Media e cambiamento sociale: cosa sta succedendo

This paper analyzes some particularly important issues relating to the relationship between the media and the main processes of change affecting advanced societies. First, it considers how the way in which the media address their audience has changed, in particular the shift in media studies from the concept of mass to that of swarm. It then analyzes the changes in the role played in society by communication tools, which have progressively improved their communication capabilities, thereby increasing the level of influence they are able to exert in the cultural sphere. Finally, it reflects on how these tools are increasingly taking the form of a new type of media: true ‘bio-media’. That is, media that are capable of eliciting emotional responses in individuals. This explains why individuals today tend to establish relationships with these tools that are characterized by ever-increasing emotional intensity.