Societies 2023, 13(6), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13060141 - 7 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2544
Abstract
eGovernment brings administration closer to its citizens and entrepreneurs, speeding up, facilitating, and increasing the transparency of administrative actions, consequently saving time and money and increasing efficiency. The study aims to explore the digital divide and digital citizenship in eGovernment usage in Slovakia [...] Read more.
eGovernment brings administration closer to its citizens and entrepreneurs, speeding up, facilitating, and increasing the transparency of administrative actions, consequently saving time and money and increasing efficiency. The study aims to explore the digital divide and digital citizenship in eGovernment usage in Slovakia and Norway according to their national statistics. The study adopted quantitative secondary data from Eurostat’s individual-level database, originating from the questionnaire ‘Information and Communications Technology (ICT) use in households and by individuals’. The analysis was applied to Norwegian and Slovak data from 2021, and the research sample consists of 2145 observations from Norway and 3252 observations from Slovakia. The results show that being a beneficiary of eGovernment services aligns with sociodemographic variables to a lower extent in Norway than in Slovakia. In Slovakia, the usage of the services varies not only according to the education of the user but also according to income, even if an individual has access to the Internet and sufficient skills. Due to the high level of development, and especially the inclusive nature of eGovernment, the Norwegian approach with the implementation of electronic identification (eID), digital mailbox, contact information, Altinn, and public common registers could serve as a benchmark for the further development of public digital services—not only in Slovakia but also for other countries. The conclusion shows that there is less inequity in the possibility to use eGovernment within individual social groups in Norway than in Slovakia. Norway manifests and emplaces strategies to guarantee critical judgment, ensuring the use of digital tools with safety. Slovakia, with lower levels of digital service users, tends to experience higher levels of digital divide which make the situation with eGovernment penetration even more difficult. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Society and Communication in the Digital Era)
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22 pages, 316 KiB  
Article
Digital Divide: An Inquiry on the Native Communities of Sabah
by Yi Xue Fang, Sarjit S. Gill, Puvaneswaran Kunasekaran, Mohd Roslan Rosnon, Ahmad Tarmizi Talib and Azureen Abd Aziz
Societies 2022, 12(6), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12060148 - 26 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4262
Abstract
ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the [...] Read more.
ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the digital gap among their people. In this study, Van Dijk’s theory of digital divide is explored on the four dimensions of digital divide (motivation, physical, skill, and usage) among the native people in Sabah. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted among 21 key informants from seven different ethnic groups to identify the issues of ICT development in their community. The findings showed that the existence of a digital gap between the rural and the urban area community caused the community to be saddled with the connection to telecommunication service, including landline and internet. Despite lacking, the native community were receptive and willing to adopt the ICT positively for their daily activities. While the theory of digital divide observes that the physical access divide is narrowing in most developed nations, this study shows that is not the case for developing countries, such as Malaysia. The inequality in digital access is prevalent among the natives in Sabah, which could result in the opportunity to participate in important democratic decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Society and Communication in the Digital Era)
15 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016: Intersection of Technology and Public Understanding of Science in the United States
by Brianne Suldovsky and William K. Hallman
Societies 2022, 12(5), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12050133 - 20 Sep 2022
Viewed by 2335
Abstract
Genetically modified (GM) foods have been commercially available in the US for more than two decades, yet Americans know very little about them. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016, food manufacturers will be required to disclose the [...] Read more.
Genetically modified (GM) foods have been commercially available in the US for more than two decades, yet Americans know very little about them. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016, food manufacturers will be required to disclose the presence of GM ingredients in their food products. How food manufacturers communicate with consumers about GM ingredients may have consequences for public understanding of GM technology. In Study 1, we explore how food manufacturers characterize GM ingredients within their food products on SmartLabel, a digital disclosure website established by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. In Study 2, we test the effect of those characterizations on perceived risks and benefits of GM food. Overall, we find that varying characterizations of GM ingredients do not significantly affect perceived risks and benefits. Post hoc analyses suggest that knowledge of GM technology and moral evaluation of GM technology significantly predict perceived risks and benefits. Implications for the public communication of GM technology are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Society and Communication in the Digital Era)
24 pages, 2861 KiB  
Article
A Communication Study of Young Adults and Online Dependency during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Patrícia Silveira, Ricardo Morais and Simone Petrella
Societies 2022, 12(4), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12040109 - 19 Jul 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4265
Abstract
People use digital media and the Internet daily. The time that young people spend connected to digital devices will increase as technology advances, which could have severe health risks and behavioral dependence implications. In the context of the current pandemic, in which socializing, [...] Read more.
People use digital media and the Internet daily. The time that young people spend connected to digital devices will increase as technology advances, which could have severe health risks and behavioral dependence implications. In the context of the current pandemic, in which socializing, studying, and working is changing, this question has become particularly relevant. Therefore, we propose to investigate the perceptions of young university adults—understood as generation Z—regarding their digital media practices, particularly during the pandemic, and to study the consequences of a permanent connection to these formats on the development of an addiction to the Internet. Our quantitative method approach applied questionnaires to a sample of 407 young university adults studying in Portugal. Through this survey, we could target a specific user group, quantify their consumption, and measure their online experiences. The results point to an increase in dependence on the Internet during confinement. While it is true that carrying out academic work is one of the reasons for this growth, it is noteworthy that the respondents sought the online world in a significan way to pass the time and escape their routine. In addition, they confess to experiencing some consequences of excessive use, such as sleep disturbances and adverse emotional reactions—such as instabilities, depression, and nervousness—when not online. We conclude that the pandemic has intensified online dependence. However, above all that, it is necessary to look at the mental and general health consequences that this excessive use has brought, which may not be visible or manifested by the youth in the short term, and may come to have consequences in the long term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Society and Communication in the Digital Era)
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