Media memory in the digital world

Abstract

The article analyses how historical memory is being formed in the modern digital realm. The authors show the emergence of a new form of historical memory, characteristic of the digital era, which we call "media memory". Using the methodology historical epistemology, media philosophy and memory studies, the authors demonstrate the change in production and replication of knowledge about the past due to the spread of digital media. The distinctive features of "media memory" are: massive non-professional production of historical content, democratic character, speed, subjectivity and emotional intensity. These features are associated with the combination of prosuming and crowdsourcing, which increase the activity of history lovers and non-professional volunteers in social media. Considering the largest historical digital projects, which have brought together the efforts of millions of history lovers, the article comes to the conclusion that academic historians are losing the monopoly on the production of historical knowledge, while the latter is being turned into digital form, with the widespread participation of ordinary people in the production of such content.