DMSF 2026 focuses on Temporalities of the Digital, inviting critical engagements with how media reshape our understandings of time, memory, and futurity. As digital technologies compress, accelerate, archive, and predict, how do these temporal shifts affect personal and collective lives?

In a world driven by real-time feeds, predictive algorithms, and ephemeral content, media no longer simply reflect time—they actively produce and govern it. This theme calls for a rethinking of digital temporalities: how time is stored, edited, erased, memorialized, and projected through media systems.

We invite papers and panels exploring themes such as:

Platform time: algorithms, feeds, and digital pace
Collective memory in networked archives
Slow media, digital fatigue, and attention economies
Predictive analytics and the politics of anticipation
Temporal inequalities in access and engagement
Ephemerality and permanence in digital culture
Futurity, speculation, and techno-optimism/techno-anxiety

We welcome contributions from media studies, cultural studies, STS, critical theory, and related fields. Let’s imagine how temporal thinking might unlock new pathways for digital justice, sustainability, and belonging.

All (General) Topics:

A. Digital Media Technologies and Future Scenarios

AI and the Future of Journalism, Art, and Creativity
Automation, Algorithms, and the Public Sphere
Metaverse, Mixed Reality, and Immersive Media
Blockchain and Decentralized Communication Systems
Smart Technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT)
Generative AI and Content Creation
Human-AI Interaction in Media Systems
Sensorial Media and Post-Screen Environments

B. Digital Society, Identity, and Cultural Transformation

Youth, Identity and Platform Culture
Influencers, Micro-celebrities, and Digital Self-Branding
Gender, Race, and Representation in Digital Spaces
Cultural Hybridization and Digital Diasporas
Digital Religion and Faith in Online Spaces
Digital Intimacies, Friendships and Affect
Meme Culture and Online Humor
Digital Grief and Memory Practices

C. Data, Surveillance, and Media Ethics

Datafication and the Quantified Society
Surveillance Capitalism and Algorithmic Control
Ethical Challenges in Digital Communication
Privacy, Consent and Data Sovereignty
Predictive Analytics and Social Scoring
Deepfakes, Synthetic Media, and Misinformation
Platform Governance and Corporate Responsibility
Transparency, Accountability and Tech Regulation

D. Public Sphere, Activism, and Digital Participation

Digital Activism, Hacktivism, and Political Mobilization
Civic Engagement in Platform Societies
Social Media and Protest Cultures
Disinformation, Censorship, and Content Moderation
Digital Authoritarianism and State Surveillance
Online Communities, Polarization, and Echo Chambers
Crisis Communication in the Age of Platforms
Participatory Media and Networked Counterpublics

E. Media Economics and Changing Working Practices

Platform Labor, Precarity, and the Gig Economy
Creator Economies, Monetization and Fan Cultures
Media Startups, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Media Industries in the Age of AI and Automation
Streaming Economies and Subscription Models
Digital Distribution and Global Media Flows
Journalism Business Models and Trust Challenges
Labor Ethics and Digital Content Moderation

F. New Pedagogies, Media Literacy, and Digital Education

Media Literacy for Uncertain Futures
AI in Education and Communication Studies
Critical Digital Citizenship and Youth Empowerment
Digital Learning Ecologies and Virtual Classrooms
Misinformation Literacy and Fact-Checking Pedagogies
Creative Coding and Computational Media for Education
Educational Influencers and Edutainment Content
Gamification, Serious Games, and Learning Analytics

G. Visual Culture, Narratives, and Digital Aesthetics

Digital Storytelling and Transmedia Practices
Visual Algorithms and the Aestheticization of Data
Platform Visualities: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube
Digital Photography, Archives, and Memory
Postcinema and Algorithmic Film Cultures
Meme Politics and Image Circulation
Filters, Beauty Apps, and Visual Self-Surveillance
Immersive Aesthetics in VR and AR Storytelling

H. Media History, Theory, and Epistemologies

Continuities and Ruptures in Media Historiography
Posthumanism, New Materialism, and Media Ontologies
Media Archaeology and Technocultural Traces
Theorizing Mediation in a Post-Digital World
Media Temporalities and Slow Media Movements
The History of Algorithms and Infrastructures
Philosophies of Technology and Communication
Rethinking Publics and Counterpublics in Digital Contexts

Theme Related Topics:

1. Platform Temporalities and Algorithmic Time

Real-time culture and always-on connectivity
Algorithmic time: recommendation engines, predictive timelines
Temporal governance and platform design
Temporal dissonance in global digital spaces (e.g., different time zones, update lags)

2. Memory, Archives, and Digital Preservation

Networked memory and the politics of remembrance
Social media as living archives
Digital forgetting, erasure, and the right to be forgotten
Datafication and the commodification of memory
AI-generated memory: deepfakes, synthetic recollections

3. Acceleration, Attention and Temporal Burnout

Accelerationism and the shrinking present
Attention economies and time scarcity
Slow media movements and digital minimalism
Temporal anxiety and information overload
Time management apps and the gamification of productivity

4. Futurity, Prediction, and Speculative Media

Predictive technologies and data-driven futures
Techno-optimism vs. techno-pessimism
Science fiction, digital utopias and dystopias
Environmental temporality: climate futures and digital activism
AI, automation and posthuman temporalities

5. Temporality, Identity, and Everyday Life

Digital rituals and temporal routines
Temporalities of self-presentation on social media
Queer, feminist, and decolonial approaches to time online
Intergenerational media use and temporal gaps
Temporalities of care, labor and domestic technologies

6. Media Archaeology and Technological Time

Media time vs. historical time
Obsolete technologies and retro temporalities
Ruins of the internet: dead links, abandoned platforms
Temporal aesthetics in glitch art, nostalgia media, vaporwave, etc.

Contact

Email

Phone

Studio

Send a Message

Contact

Email

Phone

Studio

Send a Message