The emergence of new digital communication platforms has had significant impacts. Audiences are transforming into media producers; new business models are emerging; social media campaigns create new forms of politics; digital culture highlights practices of sharing and participation; and data collection and analytics affect an increasing part of our lives.

This offers new possibilities for digital citizens, but it also raises new questions regarding classic notions of privacy and freedom of expression, and it renders information and digital infrastructure a key resource.

MA Digital Media and Society addresses current challenges of online communication and internet studies. It enables students to develop specialist knowledge in areas such as social media, big data, citizen journalism, digital culture, the creative industries, internet governance, and digital rights. It also provides a theoretical and methodological grounding in media and communication studies.

This course provides students with a thorough understanding of the current transformations and with the analytical skills to investigate digital media in the context of social, political and economic change. We ask how online communication is shaped by users, states and businesses, and how our society is, in turn, affected by digital media.

This course draws on the strength and diversity of Cardiff University’s staff, giving students a unique opportunity to work with academics whose research explores issues such as citizen journalism, online activism, big data, internet surveillance, internet governance and digital rights.