Media and Communication (ISSN: 2183–2439) 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 120–123 https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.5050 Editorial OK, Boomer: New Users, Different Platforms, New Challenges Luis M. Romero‐Rodríguez 1,2, *, Santiago Tejedor 3 , and Inmaculada Berlanga 4 1 Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain; 2 ESAI Business School, Espiritu Santo University, Ecuador 3 Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain 4 Faculty of Business and Communication, International University of La Rioja, Spain * Corresponding author (luis.romero@urjc.es) Submitted: 2 November 2021 | Published: 24 February 2022 Abstract The popularization of new interaction spaces brings new narratives and social phenomena that merit attention from the sci‐ entific community. Based on the existing literature on the new challenges facing the communication discipline with these emerging narratives, this editorial summarizes the empirical and theoretical contributions of the thematic issue entitled “New Narratives for New Consumers: Influencers and the Millennial and Centennial Generations.” The authors emphasize that the studies selected for this thematic issue explore the innovative features and opportunities of the emerging scenar‐ ios and offer a cautionary account of their structural problems and the urgency of a new media literacy. Keywords centennials; digital media; Facebook; influencers; Instagram; millenials; social networks; online participation; TikTok; YouTube Issue This editorial is part of the issue “New Narratives for New Consumers: Influencers and the Millennial and Centennial Generations,” edited by Luis M. Romero‐Rodríguez (Rey Juan Carlos University), Santiago Tejedor (Autonomous University of Barcelona), and Inmaculada Berlanga (International University of La Rioja). © 2022 by the author(s); licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This editorial is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri‐ bution 4.0 International License (CC BY). The changing communication scenario has created signif‐ wide, especially teenagers of the so‐called Generation Z. icant challenges for academia. New user profiles, emerg‐ According to Bloomberg (Stokel‐Walker, 2020), in Spain, ing social platforms, and disruptive ways of accessing, France, and Italy, a third of the platform’s members are processing, and sharing content demand new studies minors, while in Germany and the United Kingdom the and fresh approaches in an ecosystem marked by a grow‐ percentage is 24% and 18%, respectively. ing mediatization process that leads us to a “distance The singularities of this new scenario warn of the society” (Pérez‐Tornero, 2020). relevance of promoting academic research, especially Works such as Romero‐Rodríguez, Tejedor, and from media literacy and educommunication, to monitor Montealegre (2021) have focused on the attitudes and the impact of these new social networks in the current perceptions of citizens regarding the media in a situation media ecosystem. A study by Basch et al. (2020) has characterized by the speed of change and the emergence highlighted that teenagers, the primary users of TikTok, of new formats and communication platforms. Among tend to search for political topics based on their tastes them, TikTok has acquired a leading role, becoming the and through tags or hashtags that show their identity, most downloaded app after Whatsapp and Messenger. whether gender, sexual diversity, or culture. The social network, which in China retains its original However, in this context, marked by speed, multi‐ name—Douyin—experienced growth at the beginning tasking, and the economy of attention, there have also of 2019 when it already had 500 million users world‐ appeared journalistic and communicative projects that Media and Communication, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 120–123 120 bet on “slow” journalism (Romero‐Rodríguez, Tejedor, help brands and organizations to develop new strategies & Castillo‐Abdul, 2021) against the results of pre‐ in this channel. vious studies (Bernal & Angulo, 2013; Colás et al., The research conducted by Daniela Jaramillo‐Dent 2013; Pérez‐Tornero et al., 2015; or Piscitelli, 2010) et al. (2022) explores the creative practices of migrant that warned of a trend—worrying in several aspects— TikTokers who have gained a significant number of follow‐ towards immediacy, celerity, and instantaneity. ers on this platform. Mónica Bonilla‐del‐Río et al. (2022) This thematic issue addresses the research chal‐ address the issue of disability and position this network lenges derived from the new platforms and their impact as privileged for eradicating barriers and facilitating the on cyber‐citizenship from new angles and disruptive the‐ inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in the matic areas. The study of communication as a social expe‐ public sphere. rience demands a permanent reflection on messages Delia Balaban and Julia Szambolics (2022) address that the current media and communication situation has the authenticity of influencers and focus on both the progressively transformed into portable, personalized, authenticity of the source and the authenticity of the and participatory pieces. message. Javier Gil‐Quintana et al. (2022) provide an There is a wealth of topics that are conveyed and con‐ insight into the media competence of Spanish teach‐ nected through the access and use that new generations ers from the perspective of the families of primary of cybernauts make of online platforms: sponsorship on school students. social networks, food content on YouTube, the journal‐ Tasja Selina Fischer et al. (2022) take on a gap in istic role or music on TikTok, lifestyle promotion by influ‐ current