Participatory culture
Participatory culture refers to an interactive environment where individuals actively engage in the creation and sharing of media rather than merely consuming it. This culture emerged in the 1960s, notably influenced by passionate fan communities, such as those surrounding the "Star Trek" series. In contrast to traditional consumer culture—which primarily focuses on content produced by professionals for mass consumption—participatory culture lowers barriers to entry, enabling diverse voices to contribute and collaborate. Engaging in activities like writing fan fiction, creating YouTube videos, or participating in social media allows individuals to express themselves and connect with others who share similar interests.
Participatory culture fosters a sense of community and support, encouraging less experienced creators to learn from their peers. It also often serves as a response to the mainstream media landscape, where marginalized viewpoints may be underrepresented. Beyond entertainment, this culture extends into various fields, inspiring innovations in technology, services, and artistic expression. With over half of American teenagers identifying as content producers, participatory culture plays a significant role in shaping contemporary media landscapes and personal identities, often viewed as a hobby rather than a formal endeavor.
On this Page
Participatory culture
Participatory culture is an environment in which people are not just fans and consumers of a form of media but actively contribute to it in some way. This contribution can come in the form of writing content, publishing photos or artwork, or otherwise creating material that is made available to and enjoyed by others. A participatory culture is one that makes it easy for people to participate in this way, provides opportunities to participate, and supports those who do participate. Some examples of a participatory culture include fan fiction, YouTube channels, and social media posts.
Background
Participatory culture is a relatively new phenomenon that traces its origins to the 1960s. Prior to this time, media content was mostly created by professionals and provided to consumers through outlets such as magazines, television shows, movies, and recorded music. This changed in the 1960s and is attributed to fans of the science fiction television series Star Trek. The original show only aired for three years between 1966 and 1969, and was saved once by an impassioned write-in campaign by its fans, known as Trekkies. After the show’s cancellation, it was popular in syndication and spawned several movies, additional television series, and books and comic books.
It also prompted many fans to look for other ways to be part of the show. They began dressing as characters and writing their own stories based on the characters as they appeared in the series. Fans also took part in conventions where they could meet writers and actors from the series and purchase merchandise related to the growing Star Trek franchise. Magazines called fanzines also appeared, dedicated to sharing information about the show as well as fan-generated fiction and art related to it.
Fans of other shows also began writing fiction, drawing pictures, and engaging in other creative means of sharing their interests. The widespread availability of the Internet beginning in the 1990s helped create new ways for people to share their creations through YouTube, blogs, websites, and social media posts and pages. This in turn created subcultures and communities of people with shared interests in content created by other members of the community instead of television networks or movie studios. The creation of alternative community-driven crowdfunding options and self-publishing outlets also increased the ability for people to develop and distribute content of their own.
Overview
Participatory culture was named around 2006 by American media professor Henry Jenkins. He defined this type of culture as one that has low barriers to producing content and therefore allows artistic expression and community engagement. It also provides strong support for those who are creating and sharing their own content, allows newer members to learn from more experienced members, and gives participants the strong feeling that the content they create is important and valued. It also provides a sense of connection and camaraderie between those who are part of the culture.
Jenkins noted that a participatory culture is in contrast to the more customary consumer culture, in which people simply watch, read, or otherwise absorb content made by others. In addition to often being mainly for profit, consumer culture is often designed to cater to the masses. It is therefore more likely to present the viewpoints and positions of the group perceived to be the majority by those who are generating the content. In contrast, a participatory culture is often made up of people who see themselves as being on the fringe and not as well represented in the content created for a consumer culture. The material they want is not available elsewhere or is not available in the quantity or form that they desire; therefore, members of the participatory culture create their own. A participatory culture sometimes also includes aspects of protest or resistance to the media created for the consumer culture.
A participatory culture can expand beyond visual media as well. Music fans may engage in writing songs in the style of a band or artist that they like. They may also write mash-ups, or songs that blend two or more other songs to create a new song or new arrangement of a song. Content produced for reading or listening online is also considered a form of expression consistent with a participatory culture.
The idea of participatory culture is not limited to entertainment media. There are many instances of people who have created new web platforms, web browsers, computer programs and applications, and other products or tools. In many instances, frustration with existing products or an inspiration for a new or better way to do things has led people to create and launch their own version. Services to deliver food, provide rides, and care for homes, pets, children, or household tasks have all been created by people who were part of a participatory culture. These sometimes become commercial enterprises that make money for the creator.
The difference between these ventures and those considered to be part of the consumer marketplace are that they originated with someone who was not part of a large company and generally did not have access to the usual commercial methods of release. They may have used a funding source such as Kickstarter or launched their product via social media. The use of social media itself can also be considered a part of participatory culture, especially when people create photos, short videos, or other content specifically for use on a social media platform.
As a result of this broad appeal and range of opportunities to create content in a participatory culture, studies have shown that more than 50 percent of teenagers in America can consider themselves to be content producers. Although the ability to create content is not limited to younger people, they are more likely to do so. However, many people who are part of a participatory culture do not recognize their role as content creators and instead see it as a hobby.
Bibliography
“Confessions of an ACA-Fan.” Henry Jenkins, henryjenkins.org/blog/2006/10/confronting‗the‗challenges‗of.html. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
“Fandom and Participatory Culture.” Grinnell College, haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/fandom-and-participatory-culture/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
“Henry Jenkins: Participatory Culture, Politics, and Learning.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Nov. 2012, civic.mit.edu/2012/11/07/henry-jenkins-participatory-culture-politics-and-learning/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
Humphrey, Michael. “Hashtags and Harassment: Is Participatory Culture in Trouble?” Forbes, 26 Oct. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhumphrey/2014/10/26/hashtags-and-harassment-is-participatory-culture-in-trouble/#2e83d35436f2. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
Jenkins, Henry, et al. “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century.” MacArthur Foundation, www.macfound.org/media/article‗pdfs/JENKINS‗WHITE‗PAPER.PDF. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
Pruitt, Sarah. “8 Ways the Original Star Trek Made History.” History.com, 8 Sept. 2016, www.history.com/news/8-ways-the-original-star-trek-made-history. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Xu, Han; Patino, Javier Gonzalez; and Linaza, Jose Luis. "Reader Influence on the Creation of Transmedia Science Fiction: A Participatory Cultural Perspective." Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, vol. 10, 3 June 2023, www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-01772-1. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.