Exploration of How Digital Media and Technology are Changing Narrative Forms and Literary Consumption
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00486Keywords:
Digital media, interactive storytelling, literary consumption, nonlinear narratives, reader engagement, multimedia narratives, transmediaAbstract
This study explores how digital media and technology are transforming narrative forms and literary consumption. With the rise of e-books, audiobooks, interactive narratives, and social media platforms, traditional linear storytelling is evolving into more interactive and participatory formats. Readers are no longer passive consumers but active participants, shaping narratives through real-time feedback and collaborative storytelling on platforms like Wattpad. The study employs a qualitative, exploratory research design, including interviews, focus groups, and observational analysis, to examine how digital platforms influence reader engagement and narrative structure. Key findings highlight the shift toward nonlinear, reader-driven narratives and the growing role of multimedia in storytelling. Additionally, the research underscores how these changes are democratizing literature, allowing diverse voices to reach global audiences without traditional publishing barriers. The study concludes by discussing the implications for authors, publishers, and literary institutions, as well as offering recommendations for future research on emerging technologies like AI and virtual reality in storytelling.
References
Alexander, B. (2017). The new digital storytelling: Creating narratives with new media--revised and updated edition. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9798400690839
Barnett, T. (2018). Distributed reading: Literary reading in diverse environments. DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly, 12(2).
Baverstock, A., & Steinitz, J. (2013). Who are the self‐publishers? Learned publishing, 26(3), 211-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1087/20130310
Couldry, N. (2008). Digital storytelling, media research and democracy: Conceptual choices and alternative futures.
Dabek, M. C. (2019). “Lizzie’s Story Felt Like Home:” Meaning-Making and Narratively-Constructed Digital Intimacy in Literary Web Series. National University of Ireland, Maynooth (Ireland).
Dayo, F., Memon, A. A., & Dharejo, N. (2023). Scriptwriting in the Age of AI: Revolutionizing Storytelling with Artificial Intelligence. Journal of Media & Communication, 4(1), 24-38.
De Kosnik, A. (2021). Rogue archives: Digital cultural memory and media fandom. mit Press.
Erstad, O., Flewitt, R., Kümmerling-Meibauer, B., & Pereira, Í. S. P. (2020). The Routledge handbook of digital literacies in early childhood. Routledge London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203730638
Essam, B. A., & Burnazi, A. (2019). Alison Gibbons: Multimodality, Cognition, and Experimental Literature. Multimodal Communication, 8(1), 20180011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mc-2018-0011
Gallent Fiol, M. (2022). An analysis of the self-publishing book industry.
Gourlay, L., Hamilton, M., & Lea, M. R. (2014). Textual practices in the new media digital landscape: Messing with digital literacies. Research in Learning Technology, 21(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21.21438
Hall, F. (2022). The business of digital publishing: an introduction to the digital book and journal industries. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429423314
Hellekson, K., & Busse, K. (2014). Fan fiction and fan communities in the age of the internet: new essays. McFarland.
Hviid, M., Izquierdo-Sanchez, S., & Jacques, S. (2019). From publishers to self-publishing: Disruptive effects in the book industry. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 26(3), 355-381. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13571516.2019.1611198
Jenkins, H. (2006). New York University Press. Convergence Culture: where old and new media collide. New York University, 307-319.
Jewitt, C. (2008). Multimodality and literacy in school classrooms. Review of research in education, 32(1), 241-267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X07310586
Koenitz, H. (2015). Design approaches for interactive digital narrative. Interactive Storytelling: 8th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 30-December 4, 2015, Proceedings 8,
Kucirkova, N., & Cremin, T. (2020). Children reading for pleasure in the digital age: Mapping reader engagement. Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529730128
Kymäläinen, T. (2020). Holodeck as a Medium for Future Enacted, Immersive, Narrative Experiences. EAI International Conference on Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Education: TIE'2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16130-9_4
Mangen, A., Walgermo, B. R., & Brønnick, K. (2013). Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. International journal of educational research, 58, 61-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002
Murray, S. (2018). The digital literary sphere: reading, writing, and selling books in the internet era. Johns Hopkins University Press.
O’Boyle, N. (2022). Produsers: New Media Audiences and the Paradoxes of Participatory Culture. In Communication Theory for Humans: Communicators in a Mediated World (pp. 153-181). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-02450-4_7
Page, R. (2018). Narratives online: Shared stories in social media. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316492390
Philips, D. (2007). Talking books: The encounter of literature and technology in the audio book. Convergence, 13(3), 293-306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856507079180
Rennie, J., & Patterson, A. (2009). Young Australians reading in a digital world. In Multiliteracies in Motion (pp. 219-235). Routledge.
Rzeszewski, M., & Naji, J. (2022). Literary placemaking and narrative immersion in extended reality virtual geographic environments. International Journal of Digital Earth, 15(1), 853-867. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2022.2061619
Spjeldnæs, K., & Karlsen, F. (2024). How digital devices transform literary reading: The impact of e-books, audiobooks and online life on reading habits. New Media & Society, 26(8), 4808-4824. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221126168
Świerczyńska-Kaczor, U. (2024). Empirical insights into traditional and AI-enhanced interactive narratives based on children’s fables. Journal of Economics and Management, 46(1), 25-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22367/jem.2024.46.02
Thomas, L. (2013). Cartographic and literary intersections: Digital literary cartographies, digital humanities, and libraries and archives. Journal of Map & Geography Libraries, 9(3), 335-349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15420353.2013.823901
Thorne, S. (2020). Hey Siri, tell me a story: Digital storytelling and AI authorship. Convergence, 26(4), 808-823. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520913866
Wolf, M., & Potter, K. (2018). Reader, come home: The reading brain in a digital world. Harper New York.