Media ecology and practices of digital pollution

The paper addresses the issue of digital pollution from the perspective of media-ecological theory. Such an approach is useful in addressing the ideas of "pollution£ and "toxicity" (two words that are indeed part of the ecological semantics) in relation to communication in the public sphere, which today is seen as a crucial site of challenges for democracies. First, the paper traces the theoretical framework of media ecology and how the environmental metaphor helps to frame the problem of maintaining a moral balance in communication. Then, it delves into the issue of media pollution by expanding the environmental perspective through the discussion of social systemic and socio-anthropological approaches. The focus on the system/environment distinction, typical of the social systemic approach, can complement the ecological paradigm in defining the 2ecological threats" attributed to digital space and technologies. The socio-anthropological approach allows a better understanding of how digital pollution relates to the maintenance of social order and the socio-cultural tensions generated along the boundaries of digital practices.

Keywords: media ecology; digital pollution; systemic theory; general ecology.

Giovanni Boccia Artieri, Ecologia dei media e pratiche di digital pollution in "SOCIOLOGIA DELLA COMUNICAZIONE " 64/2022, pp 43-58, DOI: 10.3280/SC2022-064003