studies: political narratives and their producers encers or Instagrammers, new communicative narratives on YouTube and address it with a comparison between from branded content, the return to video platforms Germany and the United States. In turn, the article by at intergenerational level, micro‐celebrities and their Diana Rivera‐Rogel et al. (2022) deals with the narrative communicative strategies, edutubers nano‐influencers, of YouTubers from the Andean Community and their dig‐ political influencers on YouTube, media competition in ital literacy. younger users, Spanish tipsters in the pandemic sce‐ Finally, Almudena Barrientos‐Báez et al. (2022) ana‐ nario, among others. This thematic issue aims to face lyze the narrative of Spanish tipsters and the millennial the permanent challenge of studying an object of study and centennial generations in the pandemic scenario, in permanent and accelerated change, transformation, full of iconic, symbolic, and linguistic elements typical of and reinvention. war periods. Luisa Zozaya‐Durazo and Charo Sádaba‐Chalezquer The thematic issue closes with a thought‐provoking (2022) analyze the sponsorship disclosure practices of book review by Susan Hopkins (2022) entitled “(Not) Mexican Instamoms to conclude that advertising dis‐ Very Important People: Millennial Fantasies of Mobility closure is not part of the usual protocol of collabora‐ in the Age of Excess.” Hopkins comments on sociologist tion between influencers and brands in this country. and academic Ashley Mears’ (2020) book Very Important Meanwhile, Victoria Tur‐Viñes et al. (2022) address the People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit, and issue of childhood obesity through YouTube content addresses the problem of gender and the elitist framing related to food brands aimed at children and urge the of many of today’s social networks by making role mod‐ adoption of deontological and legal measures to regulate els out of those who really should not be. this content. On the other hand, María‐Cruz Negreira‐Rey et al. Acknowledgments (2022) identify the roles and activities of journalists on TikTok who seek a space of influence in an audience of The authors would like to thank the R+D+I Project the millennial and centennial generations; while Arantxa (2019–2021), entitled YouTubers and Instagrammers: Vizcaíno‐Verdú and Ignacio Aguaded (2022) show us Media Competence in Emerging Prosumers under code TikTok as a music venue for the empowerment of social RTI2018–093303‐B‐I00, financed by the Spanish Ministry storytelling, and a platform that advocates for equality of Science, Innovation, and Universities, the European and socio‐musical diversity. Regional Development Fund, and the R+D+I project The study by Sarah Devos et al. (2022) presents the (2020–2022) entitled Instagramers and YouTubers for the lifestyle of influencers observed through framing analy‐ Transmedia Empowerment of the Andalusian Citizenry: sis and goes so far as to assert that the adapted roles Media Literacy of the Instatubers, with code P18‐RT‐756, are generalizable across cultures. The synergies between financed by the Government of Andalusia, in the networks and fashion and the consequent impact of 2018 call for tenders (Andalusian Plan for Research, branded content on brand reputation are addressed by Development, and Innovation, 2020) and the European Bárbara Castillo‐Abdul et al. (2022) through the study of Regional Development Fund (ERDF). women’s fashion brands Manolo Blahnik and Loewe on Instagram. Additionally, Pedro Cuesta‐Valiño et al. (2022) Conflict of Interests show the behavior of centennials and millennials on TikTok and their interest in short videos: A fact that can The authors declare no conflict of interest. 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Media and Communication, 10(1), TikTok: Diverse microcelebrity profiles and algorith‐ 157–172. Media and Communication, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 120–123 122 Zozaya‐Durazo, L., & Sádaba‐Chalezquer, C. (2022). Dis‐ sure practices of Mexican Instamoms. Media and guising commercial intentions: Sponsorship disclo‐ Communication, 10(1), 124–135. About the Authors Luis M. Romero‐Rodríguez (PhD) is associate professor of strategic communications at the Rey Juan Carlos University and visiting professor at the ESAI Business School, Espiritu Santo University. Counting over 200 scholarly publications, his research focuses on new media, primarily on media education, mis‐ information, and prosumers. He is also associate editor of Comunicar and Anàlisi journals and a found‐ ing member of the Euro‐American Inter‐University Network for Research in Media Competencies for Citizenship (ALFAMED). Santiago Tejedor (PhD) is director of the Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) and coordinator of the Communication and Education Office of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is deputy director of the international MA in Communication and Education at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and co‐director of the MA in Travel Journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is also the editor of Anàlisi journal. Inmaculada Berlanga (PhD) is full professor of audiovisual communication and advertising at the International University of La Rioja and visiting professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. She is principal investigator of Prospectivas en Comunicación Multimedia Research Group, and her research focuses on cyber‐rhetoric, digital semiotics, and audiovisual persuasion. Member of the Comunicar group and the Euro‐American Inter‐University Network for Research in Media Competencies for Citizenship (ALFAMED). Media and Communication, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 120–123 123