Digital Communication Disruption and Changing Social Relations in Global Media

Abstract

This study aimed to synthesize existing literature on how digital communication disruption has transformed media practices, social relationships, identity formation, and public participation in an increasingly globalized environment. A qualitative narrative literature review was conducted using scholarly books, journal articles, and other relevant secondary sources cited in the manuscript. The review examined and compared theoretical and empirical perspectives from digital sociology, networked communication, digital platform labor, online communities, and the broader social implications of digital technologies. The reviewed literature highlighted the expansion of communication across geographic boundaries, increased opportunities for collective participation and identity formation, and transformations in information production and dissemination. However, persistent challenges were also identified, including inequalities in digital access, privacy concerns, misinformation, algorithmically mediated labor, and uncompensated user contributions to commercial digital platforms. The findings further indicated that the social consequences of digital disruption were not uniform but varied according to technological accessibility, platform design, institutional structures, and individual circumstances. Digital communication disruption was understood as a dynamic, reciprocal relationship between technological infrastructures and evolving social practices rather than merely a consequence of technological advancement. The synthesis emphasized the importance of digital literacy, ethical platform governance, equitable technological access, and more rigorous empirical research to address emerging social challenges. As a narrative literature review, the study did not generate original survey data or establish causal relationships, and its conclusions should therefore be interpreted as a synthesis of existing scholarship rather than definitive empirical evidence.