Social Media Digital Architectures : A Platform-First Approach to Political Communication and Participation
(2023) p.226-241- Abstract
- This chapter outlines the architectural approach to researching digital politics. An architectural approach focuses on platform structures and how they mediate, and can actively affect, users’ political agency online and offline. I first chart the lineage of architectural approaches in the social sciences, from discourse architectures to digital architectures. Then, I describe the process of ‘mapping,’ which theorizes how the functions of social media are built into empirically observable elements of platform design. To illustrate this mapping process, I present four functions of social media and map them onto various features of mainstream social media platforms. The purpose is to show how platform design features can have concrete... (More)
- This chapter outlines the architectural approach to researching digital politics. An architectural approach focuses on platform structures and how they mediate, and can actively affect, users’ political agency online and offline. I first chart the lineage of architectural approaches in the social sciences, from discourse architectures to digital architectures. Then, I describe the process of ‘mapping,’ which theorizes how the functions of social media are built into empirically observable elements of platform design. To illustrate this mapping process, I present four functions of social media and map them onto various features of mainstream social media platforms. The purpose is to show how platform design features can have concrete implications for political processes. Here, the political process under examination is citizens’ political participation. Ultimately, my intent with this chapter is argue against the use of conceptually vague concepts like affordances by providing an alternative and less ambiguous concept – namely, digital architectures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ab10d198-465a-45a9-95ed-15eadd694473
- author
- Bossetta, Michael LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Handbook of Digital Politics
- editor
- Coleman, Stephen and Sorensen, Lone
- edition
- 2nd
- pages
- 16 pages
- publisher
- Edward Elgar Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85181378790
- ISBN
- 9781800377578
- 9781800377585
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ab10d198-465a-45a9-95ed-15eadd694473
- date added to LUP
- 2023-10-11 01:37:56
- date last changed
- 2024-04-24 07:52:31
@inbook{ab10d198-465a-45a9-95ed-15eadd694473,
abstract = {{This chapter outlines the architectural approach to researching digital politics. An architectural approach focuses on platform structures and how they mediate, and can actively affect, users’ political agency online and offline. I first chart the lineage of architectural approaches in the social sciences, from discourse architectures to digital architectures. Then, I describe the process of ‘mapping,’ which theorizes how the functions of social media are built into empirically observable elements of platform design. To illustrate this mapping process, I present four functions of social media and map them onto various features of mainstream social media platforms. The purpose is to show how platform design features can have concrete implications for political processes. Here, the political process under examination is citizens’ political participation. Ultimately, my intent with this chapter is argue against the use of conceptually vague concepts like affordances by providing an alternative and less ambiguous concept – namely, digital architectures.}},
author = {{Bossetta, Michael}},
booktitle = {{Handbook of Digital Politics}},
editor = {{Coleman, Stephen and Sorensen, Lone}},
isbn = {{9781800377578}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{226--241}},
publisher = {{Edward Elgar Publishing}},
title = {{Social Media Digital Architectures : A Platform-First Approach to Political Communication and Participation}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/165628620/Bossetta_2023_Handbook_of_Digital_Politics_Pre-Print.pdf}},
year = {{2023}},
}