Innovative methods for studying digitalization and its social impacts

In this episode, we sit down with Prof. Tommaso Venturini, a social scientist from the Media Lab at the University of Geneva, to explore how social media is transforming our information landscape. He discusses his interdisciplinary approach to studying digital technologies, combining quantitative analysis of large datasets with qualitative deep dives into specific cases. We explore the evolution of internet culture—from the early promise of horizontal, democratic communication to today's algorithm-driven attention economy.

Tommaso gives his perspective on how recommendation algorithms have replaced traditional media gatekeepers, shifting the challenge from "access to speaking" to "access to listening" and why we should move past viewing young people as victims of technology (a pattern repeated with TV and video games) and focus on smarter regulation instead. He explains how internet culture resembles oral traditions, where information requires constant repetition to persist, and why the study of folklore can help understand internet subcultures and conspiracy theories. He also explains how he engages with citizens through his work at the Public Data Lab and Citizen Facts project.