How do the media shape our perception of reality?

How do we know what is true in a world where news, social media, film, games, and artificial intelligence shape how reality is framed? This was one of the central questions when Jönköping University recently hosted an international conference on media and representations of reality.

Different media portray reality in many ways, depending on technology and form of expression, and today images and stories about the world spread faster than ever. They are stored in archives, developed further through documentaries, remixes, and narratives, and gain new life in digital environments.

All of this takes place at a time when questions about trust, truth, and what is real are intensely debated.

The conference, held on 29–30 April at the School of Education and Communication at Jönköping University, was opened by Måns Svensson, President of Jönköping University. The event brought together researchers and experts in media and communication studies for panel discussions, lectures and debates on how the media creates, interprets and sometimes distorts reality.

The focus was on both traditional journalistic media and newer formats such as social media, digital storytelling, virtual reality, and AI.

“At a time of deep fakes and AI content, it is significant that so many international scholars are here today at School of Education and Communication to debate what media realities are,” says Annette Hill, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the School of Education and Communication and organizer of the conference.

Multiple realities?

A central question was how different images of reality are created and interpreted within research on media, technology, culture, and society. Participants discussed how people perceive and describe reality in everyday life where media are present everywhere. The focus was on how media can help us understand the world - but also how they can frame or distort our sense of what is real, in the past, today, and in the future.

As both the media and important societal institutions face increasing scrutiny and skepticism, distrust toward experts, witnesses, and established sources of knowledge is also growing. This can lead to uncertainty: can we trust what we encounter — or is it biased, simplified, or controlled?

“The range of research on media, from gaming, to streaming videos, documentaries and news, was so inspiring, learning from scholars around the world on the state of play with representations of the real,” says Annette Hill.

Wide participation at the conference

The conference brought together both established and early‑career researchers, editors and publishers from several countries. One of the participants, Göran Bolin, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Södertörn University, who also gave a presentation at the conference on the topic of communicative AI, felt that the conference’s theme was both important and topical.

“The conference has raised important issues and the discussions have been fruitful. I listened to one of the panels where they were talking about AI-generated images. At the start of the AI era, you could still tell that the images had been produced by AI, but we can’t see that today, and that has an effect on us humans,” says Göran Bolin.

Exhibition as part of the conference

The first day of the conference concluded with the opening of the research exhibition Digital Imprints – Three Perspectives on How Technological Development Affects People, Work and Places. The exhibition, which brings together research from Jönköping University and Linköping University, consists of three research projects. One part, Where Is the Cloud?, developed by researchers at Linköping University, highlights the physical infrastructure behind digital services and its environmental consequences.

The other two parts are based on research from Jönköping University and were planned in collaboration with Annette Hill, Susanne Almgren and Jian Chung Lee on data centres, and Nina Edh on AI in the business sector. Together, the projects shed light on how AI and digital technologies create new opportunities for companies and organizations, while also leaving clear imprints on the places and environments in which we operate.

The exhibition is on display at the University Library until 5 June and is open to everyone.