Social Media

Digital technology and online services now influence most corners of Australian society, from the way that government and business operate and influence lives, through to the everyday actions of citizens; the things people do, and how they do them. They have also come to form part of the communicative core of Australia’s democracy. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-22 for a time forced through a series of related changes, as social distancing became a public health necessity for the common good, and traditional means of socialising were strained, especially in Australia’s dominant big city urban areas. Citizens, enterprises and agencies all embraced new digital technology practices as the principal way to maintain community and stay ‘informed’ on current events, with lasting implications for working patterns (WGEA, 2021; AIHW, 2023), retailing, private and government services, and political life.