Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 48, Issue 1, 2020

Al een paar jaar geleden stelde Mark Deuze dat we niet mét de media, maar ín de media leven. Zeggen dat we mét media leven wekt immers de indruk dat we ook zonder kunnen en dat is een illusie, zo legt de hoogleraar Mediastudies uit in zijn boek Media life. Omdat het menselijk leven zo verweven is geraakt met media is deze onderlinge interactie tussen mens, media en maatschappij niet altijd meer zichtbaar. Net zoals een vis zich niet bewust is van het water om zich heen, zijn mensen niet (altijd) bewust van de onderlinge relaties tussen media, mens en maatschappij. Met het samenstellen van dit eerste nummer van 2020 moest ik aan het werk van Mark Deuze denken. We leven ín de media, ook als dit niet altijd even zichtbaar is.

This article explores the interrelation between privacy concerns and participation needs with citizens of the smart city Antwerp. This research makes use of the privacy framework by Van Zoonen (2016) to frame five applications of the smart city Antwerp, differing by use of data (personal-impersonal) and purpose (service-surveillance). The findings show that respondents express the need for more information about the concept, its applications and privacy consequences. The possibility to evaluate applications and give feedback is generally seen as an important way of participation, whereas almost none declare to feel motivated to be involved in the development of new smart city applications. Information and consultation needs are higher in case of privacy sensitive smart city applications. These perspectives are of use to smart city governments and developers to adapt participation initiatives to citizens’ needs.

This article examines Flemish parents’ opinion on the depiction of homosexual characters in children’s television. Based on twenty interviews, three categories were composed in relation to different gradations of acceptance. The first category consists of parents who found it necessary to represent homosexuality on television, so that children learn from a young age that this minority group exists. The second category experienced feelings of aversion when two people of the same sex had physical contact with each other. This was considered unnecessary or inappropriate, particularly for young children. The third category includes parents who criticized the amount of homosexual characters on contemporary television, calling it ‘positive discrimination’. In sum, Flemish parents approve the depiction of homosexual characters on children’s television, yet opinions vary on how television should portray them. Physical contact between two people of the same sex, in particular, is perceived as a possible threat to ‘childhood innocence’.

Research has shown that often, the effectiveness of anti-alcohol mass media campaigns is not experimentally tested, meaning that it is unclear whether such campaigns are successful in altering alcohol-related cognitions. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether the Dutch NIX18-campaign is successful in influencing implicit associations (measured with an affective priming task) and explicit cognitions (i.e., alcohol outcome expectancies) concerning alcohol. Additionally, a possible relationship with negative evaluations of the campaign and psychological reactance was investigated. Participants implicit and explicit cognitions were measured before they were presented with either three NIX18-campaign movies or no movies (control condition). Subsequently, their implicit and explicit cognitions were measured again. Results show that whether participants watched the movies or not had no influence on implicit associations but increased alcohol outcome expectancies. No effect on evaluation and reactance was found. Possible theoretical and practical explanations are discussed.

The number of organizations that use social network sites (SNSs) for internal communication is growing rapidly. However, little is known about the use and perceptions of SNSs in member organizations, such as voluntary sports clubs (VSCs). In a survey, members of the Dutch VSCs (n = 129) were asked about their use and perceptions of their clubs’ social network sites (ClubSNSs) and aspects of involvement with their club. Foremost, ClubSNSs are characterized as informative, interactive, and entertaining channels, as indicated by significant relationships with the content types on ClubSNSs. Furthermore, content about sports, the club, and the members are important. Finally, ClubSNSs contribute to membership involvement through the identification of members with their sports club. The main contributions of this study are the insights into the use and perceptions of SNSs in member organizations, such as VSCs. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This article explores the interrelation between privacy concerns and participation needs with citizens of the smart city Antwerp. This research makes use of the privacy framework by Van Zoonen (2016) to frame five applications of the smart city Antwerp, differing by use of data (personal-impersonal) and purpose (service-surveillance). The findings show that respondents express the need for more information about the concept, its applications and privacy consequences. The possibility to evaluate applications and give feedback is generally seen as an important way of participation, whereas almost none declare to feel motivated to be involved in the development of new smart city applications. Information and consultation needs are higher in case of privacy sensitive smart city applications. These perspectives are of use to smart city governments and developers to adapt participation initiatives to citizens’ needs.