Brita Ytre-Arne

Position

Professor, media studies

Affiliation

Research groups

Short info

I am a media use researcher, interested in media in everyday life, why people use and avoid news, and how users perceive and imagine new technologies.
Research

I am professor of media studies, researching audiences and media use. My research explores 1) how we connect to society through news and cross-media use, 2) the meanings of media in everyday life, and 3) the impact of datafication, algorithms and mobile technologies on our lives. I work primarily with qualitative methods.

My new book Media Use in Digital Everyday Life is published with open access and can be downloaded or read online free of charge here. In the book, I discuss how media use has changed since smartphones, social media and digital platforms became part of our lives.

Currently, my work is focused on the role of media use in complex societal crisis situations such as the ongoing pandemic and the climate crisis. I am PI for an interdisciplinary project funded by the Research Council of Norway, titled "Media Use in Crisis Situations".

Together with my colleague Hallvard Moe I am co-leader of Bergen Media Studies Research Group, an active research environment for media use and audience research. I am also Work Package leader for WP1 Understanding media experiences in MediaFutures, a new research centre for responsible research-driven innovation.

My other ongoing or recent projects are MeCIn, a broad study of media use and public connection in Norway, and Digitox, on intrusive media and digital detox. I was co-director of CEDAR - Consortium on Emerging Directions in Audience Research (2014-2017), an European network and research project that conducted a foresight analysis of audience research. Read more in our new book The Future of Audiences, or read our agenda for future research priorities.

Teaching

I teach and supervise from bachelor to PhD levels in qualitative methods, media use and audience research. I contributed to redesign the master programme in media and communications at UiB, and have developed several new courses.

Publications
2024
2023
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2009
2007

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Projects

"Media Use in Crisis Situations: Resolving Information Paradoxes, Comparing Climate Change and COVID-19". PI, research project (2021-2025) funded by the Norwegian Research Council.

"Understanding Media Experiences", Work Package 1 in SFI MediaFutures, centre for research-driven innovation, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, the University of Bergen and industry partners in the Norwegian media sector.

"Digitox: Intrusive media, ambivalent users, and digital detox". Research project (2019-2023) led by Trine Syvertsen, funded by the Norwegian Research Council.

"Media Use, Culture and Public Connection: Freedom of Information in the 'Age of Big Data'". Research project (2015-2018) led by Hallvard Moe, funded by the Norwegian Research Council.

"Consortium on Emerging Directions in Audience Research". Consortium (2014-2017) led by Ranjana Das (University of Surrey) and Brita Ytre-Arne, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK.