Bergen Media Use Research Group

Bergen Media Use Research Group is part of the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, and is led by Hallvard Moe and Brita Ytre-Arne. The group researches how people use media - as audiences, users and citizens, and how they relate to each other and to society through media.

Affiliation

About the research group

The Media Use Group is a community of researchers and master’s students who are interested in media use. The group researches how people – as audiences, users and citizens – connect to each other and the society through media.

The group is especially interested in media use as a link between individuals and the society, and analyses democratic, political and socio-cultural dimensions of media use. We work with theoretical and methodological development to understand the role of media in a digital society.

The research group arranges group meetings, workshops and open seminars. Master’s students in the group get a glimpse on current media research, feedback on drafts, and a chance to give a try-out presentation to the group. Researchers in the group lecture on courses on media use on both bachelor’s and master’s levels, as well as arrange an annual PhD course on media use research together with colleagues from Roskilde University.

Recent books by Bergen Media Use Research Group

Featured

Postdoctor Receives Funding for Project on AI and News Use

12 February 2026
Algorithmic Literacy at Teachers' Day ("Lærernes dag")

12 February 2026
Hallvard Moe med i ny kartlegging av ytringsfriheten i Norge

6 January 2026
Reuters Digital News Report 2025: Norsk nyhetsbruk

17 June 2025

All featured articles

Projects

RESDEM - Resilient Democracies

Global challenges like the climate crisis and disinformation threaten democracies and can weaken people’s trust in institutions. RESDEM studies local engagement around wind turbine projects to understand how ordinary people adapt and preserve democratic values when society is under pressure. Read more about RESDEM.

IMAGINE - Citizen Perceptions of AI in Everyday Media Life

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging in many areas of our lives. If AI creates uncertainty about who or what we are communicating with, it can threaten our understanding of a shared social world.

IMAGINE investigates how Norwegian citizens perceive AI in the media. The goal is to uncover the "folk theories" about AI – that is, how individuals imagine these technologies based on their own everyday experiences. Read more about IMAGINE.

iFAM - Intergenerational families & algorithmic media

iFAM - Intergenerational families & algorithmic media investigates how adults can gain algorithmic media literacy through intergenerational learning within the family. Read more about iFAM.

PREPARE - Distributed and prepared. A new theory of citizens` public connection networks in the age of datafication

Against the backdrop of fragmented political debate, algorithm-controlled social media and threats of propaganda and disinformation, PREPARE aims to better understand people's connection to the public. Read more about PREPARE.

MUCS - Media use in Crisis Situations

MUCS studies media use in complex societal crisis situations, comparing the pandemic and the climate crisis. The project is a collaboration between media studies, human geography and journalism studies. We analyze how people in Norway encounter these issues in everyday life and in the media, where information is abundant across digital platforms. Read more about MUCS.

NEWSREC - The Double-edged Sword of News Recommenders' Impact on Democracy

The NEWSREC project deals directly with one of the most pressing questions facing the news media today: What are the precise conditions under which news recommender technology are for the better or the worse for the democratic role of the news media? We focus on one of the most heavily debated consequences of news recommenders: individuals' exposure to and sharing of like-minded news (selective exposure and sharing). Read more about NEWSREC.