Guidelines for the cultural and political integration of the mass media society into the network society

Abstract

 The purpose of this work is to verify whether the digital culture is continuing the pattern of mass culture, which is disseminated by analogue means, or if it is initiating a new cultural model in digital networks. If the latter is the case, it will also be verified whether or not different models correspond to different frameworks for the institutionalization of political activity, and what type of links connect the two. Methodology: The observations must verify whether there is a change of trend in the consumption of the culture industry in a given period. The methodology collects homogeneous statistical data that allow for the verification, both comparatively and quantitatively, of whether a direction is maintained during a prolonged interval. Three hypotheses are discussed: continuity between mass culture and digital culture; stability of mass culture through the convergence between television audiences and networks through different media; and discontinuity due to a rupture between the networks and the preceding mass culture. Results and conclusions: Conclusions: the available data confirm convergence as a consistent hypothesis. Television audiences increased until 2013. Since February 2013, a more evident fall has been observed among the target groups of children and adolescents than among the mature and adult target groups, with an increase in television audiences among seniors. The fluctuations are insufficient to identify a significant decline.