ABSTRACT
Digital media technology started to emerge in the early 2000s in the form of smartphones, interactive websites, and social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram and WhatsApp. By the end of 2014, it was estimated that for the first time there were more mobile phones on the planet than people. The author highlights four factors that compromise our ability to experience the promise of digital media in its full diversity. First, while digital media has shaken the foundations of the global mediascape, there still remains a vast discrepancy between established news outlets and digital ones. Second, digital media technology, and the internet in particular, has become increasingly controlled by states. Third is the role of algorithms, which limit the availability of otherwise very diverse information in digital media. The fourth factor that limits the democratising promise of digital media is the behaviour of the media consumer her-/himself.
