‘With unmatched expertise and passion, Abidin takes the reader on a fascinating, almost two decades-long anthropological journey to show how children have become #internet famous.’ Andra Siibak
Crystal Abidin’s 'Child Influencers' is out now!
See more: politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Online First. "Meaningfully playful: Gender, sexuality, and civic imaginations in Korean and Chinese fandom cultures". Do Own (Donna) Kim (University of Illinois Chicago, USA) and Fang Wu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China).
Check out the article "Meaningfully playful: Gender, sexuality, and civic imaginations in Korean and Chinese fandom cultures", authored by Do Own (Donna) Kim and Fang Wu, in our Online First section.
doi.org/10.1177/1367...
#IJCSOnlineFirst
@doowndonnakim.bsky.social
2/2. This one is kind of like my nerdy love letter/invitation to critical/cultural game studies and comm & media at large. Crossing boundaries offers more than "I told you so"s about AI and the "H"uman. It enables responsible and creative reimaginations. Hope it'll be useful to other folks too!
a screen cap of the first page of the article. basic information is in the main post. abstract: This article argues for critical posthumanist approaches to human-machine communication (HMC) and positions video game non-player, non-playing, or non-playable characters (NPCs) as a productive connective topic to facilitate this. Despite their historical presence as mundane, popular artificial intelligence (AI) and rich implications on the political notion of the nonhuman, insights from NPC research, especially qualitative and critical, have been largely missing in HMC discourses. To close this gap, this article aims to investigate and provide a guiding mapping of NPC literature. First, it critically contextualizes existing approaches to NPCs across disciplines to examine why and how NPCs can aid critical posthumanist research on AI contexts. Second, building on this, it conducted a scoping review of 22 grounded qualitative, critical theoretical works on emergent narratives on NPCs. The review suggested a budding interest in the topic and many promising research potentials. Specific recommendations are made. Drawing on the results, I argue that NPCs can help us interrogate the inhuman(e) in other-than-human.
New article, right before #NCA25! "Non-player characters and the nonhuman: Insights and scoping review toward critical posthumanist human-machine communication." The Communication Review. doi.org/10.1080/1071....
I needed this review myself to (re)think&write about emergent AI cultures, so I did it!
book cover. 아시아 한류의 현재: 일상과 정동. 이기웅 번역 및 책임편집.
first page of the chapter.
table of contents.
2/n Now available in Korean!Translated and reprinted as a book chapter in "The Korean Wave in Asia Now: The Everyday and Affect" (ed. trans. Keewoong Lee), part of the book series by Sungkonghoe University’s Institute for East Asian Studies.
My first publication in my native language—many feelings!
(4/4) See to the whole New Media & Society special issue "Decoding Artificial Sociality: Technologies, Dynamics, Implications" and Drs. Depounti & Natale's introduction here: journals.sagepub.com/toc/nmsa/27/10
(3/n) My ongoing book project "Virtually Real" is on this. Now fully deep diving after finalizing some projects this past year (2 more pubs forthcoming!). Book writing's been fun+challenging+stimulating. Ch1 on history is wrapping up. Would love to chat with publishers & excited to reach out soon😊
(2/n) Drawing on the co-curative/co-constructive performances of virtual influencers' "real" artificial sociality & their critical implications, I propose the process-oriented framework "meta-authenticity" (or meta-real!). Honored to be part of this important collection alongside amazing scholars.
A screenshot of the article title page. Abstract: This article studies the negotiation of humanness in artificial sociality by examining the cyborg case of humanlike virtual influencers and their performance of authenticity, drawing on phenomenological ethnographic research. Based on the findings, I propose the framework of “meta-authenticity”—the flexible, co-constructive process of self-referential (in)authenticity performances. Virtual influencers’ meta-authenticity was a dynamic outcome of collaborative performances by entangled human and nonhuman actors. Meta-authenticity’s theoretical and practical contributions are demonstrated, including through an illustrative application. Then, I reflect on meta-authenticity’s implications on human cultures, such as regarding artificial sociality’s capacities to provide authentic interaction on and as per demand, followed by suggestions for ethical practices. As an accountability-integrated framework, meta-authenticity encourages nuanced critical assessments of artificial sociality’s “real” actors and consequences. Keywords: Artificial sociality, authenticity, human–machine communication, meta-authenticity, virtual influencer
Happy to finally share! Now out in New Media & Society: "Meta-authenticity and fake but real virtual influencers: A framework for artificial sociality analysis and ethics". As part of special issue Decoding Artificial Sociality by Drs.
