Understanding Twenty-First Century Media Uses and Purposes

This project will investigate why Australians choose to use the media available to them and how they select their media diet to assess the implications of the changed cultural roles media play in our lives and the consequences of a fractured media environment. 

How we use media technologies and content today are radically changed from when core theories about the role of media in society were established and media content was widely shared at a national level. The program of research will use multiple methods to explore how Australians engage an unprecedented range of content and sources. The project will generate the knowledge needed to address pressing sociocultural issues of our time such as social cohesion, misinformation, and belonging.