This chapter provides an overview of digital communication’s transformative impact on human interaction. It begins with Web 2.0, enabling users to upload and engage with content, fostering a participatory culture that creates and shapes knowledge and authority. This phenomenon has significantly changed how we communicate, interact, and seek information. For instance, people often turn to Google for answers to various queries, from recipes to medical conditions. Researchers studying digital health social networks (DHSNs) agree that the Internet has transformed the experience of illness. Web 2.0 has introduced new sources of expertise, where user-generated content challenges traditional, static, and institutional expertise. These new sources often shape our initial and sometimes sole impression of issues, influencing our perception of reality and engagement with knowledge. In this digital landscape, participants compete for attention, legitimacy, and influence with peers and institutional entities.

Additionally, online platforms have provided minority groups with representation, visibility, and public debate opportunities, promoting awareness and inclusion. This digital revolution has undoubtedly reshaped fundamental aspects of human communication and the nature of information sources.

This chapter summarizes the key conclusions of the book, which examines how the Internet has transformed human interaction by fostering virtual communities and reshaping knowledge, authority, and legitimacy. Through an analysis of discursive practices in digital spaces, the book reveals how democratic participation online challenges traditional institutions and disrupts established knowledge hierarchies. Central to this inquiry is the tension between increased access to information and the erosion of institutional trust, exemplified by case studies such as the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) and the COVID-19 ‘infodemic.’ The book further investigates misinformation, political communication through memes, and the rise of online activism, showing how digital communities shape discourse and build connective identities. Critical issues such as online human rights, free speech, and legal regulation are explored, with a particular focus on the metaverse and digital vigilantism. By addressing these complex dynamics, the book highlights the evolving challenges and opportunities of online discourse and stresses the importance of ongoing research as society adapts to the rapidly changing digital landscape, including innovations in Generative AI.

This chapter explores the dynamics of knowledge and authority within virtual communities, where participants contribute asynchronously to shape collective understanding around specific topics. Through the interactive sharing, modification, and recirculation of information, participants recognize cognitive authority in online interactions. The notion of authority is examined across various domains: in business, authority transcends expertise to include digital presence and persuasive influence, quantified by metrics such as follower counts. Similarly, in health communities like PatientsLikeMe, personal experiences often hold sway comparable to conventional medical advice, particularly in less-researched medical conditions. Such experiences contribute significantly to medical knowledge and research, bridging gaps left by formal studies. The chapter highlights qualitative aspects of authority, emphasizing active engagement and adept use of linguistic resources to establish credibility and influence. It underscores the negotiation of authority among participants, where legitimacy enhances the capacity to claim authority within hierarchical online structures. By analyzing interactions and recognition within these communities, the chapter elucidates how individuals emerge as authoritative voices, shaping the production and legitimization of knowledge in different fields.

As a “convergence culture” (Jenkins, 2006), virtual spaces amplify underrepresented voices, fostering debates on human rights and influencing policies. This chapter examines gender equity, focusing on the #MeToo movement and non-binary gender identities, including gender-neutral pronouns. Online anonymity provides vulnerable populations with a supportive network in virtual communities, enabling them to engage in debates on protective policies. These virtual discussions hold transformative potential for advancing recognition and protection for marginalized communities despite challenges posed by digital inequalities and polarized debates.

Indeed, digital activism can fuel reactionary movements. The discussion on representing gender identities through language pronouns has led YouTube and YouTubers to disable comments, aiming to protect free expression and prevent harassment. Prominent conservative figures oppose gender-neutral pronouns, claiming it infringes on free speech, a stance that has garnered significant controversy online. Videos supporting these views contribute to hostility against gender minorities. In Spanish contexts, discussions on inclusive language face additional challenges, with resistance from bodies like the Royal Spanish Academy. Public language forums often censor these discussions, violating freedom of expression. Antagonistic behaviors like trolling and cyberbullying further stifle essential conversations, raising questions about the need for regulatory interventions to protect vulnerable populations and uphold democratic discourse.

This chapter addresses the legal challenges of the virtual world, with a particular emphasis on the role of identity in its new configurations in the contemporary virtual environment. Specifically, we consider the changing nature of regulation, law and crime in an online context that has seen the emergence of the metaverse, which has made connecting the physical with the virtual persona more complex. Avatars and other personae have made it challenging to align identity with prior understandings and perceptions. Digital personae and virtual representations of selves require theoretical reconsiderations of identity and a set of norms that regulate interaction, and human relations in general within this world. Indeed, a discussion on identity rationalizes the need for new laws. The chapter considers these emerging challenges and explores the role that democratic governments and other gatekeepers can play in regulating digital communication and discourse, balancing the protection of freedom of speech with the persecution of hate speech. The perceived state of lawlessness that inhabits the online space suggests the need for clear criteria and terms of use, in addition to establishing a mechanism of accountability for those involved in virtual crimes, due to the lack of governmental guidelines for crimes in virtual universes.

