Understanding Non-use of Interactivity in Online Newspapers: Insights from Structuration Theory
Anders Olof Larsson
While some online newspapers have embellished their online presence with a variety of interactive features, most online newspapers still appear to take on the role of cautious traditionalists, adopting a mostly conservative stance towards the new medium. Correspondingly, most audience members appear to act in a similar way. This paper shows how concepts related to structuration theory can be utilized to further our theoretical understanding of the use (and non-use) of interactive features in the online newspaper context. It employs concepts from the structuration theory to provide another interpretation of the existing empirical research. The paper concludes by suggesting that “non-use” in this regard can be understood as part of reproducing what might be called a “structure of audiencehood” rather than a “structure of prosumerism”.
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