The Digital Media Revolution: Sociocultural Transformation Driven by Technology

Abstract

This research analyses the profound sociocultural changes resulting from the metamorphosis of digital media, concentrating on the impacts new technologies are having on basic human living and social organisation. The study employs a combination of theories: technological determinism, social constructivism, and media ecology alongside trans-disciplinary investigation of the four technological drivers—artificial intelligence, 5G, extended reality, and blockchain. These convergent technologies mediate communication algorithms that shift paradigms of identity construction in virtual spaces and creative industries, production enabled by AI, and knowledge systems built on collaborative platforms. As the analysis shows, society is embedded in digital technologies that shape social relations, culture, and institutions—not just tools at its service. Such transformation does present a paradox: the changes provide radical opportunities for connection and articulation, but at the same time escalate newly emergent cognitively challenging inequalities. The examination concludes that to cultivate sustainable digital cultures, the sociotechnical governance modalities need to reconcile technological potential with human notions in a way that innovation defends—for digital culture to thrive, becomes—humanity.