Iliana Depounti & Simone Natale. DOI: doi.org/10.1177/1461...
The abstract page (first page) of the article. Keywords: popular culture, transcultural fandom, China, Korea, civic imagination, political participation. Abstract: This dialogical article emphasizes the meaningfully playful character of popular culture fan and audience practices and argues for contextual and transcultural approaches to their meaning-making processes. The authors discuss South Korean and Chinese fandom cultures’ intertwinement with civic engagements, the role that gender and sexuality play in this process, and how such civic imaginations emerge domestically and transculturally. Drawing on cultural and critical scholarship, they examine and compare several illustrative cases on national and global scales, such as civil protests, celebrity scandals, fandom norms, and subversive fan practices. The dialogue elucidates the interconnections between state-level Politics and everyday politics in fan and audience meaning-makings, as well as their interactions with digital infrastructures and cultures. Contextual resonances and differences between China and Korea are discussed.
Just out in International Journal of Cultural Studies! "Meaningfully playful: Gender, sexuality, and civic imaginations in Korean and Chinese fandom cultures" doi.org/10.1177/1367...
Wonderful to write w/ Dr. Fang Wu😊 Korean & Chinese fandoms, pop culture, "meaningful" participation & more! #commsky
yay! destiny emptied the nice lobby couch for us. let's keep in touch🤗
ICA25 conference badge. Donna paused her Zelda to be here, and yes, I got married AND moved a week before coming to Denver! Was a bit hectic, but loved ICA!
My first Denver Pikmin postcards
cow-trout & buddies in downtown Denver
75th ICA photobooth!
Thank you #ICA25 and old & new friends for excellent inspirations and love! HMC, games, pop cultures, like AYCE kbbq; I am leaving full & happy (also need a nap & shower).
Denver💖: my Pikmin postcards (if you want Chicago/UIC cards or maybe collab someday👀, dm/email me!) + cow-trouts and friends.
a screenshot of the article's abstract
New pub! My piece on AI and teaching, "Reflection-AI: artificial intelligence or algorithmic instruction problem? Empowering students through situated knowledges-based reflexivity" is now available open access in Frontiers in Communication. doi.org/10.3389/fcom...
Really looking forward to this!
Part 2 by our wonderful #UICCommunication graduate students @gtroitman.bsky.social and @utsavpgandhi.bsky.social is out. American pop culture (Barbie, etc), body image, audiences, critiques, migration experiences, queer bodies...and more!
henryjenkins.org/blog/2025/3/...
Heading towards the end of our OSCARS WATCH series, we have Part One of a two-part conversation piece on THE SUBSTANCE by @doowndonnakim.bsky.social @gtroitman.bsky.social and @utsavpgandhi.bsky.social. Stay tuned for Part Two.
I wrote about #TheSubstance movie, "love yourself :(" Korean meme, ajumma pants, and comedian Kang Yumi's YouTube parody Yumistance.
@popjunctions.bsky.social 2025 #Oscars series.
henryjenkins.org/blog/2025/2/...
Part 2 conversation w/ @utsavpgandhi.bsky.social & @gtroitman.bsky.social coming soon!
Thank you so much! Our conversation at NCA was wonderful. Thanks again for your feedback!
This study was possible because of the participants' insights and generosity. I am so happy that I can finally share the published ver. with 여러분.
+Thanks to mentors, friends, editor, reviewers and more for advice & help along the way, and USC Annenberg and Korean Studies Institute for their support.
screenshot of the first page the article. title, abstract, and the beginning of the introduction are included.
Physical contexts (still) matter. New pub in Communication Monographs #commsky "Remapping visibility Layerability of gay dating apps and hybrid placemaking in Seoul, Korea"
doi.org/10.1080/0363...
Based on interviews w Korea's gay dating app users & their hybrid placemaking, I propose “layerability"
Looking forward to meeting new folks and catching up at #ICA25! My paper is on video game non-player/playing/playable characters (NPCs), critical posthumanism, and human-machine communication. Excited to nerd out together.
Trying out Bluesky! Probably mainly for academic updates/connecting (comm, tech, game, digital cultures, etc) and cat accounts.
Since this is my first post, a lil self-intro by name: Hi, I'm Do Own (full first name; I'm not Do!) Kim 김도온. A friendly way to call me in Korean is 도온아, so I go by Donna.👋
