One of the central interests of media and communication research is how technologies and communication media are involved in social and cultural change. Often such studies are rather one-sided because they disregard questions of continuity, which can lead to inadequate analyses and exaggerated claims of change. Three categories of reasons for this bias towards change are identified through a literature review. Crucially, since continuity remains an undervalued concern, we lack sophisticated theorizations and analytical approaches to study it adequately. In response, this article presents a taxonomy of continuity based on a thematic analysis of 74 articles in leading communication journals. The five observed dimensions of continuity offer scholars the vocabulary and a conceptual framework to study continuity more systematically as a complex and multi-dimensional issue. This contribution serves as a starting point towards building a theory of change and continuity, and suggestions for necessary future work are given.
%0 Journal Article
%1 10.1093/ct/qtac022
%A Driessens, Olivier
%D 2022
%J Communication Theory
%K communication-theory literature-review technology
%N 1
%P 32-41
%R 10.1093/ct/qtac022
%T Not Everything Is Changing: On the Relative Neglect and Meanings of Continuity in Communication and Social Change Research
%U https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtac022
%V 33
%X One of the central interests of media and communication research is how technologies and communication media are involved in social and cultural change. Often such studies are rather one-sided because they disregard questions of continuity, which can lead to inadequate analyses and exaggerated claims of change. Three categories of reasons for this bias towards change are identified through a literature review. Crucially, since continuity remains an undervalued concern, we lack sophisticated theorizations and analytical approaches to study it adequately. In response, this article presents a taxonomy of continuity based on a thematic analysis of 74 articles in leading communication journals. The five observed dimensions of continuity offer scholars the vocabulary and a conceptual framework to study continuity more systematically as a complex and multi-dimensional issue. This contribution serves as a starting point towards building a theory of change and continuity, and suggestions for necessary future work are given.
@article{10.1093/ct/qtac022,
abstract = {One of the central interests of media and communication research is how technologies and communication media are involved in social and cultural change. Often such studies are rather one-sided because they disregard questions of continuity, which can lead to inadequate analyses and exaggerated claims of change. Three categories of reasons for this bias towards change are identified through a literature review. Crucially, since continuity remains an undervalued concern, we lack sophisticated theorizations and analytical approaches to study it adequately. In response, this article presents a taxonomy of continuity based on a thematic analysis of 74 articles in leading communication journals. The five observed dimensions of continuity offer scholars the vocabulary and a conceptual framework to study continuity more systematically as a complex and multi-dimensional issue. This contribution serves as a starting point towards building a theory of change and continuity, and suggestions for necessary future work are given.},
added-at = {2023-02-27T01:44:35.000+0100},
author = {Driessens, Olivier},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2880a454140860f772114e9cf71db150f/jpooley},
doi = {10.1093/ct/qtac022},
eprint = {https://academic.oup.com/ct/article-pdf/33/1/32/48958554/qtac022.pdf},
interhash = {4eb560b353ba6b63350a0dfb9f3274d1},
intrahash = {880a454140860f772114e9cf71db150f},
issn = {1468-2885},
journal = {Communication Theory},
keywords = {communication-theory literature-review technology},
month = {10},
number = 1,
pages = {32-41},
timestamp = {2023-02-27T01:44:35.000+0100},
title = {Not Everything Is Changing: On the Relative Neglect and Meanings of Continuity in Communication and Social Change Research},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtac022},
volume = 33,
year = 2022
}