If there is one issue that unites politicians across party lines in our current polarized world, it is the need to introduce regulatory and legislative measures to protect our youth from the dangers of the Internet. The years 2023 and 2024 have seen numerous legislative efforts to protect children from the harms of the Internet. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ report on the Social Media and Children 2023 Legislation, “Thirty-five states and Puerto Rico addressed legislation in 2023, and 12 states enacted bills or adopted resolutions” (National Conference of State Legislatures, n.d., para. 3). In response to growing concerns about the impact of social media on children’s mental health, state legislators are proposing measures to safeguard children while they use the Internet and online communication platforms, including social media. The proposed legislation includes bills and resolutions that aim to “create study commissions and task forces,” “require age verification or parental consent to open social media accounts,” and “add digital and media literacy courses or curriculum for K–12 students” (National Conference of State Legislatures, n.d., paras. 1–2).

Paradoxically, preventing young people from accessing or using the Internet not only violates their right to access information but also condemns them to exclusion. Not only does Internet illiteracy restrict access to the job market, but essential digital literacy skills are also necessary to complete daily tasks such as banking (transactions, paying utilities) and traveling (check-ins, obtaining boarding passes, receiving updates). As our future becomes increasingly technology-driven, basic digital skills are essential for navigating through life successfully.

The Internet, both essential and hazardous, has profoundly altered our lives. The dynamics of human communication have undergone significant transformations as Web 2.0 marked the beginning of an era where digital platforms became central to our daily lives, revolutionizing how we interact, share knowledge, and form communities. In virtual communities, diverse voices have encountered new spaces for expression and engagement in the ongoing struggles for representation, inclusion, and legal protection. This book explores the multifaceted impacts of this digital revolution, examining the evolving nature of communication, authority, and identity in the virtual world. We have witnessed a seismic shift in how information is created, shared, and consumed, giving rise to new paradigms of knowledge and authority that fundamentally alter the dynamics of social, political, and cultural life. This book explores these changes, examining the profound implications of digital communication across diverse domains, from politics to health.

The Internet has transformed our perception of reality, our methods of socializing, gathering information, addressing health concerns, seeking advice, finding solutions, and accepting knowledge. This book aims to describe how these changes occur, explaining the ways in which virtual spaces have altered human interaction and behavior. This project engages with practices of legitimization in the virtual world, presenting theoretical (de)legitimization as the ideological thread that deciphers how individuals justify positions, identities, ideals, arguments, or theories through a plethora of resources, both linguistic and nonlinguistic, on the Internet.

In the fast-changing reality of the Internet, this book offers an examination of the current state of affairs, exploring the influence of the Internet on our society to understand the most significant phenomenon of recent history and the advantages and challenges it presents to humans across the planet.

1.1 Background and Motivation

Almost two decades ago, Cambridge University Press published two foundational books on digital communication: Fundamentals of Digital Communication (Madhow, Reference Madhow2008) and Principles of Digital Communication (Gallager, Reference Gallager2008). These works provided a critical starting point for understanding digital communication. Nevertheless, the current sociopolitical context has transformed virtual communication in the “post-truth” era and vice versa.

In 2016, Georgakopoulou and Spilioti edited a comprehensive collection of essays in The Routledge Handbook of Language and Digital Communication. This volume provides a valuable account of communicative practices in the digital world. However, the aim of the current project is to investigate in depth the dynamics of virtual interaction, addressing important concepts such as authority, expertise, and the construction of knowledge. Indeed, “given the fast-moving nature of digital media and technological advances” (Georgakopoulou & Spilioti, Reference Georgakopoulou and Spilioti2016, p. 2), new developments in the field need to be addressed: platforms, features, types of engagement, and identities, as well as the role of social media in significant current events impacting our world (for example, the assault on the US Capitol in January 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic).

Given the extensive interest in digital communication and social media, with some books addressing specific contents or digital contexts, this book tackles the nature of the phenomenon itself, describing settings, participants, communities, and the way meaning is negotiated online. It offers a unique comprehensive perspective on the relationship between the formation of new virtual communities and their discursive effects upon the social construction of truth and authority. It presents a distinct emphasis on how authority and power relations are increasingly established and contested by communities online across a wide variety of platforms. This study illustrates these dynamics through numerous case studies derived from research into social media discourse and communication, contributing to the growing literature on digital communication through a unique focus on the interrelatedness of new media and human communication. In particular, by examining the nature of digital interactions, this work explores crucial notions such as knowledge, authority, and identity in a virtual world where a multitude of voices find avenues for expression that were previously unavailable. Yet, with such accessibility combined with the variety of constantly evolving platforms, challenges continue to emerge to describe the different forms that online communication can take. These challenges are especially felt by researchers focusing on human interaction who have a particular interest in theorizing the phenomenon of digital communication and its related implications. The essential human quest for truth and knowledge has found its expression in digital spaces where individuals negotiate meaning and identities, develop a sense of belonging, and contest traditional and official channels of information. A critical component of the creation of knowledge or the pursuit and attainment of authority is the notion of legitimacy (e.g., Reyes, Reference Reyes2011; Van Leeuwen, Reference Van Leeuwen2007). This book examines the semiotic resources and technical affordances available to participants online to legitimize information or identities or to delegitimize other individuals, groups, or institutions. Legitimation plays a critical role in social media, for instance, as it provides numerous avenues for everyday users, powerful corporations, or political institutions to claim validity. This work addresses these contexts and examines the impact that popular, widely used, and influential media platforms (e.g., X, formerly Twitter) and artifacts (e.g., Internet memes) have on constructing, sharing, and consolidating particular worldviews and ideologies, paying special attention to notions of knowledge, authority, and identity. This project was developed organically as a natural step towards explaining digital communication in a critical period when modern democracies are being challenged by beliefs and conspiracies spread online, and when governments struggle to achieve national safety goals, such as herd immunity, due to misinformation circulating on the Internet. Indeed, governments lack the necessary legislation to monitor discourses in the virtual world. Given this situation, analyzing how knowledge is negotiated and authority is perceived and constructed in virtual communities is pivotal for understanding current communicative and sociopolitical realities.

1.2 The Structure

Following the present introductory chapter, Chapter 2 addresses the major changes and consequences of Web 2.0, as it marked the transition from static, read-only web pages to dynamic, user-generated content and participatory platforms. This chapter provides an overview of the digital revolution initiated by Web 2.0, which has empowered users to upload and engage with content, fostering a participatory culture that democratizes knowledge and challenges traditional authority. Platforms in social media, blogs, and wikis have enabled individuals to contribute to and shape collective understanding, transforming the landscape of communication and information dissemination. For instance, the use of search engines like Google has become ubiquitous, influencing how we seek and perceive information on a daily basis. People turn to digital platforms for answers to a wide array of queries, from cooking recipes to medical advice, illustrating the profound integration of digital tools into everyday life. In this digital landscape, user-generated content competes with traditional sources of information, creating a dynamic and often contentious environment. This democratization of content has provided minority groups with a platform for representation and visibility, promoting awareness and inclusion in public discourse. The chapter highlights how the digital revolution has reshaped fundamental aspects of human communication and the nature of information sources.

Chapter 3 discusses the parallel proliferation of digital communication in the “post-truth” era, where objective facts are increasingly overshadowed by appeals to emotion and personal beliefs. This chapter explores the interplay between digital media and the post-truth phenomenon, examining how the abundance of information sources has both facilitated and been influenced by this era. Regardless of whether the post-truth phenomenon has driven the proliferation of diverse information sources, or if the expansion of digital communication has paved the way for the post-truth era, it is clear that these phenomena are interlinked, with each influencing and amplifying the other. The chapter examines how information and knowledge flow more freely in a post-truth context, shaping public perception and the truth value of information. The discussion also focuses on the role of influential actors, such as politicians and media personalities, in shaping post-truth discourse. By examining specific cases, such as the rhetoric of Donald Trump, the chapter illustrates how post-truth discourse is employed in populist narratives and broader online communication. The chapter provides a critical analysis of the implications of post-truth for public discourse, highlighting the challenges it poses for truth and knowledge in the digital age.

Chapter 4 focuses on the formation of virtual communities to further describe their types and characteristics along with participants. Digital platforms have enabled the formation of diverse virtual communities, each with unique characteristics and dynamics. This chapter explores the types of virtual communities, their formation, and the behavior and identity of participants within these spaces. The chapter begins by categorizing virtual communities, from ephemeral Affinity Spaces, where participants gather around shared interests or activities, to well-established Communities of Practice, where members engage in sustained collaboration and knowledge-sharing. It examines how digital platforms facilitate community building and self-expression, allowing individuals to converge around diverse topics and interests. Participants form their identities interactively through time. Their behavior varies from collaborating actively with the common topic, to being passive readers or to becoming disruptive, as they engage in trolling, impacting the community dynamics. The influence of AI technologies on identities and roles is examined, revealing how biases in these tools can perpetuate societal prejudices and shape users’ perceptions of reality.

Chapter 5 examines the negotiation of meaning, knowledge, and authority online. In the digital age, the negotiation of meaning, knowledge, and authority takes place within virtual communities, where participants contribute asynchronously to shape collective understanding. This chapter explores the dynamics of cognitive authority in online interactions, examining how participants recognize and establish credibility and influence. The chapter also analyzes various domains where authority and expertise are negotiated, from business to health. It highlights the qualitative aspects of authority, emphasizing active engagement and the adept use of linguistic resources, influence, and personal experiences to establish credibility. The chapter underscores the negotiation of authority among participants, where legitimacy enhances the capacity to claim authority within hierarchical online structures. By examining interactions and recognition within these communities, we elucidate how individuals emerge as authoritative voices, shaping the production and legitimization of knowledge in different fields. The chapter provides insights into the evolving nature of authority in the digital age, highlighting the challenges and opportunities presented by online communication.

The process of establishing authority is constantly being legitimized or delegitimized by different actors in digital communication. The (de)legitimization of authority is discussed in Chapter 6. As digital communication evolves, new conceptualizations of authority emerge, challenging the traditional notions of legitimacy. This chapter explores the fluid nature of authority in the online context, examining the processes of legitimization and the interplay between status, power, expertise, and experience. Specifically, we investigate how digital platforms facilitate the (de)legitimization of authority, providing a space for individuals and groups to establish and maintain authoritative positions. It examines the historical context of authority and its contentious relationship with new communication technologies, highlighting how digital communication reshapes traditional structures of power and influence. By analyzing specific cases and examples, the chapter illustrates the dynamic and often-contested nature of authority in the digital age. It provides a critical perspective on the processes of legitimization and the factors that contribute to the establishment and maintenance of authority in online environments.

Chapter 7 reviews the competition for authority between official institutions and non-institutional spaces. The rise of digital platforms has disrupted traditional channels of knowledge dissemination, creating a competitive landscape. This chapter examines how the Internet has become a platform for challenging established norms and rules, fostering a more democratic exchange of information. The chapter explores the implications of this shift for the creation of knowledge and authority, particularly in areas historically monopolized by institutional power. It addresses the challenges this competition poses to the status of democracy and societal structures, highlighting the tensions between official and unofficial discourses in the pursuit of legitimacy and authority around the dissemination of knowledge. One pertinent example is the information on COVID-19 vaccines, where non-institutional spaces continually challenged the traditional sources of authority and legitimacy. These examples underscore the shifting dynamics of knowledge creation and their implications for society in the digital age.

