Research on the Role of Media Materiality and Data-Driven Survival in the Context of Embodied Communication

College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

^* Corresponding author: qingmangxa@163.com

Abstract

From an embodied communication perspective, research on media materiality and data-driven survival focuses on how human interaction and existence can be understood through the physical forms of media technologies and data flows. As concrete manifestations of material and technological aspects, media have long permeated our experiences and lifestyles, shaping our cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns. This study aims to analyze the impact of media materiality on everyday life through specific media designs and data production processes and explore how these influences affect individuals’ data-driven survival, in other words, how individuals construct relationships with themselves and others in an environment with massive data.

On the one hand, the importance of media lies in the physical characteristics of the media technology itself, which determine the type, speed, and scope of information exchange. For example, as a media carrier, smartphones' portability and touchscreen operation have significantly changed people's communication habits, promoting an instantaneous and fragmented mode of communication. On the other hand, data-driven survival refers to the impact, construction, and representation of individual survival status in the digital media environment, where the digital representation of personal information and the data-driven interaction of social networks become key factors in shaping identity and social relationships.