Can digital media re-define how we see ourselves and others? The open-access article by Luisa Conti, Understanding Culture, Cultural Identity, and Cultural Heritage in the Post-Digital Age, examines how online platforms both amplify cultural stereotypes and create spaces for self-representation. Using the “Talahon” phenomenon as a case study – a term popularized in German social media to describe young men, often of Arab descent, through specific stereotypes – the research highlights the dual role of digital influence, simultaneously reinforcing societal divisions and reshaping identities.
Critically rethinking culture, cultural identity, and cultural heritage within the complex realities of the post-digital age, the article challenges essentialist views that fuel exclusion and “othering.” Instead, it advocates for a constructivist approach, emphasizing identity as multifaceted, dynamic, and shaped by interaction rather than fixed categories. Ultimately, it calls for a more critical and reflexive engagement with these concepts in an era where digital infrastructures profoundly shape how individuals and communities perceive, negotiate, and construct their identities.
Link to the article