Unveiling the Biographies of Media: On the Role of Narratives, Anecdotes, and Storytelling in the Construction of New Media's Histories

The article proposes the notion of “biographies of media” as a theoretical framework addressing how media change is domesticated through the construction of popular and personal narratives. Relying on theoretical approaches to storytelling and to the biographical genre, it argues that our relationship with media is shaped by efforts to insert them into recurring narrative patterns, through which their impact on our societies and everyday lives is represented and negotiated. Narratives about how media emerged, developed, and declined help people to make sense of new experiences and events, providing emotional and symbolic tools to cope with the transformations triggered by media change. The article also explores how such narratives may be employed by individuals and groups in support of political and ideological agendas.