Passion and nostalgia in generational media experiences

The advent of the Internet allied with the technological avalanche brought categorizations to the generations regarding the domestication of the media as well as the technological interface used. The identity build of such generations is related in every way with the media, being this the major tool that brings out the habitus, concept contemplated in the sociologic studies by Pierre Bourdieu. The generational speech before Internet “the old fashion ways” seems to demonstrate nostalgia when the baby boomers encountered a situation when screens and digital paraphernalia proliferate, and when possessing the most actual technology seems to be the priority of the masses. The Nostalgia effect is used by old and new media that are protagonists to the collective memory of the consumers. Such effect is also felt in the Millennium generation, a different kind of nostalgia which is going to be addressed in this paper. Besides that, will also address the use of the nostalgia in marketing, being used as purposeful strategy regarding the argumentation of the consumerism with characterizing contents of the childhood/adolescence of the same.

This article discusses from an inter-cultural and inter-generational perspective the relationship between ‘objective’ media landscapes and how they are subjectively perceived among four different media generations. Based on a focus group study with media users in Sweden and Estonia of two tentative generations, the relationship between the ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ media landscapes is analysed, as is how the landscapes produce nostalgia at the intersection of age, generation, life course and life situation. Based on the differences found in the cross-cultural and the cross-generational comparison, it is concluded that in relation to the formative years of the respondents, there are two different kinds of nostalgia produced: one individually based, focussing on childhood memories; and one social or collective, focussing on the formative years of the respondents.

Co-edited special issue of media&time "Media, Communication and Nostalgia" with 10 articles: (1) Manuel Menke & Christian Schwarzenegger: Media, Communication and Nostalgia - Finding a better tomorrow in the yesterday?----- (2) Ekaterina Kalinina: What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Media and Nostalgia?----- (3) Steffen Lepa & Vlasis Tritakis: Not Every Vinyl Retromaniac is a Nostalgic - A social experiment on the pleasures of record listening in the digital age.----- (4) Lynne Hibberd & Zoë Tew-Thompson: Hills, Old People, and Sheep - Reflections of Holmfirth as the Summer Wine town.----- (5) Jakob Hörtnagl: “Why? Because It’s Classic!“ - Negotiated knowledge and group identity in the retrogaming-community “Project 1999”.----- (6) Ezequiel Korin: Nowstalgia - Articulating future pasts through selfies and GoPro-ing.----- (7) Mario Keller: Experienced Mood and Commodified Mode Forms of nostalgia in the television commercials of Manner.----- (8) Talitha Ferraz: Activating Nostalgia - Cinemagoers’ performances in Brazilian movie theatres reopening and protection cases.----- (9) Gabriele de Seta & Francesca Olivotti: Postcolonial Posts on Colonial Pasts - Constructing Hong Kong nostalgia on social media.----- (10) Marek Jeziński & Łukasz Wojtkowski: Nostalgia Commodified- Towards the marketization of the post-communist past through the new media.

Media Fields Journal, 2021

Nostalgia is often understood as a syndrome and a therapeutic mechanism for healing traumatic past experiences, a retrospective utopia of safety and stability, or a revisionist project of rewriting history in a more user-friendly and appealing way. The literature also highlights different uses of nostalgic sentiments, such as their commercial and aesthetic applications, affective nature, material dimensions, and political relevance, among many others. Previous research has shown that media, popular culture and creative industries are the central platforms for nostalgic productions, which not only allow for creativity but also manipulate users' attitudes towards the past and induce nostalgia in audiences. Such an abundance of perspectives and theories on nostalgia creates conceptual confusion. With this in mind, this essay aims at more clearly elucidating theories on nostalgia. As engagement with broader debates on the role of the media in nostalgic experiences has also been limited, this essay will provide some remarks on the relations between media and nostalgia.

Communicazioni Sociali, 2019

Almost 50 years after the VCR's (Video Cassette Recorder) worldwide penetration in the international entertainment market, this paper will explore VCR-use-related and VCR-viewing-related activities, and the cultural practices of the Greek video cultures, particularly videotape collectors, in the 21st century. Rooted in various disciplines, the article aims to illuminate the persistent nature of VHS collectors' previous entertainment routines. From owning a VCR device and maintaining their videotape collections to enriching them with new acquisitions from video libraries and online buys, Greek videotape aficionados' practices show continuities and discontinuities from the past. Furthermore, it will explore how these practices have influenced their perception of current uses and gratifications of VHS technologies, revealing a perspective rooted in (tech) nostalgia. Moreover, the article will argue that the enduring presence and resilience of VHS technologies can be regarded as a testament to collective memory, a resistance to the digitalization of entertainment, and a longing for simpler ways of life, particularly in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial recession and the rise of new technologies.