Chapter 8 addresses the consequences that participatory culture in the digital public sphere is having in the political landscape. The digital public sphere has redefined political participation and communication, enabling audiences to become active participants in the political discourse. Using Habermas’ notion of the public sphere, this chapter explores how online platforms facilitate political engagement. The chapter highlights the role of social media in contemporary political communication, examining the phenomena such as Internet memes, online activism, and issue publics. By analyzing specific examples, such as the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, we illustrate how digital platforms enable rapid and widespread political engagement. The chapter also addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital public sphere, highlighting the power of participatory culture in shaping political expression and engagement. It provides a critical perspective on the implications of digital communication for democracy and political participation.

Chapter 9 debates human rights and social change online. Virtual spaces have become arenas for debates on human rights and social change, amplifying underrepresented voices and influencing policies. This chapter focuses on gender equity and non-binary gender identities, examining movements like #MeToo and discussions on gender-neutral pronouns. We explore how online anonymity provides vulnerable populations with supportive networks, enabling engagement in debates on protective policies. It highlights the transformative potential of virtual discussions for advancing recognition and protection for marginalized communities, despite challenges posed by digital inequalities and polarized debates. The chapter also addresses the challenges of digital activism, including reactionary movements and the stifling of essential conversations through trolling and cyberbullying. It provides a critical perspective on the need for regulatory interventions to protect vulnerable populations and uphold democratic discourse in virtual spaces.

The lack of regulation of the Internet is discussed in Chapter 10, and the significance for discourses and identities in a lawless digital universe. The digital world presents unique legal challenges, particularly regarding identity. This chapter explores the complexities of identity in virtual spaces, from pseudonyms in chat rooms to avatars in the metaverse. The chapter addresses the need for theoretical reconsiderations of identity and the establishment of norms regulating interaction and human relations in the virtual world. It examines the balance between freedom of speech and the regulation of hate speech, highlighting the role of non-governmental agencies in monitoring discourse and censoring content. By analyzing specific cases, such as the launch of Trump’s platform Truth Social and incidents of virtual crimes in the metaverse, the chapter underscores the urgent need for clear criteria and accountability mechanisms to address the challenges of the lawless digital universe. It provides a critical perspective on the implications of digital communication for identity, legality, and regulation in the digital age.

Chapter 11 draws the conclusions of a book by providing a comprehensive exploration of the transformative impact of digital communication on human interaction, knowledge, and authority. By examining the dynamics of virtual communities, the negotiation of meaning and legitimacy, and the challenges posed by the digital public sphere, it offers valuable insights into the evolving nature of human communication in the digital age. Through a critical analysis of the intersections between technology, society, and culture, the book aims to shed light on the profound implications of the digital revolution for our contemporary world.

1.3 Relevance and Readers

This project describes how the Internet has significantly transformed human interaction, not only in virtual communities around specific topics of interest, but also interaction with knowledge with regard to how it is accessed and debated. This fundamental shift challenges the traditional sources of information impacting modern democracies. Millions of individuals can now debate issues that regulate or affect their own lives, creating forums for expression that require both preservation (in line with human rights) and regulation (to prevent censorship, cyberbullying, and harassment) in online spaces. These online spaces have drastically altered the way we interact with politics, medical knowledge, language use, human rights, social justice, and more.

The topic is situated at the intersection of several disciplines, from linguistics (discourse studies, applied linguistics, multimodality, semiotics) to communication studies and media studies. Additionally, sociologists and anthropologists focusing on social media, social movements, and cultural studies, along with experts in political science, may find this book complementary to their work. The phenomena and subjects under study are both current and global, essential for understanding the trends and changes worldwide. We hope scholars and general readers alike find this book a valuable reference for explaining digital communication, its characteristics, and its implications.

As we navigate our lives between online and offline spaces, this book offers an in-depth exploration of the activities we engage in in the virtual world on a daily basis. In today’s world, no business, politician, social movement, artist, or campaign of any type can succeed without the Internet and the use of social media.