A CRITICAL APPROACH TO MEDIA STUDIES: EXAMPLES OF #HASHTAG CAMPAIGNS

Abstract

Media research and theories have been criticized for being Euro and US-centric. Important concepts like freedom and democracy have been defined mainly from western perspectives with grand narratives about the social impact of the media. Hence, media have been assimilated to powerful agents which manipulate audiences and mediacentrism has been the dominant frame through which media effects has been understood. In a context where media has become ubiquitous, even in the Global South, there is the need to revisit our understanding of the impact of media on society. Based on the contemporary realities of mediated societies and focusing on #hashtag movements, the paper argues that there is the need to re-align key concepts of media studies in order to understand contemporary communicative practice. Through an exploration of #hashtag movements like #MeToo which has had a global impact raising awareness about sexual harassment and violence, #rhodesmustfall in South Africa which denounced institutional racism and called for the decolonization of university curricula in Africa and the #fightfortruthmu movement to support investigative journalism and truth in Mauritius, this paper proposes an outline on what could be a critical reflection of the fields of media based on human experience and reciprocity.