Abstract:

The digital economy has expanded the global commercial sphere into portable devices for improved access to consumer data and increased trade opportunities. The proliferation of internet users across multiple social media platforms has influenced not only trade, but global media and communication. As platforms for user-generated content such as YouTube and TikTok show no signs of decelerating, the availability of digital technologies has spawned content creators worldwide. As the world’s second-most visited website, and India’s top OTT platform for media consumption, the influence of YouTube extends beyond music and entertainment. A content-sharing platform that also offers opportunities for informal learning, YouTube is causing a paradigm shift in global education including cinematic pedagogy. Based on the Jungian theory of individuation and through a schizoanalytical Deleuzian lens, this research paper examines the ubiquity of YouTube as an educational alternative among media and communication students in India. The research design will employ mixed methodologies to understand semiotic patterns in media consumption in terms of informal learning and meaning-making practices. These include descriptive analysis for individual variables and correlation analysis of variables. The research study will help determine YouTube trends in cinematic pedagogy among media and communication students in India and enable replicable analysis of informal learning paradigms facilitated by digital technologies and the concomitant consumer surplus.

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