The changing roles of media content consumers in the advent of social media, digital spaces and AI

The changing roles of media content consumers

Maseru — The conventional linear communication model placed citizens in the role of passive receivers, waiting for radio, television, or newspapers to deliver content. That model no longer holds. Today, there is no fixed, passive receiver and no single active communicator. Citizens create, process, package, and distribute information. They occupy multiple roles in the information ecosystem.

Users consume information from diverse sources and act on it immediately — deciding to keep, resend, or ignore. This shift has been triggered by several factors, including the influx of information from emails, social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, blogs), and conventional outlets; the widespread availability of digital technologies and smartphones; and a rising demand for immediate access to information, transparency, and accountability.

Drivers of the shift

Information influx: Citizens now access information from a variety of sources: social media, blogs, and traditional media. The volume challenges old gatekeeping models.

Digital ubiquity: Affordable mobile devices grant instant access and enable processing, packaging, and dissemination by anyone, anywhere.

Transparency demand: Boundless demand for information, accountability, and participation pushes back traditional barriers — geography, rigid channels, and stringent rules.

Trust erosion: Growing skepticism toward conventional media and institutions, especially among youth, drives audiences to alternative digital channels and sources.

Global exposure: Travel and connectedness expand horizons and reshape expectations, skills, and knowledge. Exposure empowers citizens to chart their own destiny.

New power dynamics and culture

With smartphones, citizens take high-quality photos quickly, contributing visual narratives to the information ecosystem. Norms and values are shifting rapidly. Culture — shared and communal — reflects changing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, including how individuals make decisions about the information they consume.

Access to gadgets has transformed power over information access. Parents once decided when children were mature enough for devices; now, the ubiquity of smartphones compels earlier adoption, altering decision-making power structures.