The Functions of Media between the Classical and Digital Models: Towards a Redefinition and the Gratuitousness of Function: A Comparative Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of the functions of classical media in the digital environment, both in terms of definition and role, in the context of rising consumerism and the dominance of market logic over the media sphere. The study is based on the hypothesis that the media no longer perform only their traditional functions of informing, interpreting, educating, guiding, and entertaining. Rather, it has become part of a new digital system that has reshaped the very concept of media function itself. Digital transformation has shifted media from a model based on symbolic mediation and the production of meaning within centralised institutions to an interactive networked model founded on participation, personalisation, the continuous circulation of content, and the linking of audiences to services, platforms, and markets. The study further reveals that the “free” nature of digital media services is not genuinely free. Instead, it forms part of an economic model in which the audience itself becomes a resource, subject to commodification through its behaviour, data, and consumption patterns. The study concludes that the concept of media functions as inherently free, as previously understood, has been reversed and now involves a tangible material cost, according to the researcher's perspective.