https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9457-5443
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Xiaoya Fang, Ke Li, Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction. Johan Farkas and Marcus Maloney (eds), Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, 2025;, fqaf028, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqaf028
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In the realm of cognitive linguistics, the seminal work, Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), has catalyzed a transformative shift in understanding how metaphors shape human cognition and social interaction. Four decades hence, the digital age has introduced novel complexities, rendering the critical examination of digital media metaphors both timely and imperative. Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction, edited by Farkas and Maloney (2024), emerges as a pivotal contribution to the ongoing study of how metaphors function in digital media contexts. This volume, a collaborative effort by leading scholars in media studies and digital sociology, dissects the multifaceted role of metaphors in digital technologies, illuminating their power and limitations. As human existence becomes increasingly mediated through digital infrastructures, the metaphors we employ—such as “cloud,” “platform,” “filter bubble,” and “rabbit hole”—are crucial for our understanding of technology and its socio-political ramifications.
Digital Media Metaphors is meticulously structured into three thematic parts with an introduction, each addressing a distinct dimension of digital media: infrastructure, content, and users. This tripartite structure facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how metaphors permeate our conceptualization of digital technologies.
