Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Internet Culture and Global Society
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish
Teaching staff
Students may visit the course instructor during the following office hours: Mondays from 10:00 to 14:00 and Thursdays from 13:00 to 15:00. To ensure the instructor’s availability, students are advised to send an email in advance.
Introduction
The course provides students with a theoretical and conceptual framework to understand and critically analyse Internet culture and its impact on contemporary global society. By connecting theory with contemporary examples from social media, AI platforms, and other digital environments, students develop a conceptual vocabulary that enables them to identify and interpret the social and cultural phenomena that characterise their everyday digital lives. The course examines how platforms, algorithms, and digital cultures shape behaviours, identities, values, communication, and politics, while developing students’ ability to critically reflect on the structures and ethical dilemmas of contemporary Internet culture.
Pre-course requirements
No.
Objectives
- To provide students with a theoretical and conceptual framework to understand and analyse Internet culture and its impact on global society.
- To provide students with tools to understand how digital media influence individual, social, political, and cultural behaviours.
- To enhance students’ digital fluency and their ability to identify and interpret the values, norms, and social codes underlying Internet content.
- To develop an understanding of the underlying structures governing major social media platforms and their implications for users, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
- To introduce students to the latest trends in digital platforms and algorithmic changes, and to how these are shaping the future of social media.
- To provide students with a conceptual framework that enables them to critically reflect on the ethical, social, and political dilemmas associated with Internet culture.
Learning outcomes of the subject
- To analyse audience behaviour and characteristics in the contemporary audiovisual environment.
- To contextualise major audiovisual works from their origins in order to understand their influence on the moral values of twentieth- and twenty-first-century societies.
- To explain the aesthetic evolution of audiovisual artistic works throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
- To recognise the dynamics and influences of a globalised world, as well as the impact of the Internet on society, to create audiovisual content that appeals to diverse audiences.
- To understand the economic dimension of the audiovisual sector and the management of audiovisual companies.
- To understand the legal and institutional framework within which professional practice in the audiovisual sector takes place.
- To identify the legal framework governing the production and distribution of information and audiovisual content, including intellectual property and image rights.
- To remain up to date with the contemporary broadcasting landscape and streaming platforms to understand how they adapt to changing audience demands.
- To identify the leading contemporary content creators and their target audiences to understand their influence on different generations.
- To understand the social impact of the diversification of television series available on streaming platforms and to analyse their influence on the values and subcultures of the twenty-first century.
- To develop aesthetic criteria for understanding, evaluating, and relating audiovisual works, while cultivating artistic judgement and sensitivity.
- To analyse contemporary and digital culture by identifying artistic avant-garde movements and their historical evolution, recognising emerging trends, and identifying the principal references and styles of audiovisual language to understand their impact on human communication.
Syllabus
- Overview of the history of the Internet and key concepts related to digital media.
- Sociological, psychological, and anthropological theories and concepts applied to understanding Internet culture, digital media, and their impact on global society.
- Social media platforms (1): history of social media, user-generated content, self-presentation, and networked publics.
- Social media platforms (2): the consequences of TikTok’s algorithm for creators, platform dependency, AI slop, and the impact of clipping-based marketing techniques.
- Technological optimism and pessimism.
- Online communities and social networks. Individualism and communities on the Internet.
- Visual digital media: visual language and the analysis of the social meaning of images and videos.
- Digital emotions: affect and online hate speech, algorithmic structures, and emotional engagement.
- Power, politics, and the Internet: digital social movements, power imbalances, and digital hierarchies.
- Datafication, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Assessment: 70% class participation and 30% examination.
Students will be assessed on their ability to use the concepts and theories presented throughout the course as tools for reflecting on how Internet culture and digital media influence society and/or individuals.
Examination:
Each student (or pair of students) may choose a course topic on which they will produce a 10–15-minute audiovisual essay. The essay must include sound, text and/or spoken discourse, as well as moving and/or still images.
Students will be assessed on their ability to use the concepts and theories presented in class to reflect on the chosen topic and its relationship to Internet culture.
Bibliography and resources
Lindgren, Simon. (2025). Digital media and society (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.