In January 2025, following renewed threats of a TikTok ban in the United States, over half a million users migrated overnight to RedNote (also known as Xiaohongshu), a Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform. This unexpected influx marked the first large-scale digital migration from a Western user base into a Chinese social media space. Among these users, who are self-described as “TikTok refugees”, a

This study investigates how feminist health discourse is collaboratively produced on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform known for its female-dominated user base and stringent censorship environment. Focusing on the account Pause in Dialogue, the thesis explores how stigmatized topics such as menstruation, sexual health, and bodily discomfort are reframed through multimodal strategies and

Political oppression, massive exiles, censorship, and repression of freedom of speech have followed the post-Soviet states from their Sovietisation to the mimicked efforts of independence. This thesis explores how exiled journalists from post-Soviet countries, such as Russia and Belarus, redefine their professional roles and journalistic identities amidst severe authoritarian repression followed b

Con artists, those who use their charm and confidence to scam people, are thriving in modern society. They signified the moral crisis in neoliberal culture, where morality, the idea of supporting group goods, is desensitized and secondary to individual profits. The media content played a crucial role in intensifying the crisis. The monetization of criminality indicates that moral transgression is

In the digital age, public figures are no longer defined solely by their actions or media representation, but also by how they are discussed and interpreted by social media audiences. This thesis explores the evolving nature of digital criticism and symbolic vilified identity construction through a qualitative text analysis of YouTube comments about Greta Thunberg from 2019 to 2024. Drawing on 840

Over the last few years there has been a buzz circling one word: immersive. This word is not only connected to communication technologies, but it is also a way to explain what to expect when entering for example an art exhibition. Within the world of immersive experiences are visitors meant to watch digitised art – which is reconstructed from existing artwork – in a new and engaging way. Through c

In the highly mediated and algorithmic landscape of contemporary Chinese social platforms, identity construction has increasingly shifted from open-ended self-exploration to templated, label-based performance. This study explores the cultural practices of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform, as a case of “labeled identity.” As traditional sources

Transnational migrant communities increasingly depend on digital platforms to sustain social connections, cultural practices, and community life across borders. For Chinese Christian migrants, digital media practices are shaped by both diasporic needs and the influence of China's digital surveillance and censorship, which extends beyond national borders. While existing research has explored Ch

Some forests are burning in the US, the North of Italy gets flooded, and early spring days start to feel like midsummer. But it seems more important what kind of lunch to have for Tuesday, or which coffee blend is best for the new espresso machine. What makes people really care about climate change, not just in terms of awareness, but emotionally? This thesis aims to explore the motifs behind and

This thesis investigates how AI-generated music challenges traditional systems of cultural legitimacy, identity, and musical taste. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural fields and symbolic capital, and supplemented by Simon Frith’s insights into authenticity and identity performance, the study examines how emerging technologies reconfigure creative authority within platform-driven environments

This thesis focuses on the communication of risks in the water sector in Sweden, centring on the 2013 PFAS water contamination scandal in Kallinge, Ronneby. Primarily, the water sector in Sweden lacks qualitative research stemming from the field of sociology, indicating how “wicked water problems” make it difficult to see who holds the responsibility in the sector when a crisis strikes. Herein, it

In today’s digital age, there is a growing expectation that digital technologies should help address social and environmental challenges, such as climate change. In response, digital infrastructural platforms increasingly employ gamification as a communication strategy to promote behaviors aligned with the public good. However, when implemented within commercial platforms, such initiatives often s

Importance: Better understanding of patients' attitudes toward deprescribing specific medications will inform future deprescribing interventions. Objective: To investigate older adults' attitudes toward deprescribing by investigating which medications they would like to have deprescribed, the reasons why, and patient factors associated with interest in deprescribing. Design, Setting, and Participa

External quality assessment (EQA) schemes for pathology are essential, yet large/international programmes do not assess morphology-based biomarkers or address local/regional needs. This study outlines bottom-up initiated, flexible Swedish Digital Pathology EQA rounds for breast pathology, and presents results from the 2021 and 2023 rounds. Six breast carcinoma cases were selected for each EQA roun

Background: Adverse skin reactions to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and devices for continuous subcutaneous insulin infusions (CSIIs) (“diabetes medical devices” (MDs)) are well known. However, epidemiological studies on prevalence and skin rash details are lacking. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and details of skin rash to diabetes MDs in adults with type 1 diabet

We report three cases of contact allergy to a mislabelled hair dye product. A hair dye product labelled as p-phenylenediamine-free has been found to contain p-phenylenediamine by a chemical analysis at the level above the limits allowed in the product.