Communication Social Change Overview

Principles

Definition

Communication social change is an interdisciplinary research field and academic concept that investigates the intricate ways communication processes influence, facilitate, impede, or are themselves shaped by transformations in social structures, norms, practices, and power relations. It examines the role of various forms of communication, from interpersonal to mass and digital media, in driving or responding to societal-level change, often focusing on intentional efforts towards specific outcomes like development, advocacy, or reform.

Ontological type

Theoretical Foundations

Core Approaches

Power and Inequality

Key developments

Key Figures

Digital Public Sphere Governance era

José van Dijck [1], affiliated with the University of Amsterdam [3] and the Amsterdam University of the Arts [4] during this era, emerges as a central analyst of platformed social life. van Dijck's contributions in this era include The culture of connectivity: a critical history of social media [5], Understanding Social Media Logic [6], and Facebook as a Tool for Producing Sociality and Connectivity [7], illustrating how platform logics and attention economies reshape public discourse. Thomas Poell [2] is associated with the University of Amsterdam [3] during this era, and his contribution centers on co-authoring Understanding Social Media Logic [6], a foundational piece for analyzing digital public discourse. Together with van Dijck [1], Poell's work on Understanding Social Media Logic [6] helped map online action repertoires to offline civic engagement, shaping governance-focused interpretations of the 2010–2016 digital public sphere.

Computational Polarization Dynamics era

Stefan Stieglitz [1], associated with University of Münster [3] and University of Duisburg-Essen [4], emerged as a central voice in the Computational Polarization Dynamics era. His work, Sense‑making in social media during extreme events [6], advances understanding of how crisis discourse is shaped by algorithmic feeds and user cognition, highlighting why rapid diffusion of divisive content necessitated new analytic tools in this era. Christian Ehnis [2], associated with The University of Sydney [5], likewise situates computational analysis within this era's cross‑disciplinary agenda. Through the same Sense‑making in social media during extreme events [6], Christian Ehnis [2]'s contributions underscore how cognitive‑emotional contagion and memetic propagation operate in platformed discourse, reinforcing the need for detection and analytic interventions in polarization dynamics.

Platform-Mediated Public Sphere era

Matthew Gentzkow [1], affiliated with Harvard University [3] and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [4], is a leading economist active in the Platform-Mediated Public Sphere era. In The Welfare Effects of Social Media [6], Gentzkow [1] analyzes welfare trade-offs of social platforms and shows how algorithmic curation and moderation reshape information flows, underscoring the policy relevance of these dynamics for this era. Hunt Allcott [2], connected to Harvard University [3] and Stanford University [5], co-authors this work that has influenced debates about platform welfare in the Platform-Mediated Public Sphere era. Allcott [2] helps quantify the welfare effects of platform-mediated information flows through The Welfare Effects of Social Media [6], informing moderation design and information-policy levers that are central to public-sphere integrity in this era.