Seeking to better understand the interaction between users and new media and among individuals within the ambit of new media, this two-volume set systematically investigates the new media user both as an integral individual in networks and as an individual in mediatized time and space. The first volume revisits the multiple ways in which new media users have mutated from a passive "audience" to basic units within networks, acting as both nodes in communication networks, social networks, and service networks and a link between the three. The author unravels new landscapes of communication in the new media era, profound changes in social relationship, and the productive roles that users play in the network economy. The second volume elucidates the mediatized human lives and self-expressions embodied in key new media phenomena and explicates how reality and virtual life converge and interact. It also touches upon new forms of mediatization in the digital age and the approaching age of artificial intelligence. This title will be a must-read for scholars, students and media professionals interested in the topics of internet communication, new media usage and media and society as a whole.

As the second volume of a two-volume set on new media users in China, this book approaches the subject from a micro level. examining the mediatized existence and life of new media users in the digital age and the approaching age of artificial intelligence. To further explore the interaction between people and new media, this volume focuses on the idea of the "mediatized survival" of new media users. By analyzing user behaviour and practice in mediatized time and space, including selfies, photo retouching, memes, online videos, social media posts, video conferences, and WeChat red packets, the author elucidates the mediatized self-expression embodied in these key phenomena and shows how reality and virtual life converge and interact. The final two chapters discuss drivers of new forms of mediatization surrounding data and cyborgs, exploring the impact of algorithms on people and the outlook for human-machine relationships. This title will be a must-read for scholars, students and media professionals interested in the topics of internet communication, new media usage and media and society as a whole.

As the first volume of a two-volume set on new media users in China, this book approaches the subject from a macro level by regarding users as constructive nodes within networks, thereby giving insights into the interaction between users and new media and among individuals within the ambit of new media. The author revisits the roles of the typical new media user that has changed from that of a passive "audience member" to a basic unit of the network itself, acting as both a node in the communication network, social network, and service network and also a link between the three. In viewing users as nodes functioning in communication networks and social networks, this volume unravels the new landscapes of communication of the new media era and the consequent profound changes in social relationships, interpersonal connection modes and different methods of interaction. In terms of their role in service networks resting upon the network economy, new media users not only are consumers with personalized needs, but also serve as service guides, resource contributors, and even major productive forces. This title will be a must-read for scholars, students and media professionals interested in the topics of internet communication, new media usage, and media and society as a whole.