ABSTRACT
This chapter provides two norms that have emerged from the increased presence of ubiquitous digital technologies in our daily lives: spectacle and distrust. It argues that spectacle and distrust have emerged alongside the growth of large-scale, unregulated, and increasingly invasive connective networks that are designed to promote short, popular, and sensational content to like-minded communities. One key quality of media spectacle in digital culture is the extent to which online communities of like-minded citizens can create, extend, sustain, and spread spectacle with little support from mainstream media. Memes also allow individuals to bring their own meaning to an image, re-creating or "remixing" original content to generate new insights and meanings. The normalization of spectacle has been paralleled by a crisis of legitimacy. Although the growth of new media conglomerates and social networks has contributed to increased media distrust and a normalization of spectacle, the potential of these technologies has been well documented.
