Opinion-forming processes on migration and digitalization in digital public spheres Project description

Epistemic interest and research question:

For many people, using digital media and communicating in digital public spheres has become a natural part of their everyday lives. In digital public spheres – as in other public spheres – negotiation processes take place on socially relevant topics. But what influence do these digital public spheres have on the opinion formation of the actors and users involved? These opinion-forming processes are examined on the basis of the topics of migration and digitalization, which exhibit strong potential for conflict and are of the highest social relevance.

Methods:

Exploratory-experimental research design with online group discussions, qualitative interviews and discourse analyses

Project duration:

2019 – 2022

Project design:

The research project empirically investigates how opinion-forming processes function in digital public spheres. To this end, digital sub-publics are created in which the topics of migration and digitalization are being discussed. In ethnographic interviews, participants are asked about their media use behavior, about their media productions, and about their attitudes towards migration and digitalization. In the digital sub-publics, online group discussions are stimulated, on the basis of which opinion-forming processes can be traced in detail. By repeating the online group discussions as well as the interviews with the participants over a longer time interval, it should be possible to ascertain possible changes in opinion.

Theoretically, the project is located in Cultural Studies. This links approaches from communication, cultural and migration studies. Communication is conceptualized as an everyday cultural component of the reception and production of meaning. Meanings change precisely in this interplay of reception and production. Information and knowledge are being selected, reflected, anticipated or falsified. Within these complex communication processes, opinions are confirmed, challenged and changed. Self-identification and identification with others, avoidance strategies and targeted agitations are only a few of the conceivable observations in the analysis of opinion-forming processes. The analysis that focuses on specific topic areas not only enables a theorization of two socially relevant negotiation processes, but also provides insights into their interconnectedness: To what extent do digital public spheres shape negotiations on migration compared to traditional media?

ZFM project team:

Klaus-Dieter Altmeppen and Simon Goebel