Digital literacy

This article is written as part of one of the courses of the BA Online Culture: Art, Media and Society or the MA Online Culture at Tilburg University. Click on the link for more info on the courses and the programme.

In this international Bachelor’s program Online Culture: Art, Media and Society (Culture Studies) the focus is on digital culture and (new) media. From disciplines such as cultural studies and media studies you study how digitalization and globalization influence our way of living. You discuss new ways of communication, art expressions as well as (social) media expressions like memes and trolls. You research how such ways of communication and expressions are established and how they manifest in, and have influence on a society that increasingly takes place online. Additionally, you actively contribute to digital culture by writing papers and opinion pieces for our own online platform Diggit Magazine.

CoronaCheck app in the Netherlands

How the QR code became a meaning-making practice during COVID-19

Article
Tinka Krikke
02/05/2022
11 minutes to read

In this article, we analyze the corona QR code as a meaning-making practice and discuss its effects on society. The QR code was implemented to reduce the spread of COVID, but it's digital nature and meaning had an impact on society's resilience.

The literacy advantage of glitch text for hacking

Article
Cecile Lourens
11/01/2023
12 minutes to read

A glitch is a system malfunction that occurs for a brief period and is difficult to debug. Hackers can make use of glitch text to get into computer systems and modify data. This article discusses the literacy advantage of glitch text for hackers.

What the Suez Blockage can teach us about digital literacy

Article
Simon Moser
03/05/2021
8 minutes to read

The 2021 Suez Blockage may have been a disaster for global trade, yet it also provides for a splendid case study of digital literacies. This article analyzes how online groups implement their own literacies into memes related to the event.

The Era of Audio: The rise of podcasts

Article
Savina Karneva
11/04/2021
17 minutes to read

This paper focuses on the growth of the podcast industry and its development over the years. It tackles the role of social media influencers and celebrities in that growth and the social effects of this new trend. 

Digital literacy problem of homelessness in pandemic

Digital exclusion of the homeless in America: COVID-19's impact

Article
Leonie Milder
09/04/2021
11 minutes to read

Many homeless people in the U.S. could not receive their stimulus checks due to COVID-19 restrictions, such as the closing of public spaces with internet access. How can they be digitally included in the midst of a pandemic?

Girl doing her homework on her computer

Gamification in self-improvement apps

Paper
Rebecca de Jongh
05/10/2020
11 minutes to read

Through gamification it is possible to work on a more engaging way of learning and to truly let learners use their creative potential. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that using gamification is highly contextualized.

covid-19 memes, coronavirus, memes

Coronavirus memes: Laughing the apocalypse away

Article
Jana Nuiten
18/05/2020
10 minutes to read

As the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold, coronavirus memes have emerged. In memes, people find an outlet for being humorous and coping with the harsh circumstances they are living in at the moment.