From Shared Screens to Split Feeds: Generational Belonging Under Conditions of Media Fragmentation
(2026) MKVM13 20261Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
- Abstract
- This thesis examines how young people form generational identity under conditions of platformised fragmentation. Classic theories of collective memory and generational identity assume that young people grow up within a shared cultural environment. Yet, contemporary media systems are increasingly personalised, algorithmically curated, and unevenly distributed. This study aims to understand how young people make sense of themselves as a generation when the cultural reference points that once sustained shared meaning have become unstable.
Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with twelve young adults, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis to explore how participants navigate fragmented media environments and how these experiences... (More) - This thesis examines how young people form generational identity under conditions of platformised fragmentation. Classic theories of collective memory and generational identity assume that young people grow up within a shared cultural environment. Yet, contemporary media systems are increasingly personalised, algorithmically curated, and unevenly distributed. This study aims to understand how young people make sense of themselves as a generation when the cultural reference points that once sustained shared meaning have become unstable.
Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with twelve young adults, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis to explore how participants navigate fragmented media environments and how these experiences shape their sense of belonging to a generational “we.” The analysis identifies four themes. Mechanisms of Shared Attention shows that moments of synchronicity still occur. Still, they emerge through different infrastructures: heavy users experience synchronicity through algorithmic repetition, while low users experience it through news saturation. Fragmented Cultural Fluency reveals how micro‐disconnects arise when cultural reference points no longer overlap, yet these disconnects do not undermine generational belonging; instead, they become part of how young people understand their place within their cohort. Platform‐Mediated Sociality demonstrates that fragmentation reshapes relational rhythms and expectations, producing distinct but equally valid modes of connection for heavy and low users. Affective Dimensions of Media Engagement highlights how emotional atmospheres – immersive and saturated for heavy users, quieter and more predictable for low users – shape how participants interpret meaning and relate to peers.
Across these themes, a consistent pattern emerges: young people’s experiences of being “in sync” and “out of sync” are shaped not by shared cultural content but by the shared conditions of navigating fragmented media environments. Participants still recognised themselves as part of a generational “we,” but this recognition emerged through new mechanisms: fleeting synchronicity, awareness of micro‐disconnects, platform‐specific modes of connection, and shared emotional atmospheres.
I argue that generational identity under fragmentation is not disappearing but transforming. It is no longer anchored in common cultural materials but in the collective experience of navigating a media landscape that is fast, uneven, and emotionally unpredictable. Generational belonging now forms through shared interpretive challenges rather than shared texts. This reconceptualisation challenges long‐standing sociological assumptions about shared cultural environments and demonstrates that a generational “we” can emerge even when cultural materials are unstable or unevenly distributed.
The thesis contributes to sociology and media and communications by showing that fragmentation reshapes not only exposure and issue agendas but also the symbolic, relational, and emotional foundations of belonging. Understanding this shift matters in order to grasp how young people build meaning, connection, and community in a world where the cultural ground beneath them is constantly moving. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9233365
- author
- Jessen, Julie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MKVM13 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9233365
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-16 13:43:04
- date last changed
- 2026-06-16 13:43:04
@misc{9233365,
abstract = {{This thesis examines how young people form generational identity under conditions of platformised fragmentation. Classic theories of collective memory and generational identity assume that young people grow up within a shared cultural environment. Yet, contemporary media systems are increasingly personalised, algorithmically curated, and unevenly distributed. This study aims to understand how young people make sense of themselves as a generation when the cultural reference points that once sustained shared meaning have become unstable.
Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with twelve young adults, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis to explore how participants navigate fragmented media environments and how these experiences shape their sense of belonging to a generational “we.” The analysis identifies four themes. Mechanisms of Shared Attention shows that moments of synchronicity still occur. Still, they emerge through different infrastructures: heavy users experience synchronicity through algorithmic repetition, while low users experience it through news saturation. Fragmented Cultural Fluency reveals how micro‐disconnects arise when cultural reference points no longer overlap, yet these disconnects do not undermine generational belonging; instead, they become part of how young people understand their place within their cohort. Platform‐Mediated Sociality demonstrates that fragmentation reshapes relational rhythms and expectations, producing distinct but equally valid modes of connection for heavy and low users. Affective Dimensions of Media Engagement highlights how emotional atmospheres – immersive and saturated for heavy users, quieter and more predictable for low users – shape how participants interpret meaning and relate to peers.
Across these themes, a consistent pattern emerges: young people’s experiences of being “in sync” and “out of sync” are shaped not by shared cultural content but by the shared conditions of navigating fragmented media environments. Participants still recognised themselves as part of a generational “we,” but this recognition emerged through new mechanisms: fleeting synchronicity, awareness of micro‐disconnects, platform‐specific modes of connection, and shared emotional atmospheres.
I argue that generational identity under fragmentation is not disappearing but transforming. It is no longer anchored in common cultural materials but in the collective experience of navigating a media landscape that is fast, uneven, and emotionally unpredictable. Generational belonging now forms through shared interpretive challenges rather than shared texts. This reconceptualisation challenges long‐standing sociological assumptions about shared cultural environments and demonstrates that a generational “we” can emerge even when cultural materials are unstable or unevenly distributed.
The thesis contributes to sociology and media and communications by showing that fragmentation reshapes not only exposure and issue agendas but also the symbolic, relational, and emotional foundations of belonging. Understanding this shift matters in order to grasp how young people build meaning, connection, and community in a world where the cultural ground beneath them is constantly moving.}},
author = {{Jessen, Julie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{From Shared Screens to Split Feeds: Generational Belonging Under Conditions of Media Fragmentation}},
year = {{2026}},
}