White-coat Authority – Notes on the Medicalization of Social Media Research

By Geert Lovink, October 9, 2026

“I believe in the possibility of networks; that is why I endeavor to trace its imperfections, its perversions.” Variation of Franz Fanon It’s sad to see the medical establishment called in to decide on the future of the media landscape. As social media concerns turned mainstream, framed as ‘overuse’, ‘addiction’, ‘anxiety’, ‘compulsion’, ‘harm’ or even [...]

From German Media Theory to Platform Critique – Interview with Geert Lovink by Yan Zhang

By Geert Lovink, September 24, 2026

Yan Zhang is an Assistant Professor at the School of Arts and Media, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. His research focuses on media archaeology and digital culture. According to Zhang, in China, media and communication studies have historically developed from the tradition of journalism studies. He wrote to me: “Many university departments were originally centered on [...]

Uncooling the Apps – A Conversation Between Chennie Huang and Geert Lovink

By Geert Lovink, September 7, 2026

(first published on Axis Culture here) Platform criticism has arrived at an awkward moment. The diagnosis is arguably settled — extraction, dependency, and the degradation of services — and accepted, including by the many who continue to scroll unthinkingly. What remains is what a critical concept must do to matter. In Platform Brutality: Closing Down [...]

Against Platform Brutality – In Defense of Media

By Geert Lovink, September 6, 2026

Farewell Lecture of Geert Lovink, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), September 3, 2026 Download and watch the video here. The stagnation of the platform has brought us back to the military origin of the internet. Innocent data extractivism has been pushed aside by former libertarian tech bros who side with Trump, ICE, and the [...]

Recent Chinese, German, Italian and Spanish Translations

By Geert Lovink, August 21, 2026

An update on translations and book tours. Early this year my second translation in Mandarin came out, this time translated in a careful, accurate and stress-free way, without any censorship or content manipulation (!). An ode to our Taiwanese friends (and Conny, here in Amsterdam). I was in Taipei for the book launch in January [...]

Note to Self

By Geert Lovink, August 10, 2026

Devoted to the Study of the Wretched Subject “The duckface, for years the pose for a successful selfie, is out. The new look is the Gen Z-pout, a subtle pout with a dead stare that makes you no longer seem to be participating in pleasing the viewer.” NRC * In this AI era, the badly [...]

Interview with Geert Lovink by Mariem Bah (Al Jazeera) About Activism after Sad by Design

By Geert Lovink, July 31, 2026

(Mariem Bab, a journalist from Al Jazeera, English Edition contacted me on July 5, 2026 with the following: “I am writing a piece on youth disillusionment, protest culture and counter culture for tomorrow. Could you share your perspective on the following? Preferably, if you could respond sometime today that would be great!” As far as [...]

Beyond the Platform – Interview with Geert Lovink

By Geert Lovink, July 11, 2026

Beyond the Platform: Internet Culture, Digital Power and the Future of Networked Society- Interview with Geert Lovink By Gökhan Çolak for PR Carnet World Magazine Gökhan Çolak: Over the past two decades, the internet has evolved from a decentralized network of communities into an ecosystem dominated by a handful of platforms. How do you assess [...]

HvA Afscheidsinterview met Geert Lovink

By Geert Lovink, June 24, 2026

Geert Lovink blikt terug op ruim twintig jaar netwerkcultuur – Door Joyce Wijhenke (voor de nieuwsbrief van de Faculteit Digitale Media en Creatieve Industrie), 15 juni 2026 Op donderdag 3 september om 16.00 uur neemt lector Netwerkcultuur Geert Lovink afscheid van de HvA. Als mediatheoreticus, internetcriticus en auteur hield hij zich met zijn Instituut voor [...]

Interview with Anna-Verena Nosthoff on Cybernetics and Criticism

By Geert Lovink, June 13, 2026

There’s an affective affinity between my internet criticism efforts and the work of German media theorist Anna-Verena Nosthoff, her partner Felix Maschewski, and their Berlin Critical Data Lab. After years in the making, Anna-Verena’s PhD (written in German) was published in early 2026 by Suhrkamp Verlag in their infamous stw series. Its release prompted the [...]