This chapter presents a discussion about the interconnection between the proliferation of sources of information in a “post-truth” era. In particular, it considers the question of what the concept of “post-truth” actually means in the context of prevailing understandings of veracity and sincerity in discourse and communication. It also places this notion against the broader discursive practice of (de)legitimization and how the digital environment has added layers of complexity to how users – citizens – negotiate information and the idea of truth. In particular, attention is given to how mis- and disinformation in a post-truth context can be proliferated and disseminated in the online context and the specific features of communication the users might utilize to do so. Overall, this chapter explores current understandings of the notion of post-truth in public discourse before focusing more explicitly on how it is used in public discourse by influential actors such as Donald Trump. It will also consider the role that post-truth discourse plays in populist discourse as well the issues posed in broader online communication in the virtual context.

As the online environment furthers its development, spaces for new conceptualizations and configurations of what might be termed traditional “authority” continue to emerge. This is observable in the fact that throughout history, the notion of authority has held a tenuous or contentious relationships with communication technologies and the new affordances they continue to offer. Virtual spaces are crucial for delving into the concept of authority, a term notoriously challenging to define, encompassing dimensions such as status, power, expertise, and experience, among others. Coupled with the fact that the online context remains extremely fluid and continues to evolve, there are many moving parts that warrant consideration in any substantial discussion of authority in the online context. Furthermore, for an individual or a group to be successful in attaining an authoritative status, a process of legitimization cannot be avoided as one simply cannot successfully hold a position of authority without having demonstrated legitimacy. This chapter explores these notions and provides examples through discussion of the context of health discourse as well as Internet memes, parody social media accounts, and deepfakes.

The interactive construction of authority and expertise in online platforms around a topic (e.g., history, standard language, etc.) has challenged the way knowledge has been traditionally channeled through official institutions. The Internet has become a platform for recurrent consultation in relation to checking norms and rules or seeking advice or information through electronically mediated communication in which quasi-anonymous participants discuss, question, define, and re-construct knowledge. This chapter examines the competition between official institutions and these noninstitutional spaces for authority and legitimation in the creation of knowledge in a particular area or discipline. The chapter will explore the shift in the creation of knowledge, historically monopolized by institutional and official organizations and now facing significant challenges from online discussions. Further, it explores how institutional trust has been challenged and eroded due to the influence of digital communication and discourse. Discussions and debates such as these that have, paradoxically, fostered a more democratic exchange of information through participatory culture, are threatening the status, for instance, of democracy in countries with a long-stablished democratic tradition (US Capitol assault on January 6, 2021). This competition between official and unofficial discourses stands as a struggle for power and legitimacy in our current society.

This introductory chapter elucidates the profound impact of the Internet on our society and the complexities involved in its regulation. In a polarized political landscape, concerns about Internet safety for children appear to be the only bipartisan agreement across the ideological aisle. Recent legislative actions in the United States exemplify the urgent response to the dangers posed to minors by social media. This trend, also reflected internationally, underscores the paradox of restricting Internet access for youth, balancing the need for protection with the benefits of digital literacy. While the Internet poses risks, it is also a powerful tool for cognitive and social development, offering educational resources and fostering global awareness. This duality illustrates the complexity of navigating a safe digital environment without stifling free expression.

This chapter presents the content of a comprehensive exploration of digital communication’s impact on social, political, and cultural life, providing insights into the new paradigms that shape our contemporary world.

This chapter explores the formation and dynamics of virtual communities, encompassing participant interaction, identity, and online knowledge-sharing. It examines how digital platforms facilitate community building and self-expression, as well as the convergence around diverse topics. The interplay between institutional and noninstitutional discourse, particularly concerning legitimacy and authority in knowledge dissemination, is also scrutinized. Various forms of online communities are explored, ranging from ephemeral affinity spaces to established communities of practice, illustrating the evolving nature of communication and expertise in digital contexts.

The discussion further examines participant behavior and identity formation online, driven by motivations such as self-expression and recognition. These behaviors shape online identities and community dynamics, with some users engaging in disruptive activities such as trolling. Moreover, the chapter examines the impact of AI technologies on identities and roles, often perpetuating societal biases in their outputs. For instance, MidJourney tends to generate images of businesspeople or successful individuals predominantly featuring white men, thereby underrepresenting women and minorities. This bias not only reflects but also reinforces existing societal prejudices, influencing users’ perceptions and learning experiences.

This chapter explores the nature of online participation as it pertains to political communication. The discussion uses the notion of the public sphere to help understand more about how this concept has changed and needs recalibration to account for a digital public sphere. Audiences are no longer simply passive recipients of information about politics; instead, they can simply and quickly become active participants. In explaining how this can occur, the chapter looks at three examples from recent research that highlights the power of participatory culture in the online space. The first area relates to Internet memes, which are multimodal artifacts capable of simply and economically communicating political expression and engagement. Research has shown that the simplicity of their creation and spread facilitates an avenue to political engagement that would have been absent in the past. The second area focuses on online activism and how online platforms help it proliferate. A final instance of political communication and participatory culture discussed emerged from Twitter/X as a form of “issue public,” where an online discourse community arose out of a satirical response to some particular political commentary. Taken together, these areas highlight the crucial role of social media in contemporary political communication.