Fiction references as framing devices in extended reality news discourse.

ABSTRACT: This article examines fiction references in news coverage of extended reality. Based on a mixed methods analysis of 977 news articles from UK mainstream mass media outlets, this study found that fiction references were frequently used as framing devices within the news articles, with a focus on two franchises: The Matrix original trilogy (1999-2003) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). These references were utilised in the following three key ways: claiming fiction is becoming real; as a tool to improve readers' understanding of extended reality; and, to a limited degree, to create dystopic visions of extended reality. Ultimately, this article shows that, despite the dystopic representations of extended reality in fiction, fiction references have primarily been use

SUBMITTER: Graves-Sandriman EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11783985 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature