Framing theory explains how media shape public perceptions by selecting and interpreting social events. This study examines how the adoption of the euro was framed in Croatian online media during both the pre-adoption (December 2022) and the transition periods (January 2023). A total of 236 articles from leading online news portals and specialised business media were analysed. Findings indicate the dominance of a technological and administrative frame and statistically significant differences in frame distribution across the two periods. Sentiment is mostly neutral, with positive sentiment slightly more common in the economic frame and negative sentiment in the social and political frames. These two frames show an interconnected dynamic, as narratives about public dissatisfaction extend into political blame attribution. Informative headlines prevail, although sensationalist elements are sometimes used to dramatize technical content. Lexical patterns form thematic clusters that function as linguistic markers of specific frames.
Our research indicates a clear need to attract the attention of society to the role a family plays in it. Systematisation of the special literature and approaches for solving the problem connected with the family indicates that it commonly has such roles as emotional and financial support, socialisation, education, caregiving, identity formation, social cohesion, reproduction, and continuity. Investigation of these roles in the study is carried out in the following logical sequence: using semantic and textual analysis we considered Slovak media output on the topic “family” and its keywords in 2020 and then compared it to the same period in 2024. It gave us the opportunity to confirm which of these roles are more frequently discussed in Slovak media and to prepare a questionnaire to be offered to young Slovaks. The questionnaire included items typical of any family: caregiving, financial support, family values, relations within a family and others. The main purpose of the research is to compare young Slovaks’ expectations about their future family with official statistical data concerning important items which influence family reproduction and continuity, namely birthrate, ability to pay mortgage, and emotional and financial support, amongst others. Finally, the research empirically confirms and statistically proves that there still exist some problems concerning families, and we hope that they will be successfully addressed by the Slovak authorities in the nearest future, making young people’s dreams come true.
The integration of the Internet and social media into daily life has profoundly transformed not only access to information but also individual perceptions and behaviours. This pervasive digital presence, particularly amongst younger generations, has been associated with a decline in social and communication skills, as well as a noticeable reduction in attention spans. While the Internet and social media facilitate rapid task-switching, they have concurrently diminished the ability to sustain prolonged focus on a single task. Historically, sustained attention was measured in minutes; however, this duration has now been reduced to mere seconds, presenting significant challenges for the future. These shifts necessitate a re-evaluation of educational strategies, particularly regarding how educators communicate with and engage students. Adapting to these changes will be critical in addressing the cognitive and social implications of an increasingly digital world. The primary objective of this study is to establish a theoretical foundation for future research on the reviewed issue. For this purpose, this study used various existing surveys, datasets, studies, and literature evaluating the internet and social media and their impact on individuals’ perceptions.
Visual brand communication faces the challenge of effectively capturing viewers’ attention in a crowded media environment. This study investigates the impact of a logo’s position and movement in an advertising video on its visibility and attention distribution. In a laboratory eye-tracking experiment (N = 24), two conditions were compared: a static logo fixed in the corner and a moving logo displayed dynamically throughout the commercial. The results showed that moving logos achieve significantly higher visibility (p < .001) and maintain visual attention for longer periods. At the same time, attention in fixed spots remains more central (with a higher centre-grid share), which does not imply higher visibility of the corner logo. The time to first fixation did not differ significantly between conditions, suggesting that the advantage of movement lies primarily in retention, rather than in the speed of capture. The findings provide recommendations for advertising creation, including the use of short micro-animations, contrasting backgrounds, and trajectories that affect the central zone, which can significantly increase the visual accessibility of the logo.
Wine consumption amongst younger generations is shifting towards occasion-based and selective patterns, positioning labels as critical communicative interfaces where quality, meaning, and trust are negotiated. This study examines how Generation Y and Z consumers interpret wine label attributes and how these perceptions define distinct consumer segments, specifically focusing on digital communication preferences and information trust. Data from an online survey of 364 young Slovak wine consumers were analysed using factor analysis and K-means clustering. The findings identify three approaches to wine label evaluation: information-oriented, narrative-oriented, and visually oriented. These interpretations are manifested in three distinct segments: narrative-driven traditionalists, quality-conscious wine seekers, and visually-oriented occasion drinkers. Each segment exhibits unique consumption habits, engagement levels with social media formats, and varying trust in information sources. The study contributes to communication research by conceptualising wine labels as meaning-making interfaces and shows how label designs and communication tactics might better reach younger wine consumers.
This study explores how hotels in Slovakia use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as a communication-driven strategy to build and maintain guest relationships. CRM is examined as a framework that integrates multiple communication channels and touchpoints to enhance guest satisfaction, foster loyalty, and contribute to the long-term sustainable performance of hotel enterprises. Four hypotheses were formulated regarding hotel customer orientation, communication channels, influencing factors and barriers to CRM implementation. These hypotheses were tested using data from an online questionnaire survey completed by hotels in Slovakia. Results show that hotel classification and size, especially the number of employees, significantly affect the scope of CRM communication activities. Financial constraints emerged as a key barrier. The findings provide valuable insights into how communication practices within CRM frameworks can be benchmarked across the hospitality sector to support more sustainable business operations.
The study focuses on how young viewers visually process short-form videos on TikTok and how the distribution of attention between the main image and the platform interface changes in the process. In an exploratory laboratory experiment, 16 participants watched ten videos of four different types of content (lifestyle, educational content, fast-paced potentially risky videos, multi-screen formats), while their eye movements, facial expressions, and electrodermal activity were measured simultaneously. Eye-tracking analysis revealed three recurring modes of visual attention: stable, segmented, and fragmented. The stable mode was mainly associated with lifestyle and reference educational videos, where the gaze focused on one or two dominant areas with low physiological activation. Multi-screen formats elicited a segmented mode with rhythmic switching between multiple streams without signs of attention breakdown. Fast-paced, thematically sensitive videos were characterised by a fragmented, reactive mode with shorter fixations, more frequent shifts between areas of interest, and repeatedly increased electrodermal activity that did not always correspond to visible facial expressions. The results suggest that short videos do not represent a uniform processing format, but that the formal structure and type of content are closely related to how young viewers divide their attention and how they are physiologically engaged in the process.
The impact of Generation Z on the tourism market requires a better understanding of their behaviour in this area. As the generation with the strongest digital connection, Generation Z strongly influences trends in domestic and foreign tourism, marketing communication, and the use of artificial intelligence in destination marketing. The aim of this article is to describe the travel behaviour of Generation Z in Slovakia, focusing on the frequency of travel, motivation to travel, the use of social media, and the role of artificial intelligence in this generation’s travel planning. To obtain the data, quantitative research was conducted using a questionnaire survey carried out amongst Generation Z in Slovakia. The results were analysed to identify patterns in travel frequency, use of digital tools, and behaviour when sharing experiences. The study plans to expand the research with qualitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of certain contexts. The results show that this cohort prefers experience-oriented travel, is influenced by social networks, and increasingly uses artificial intelligence tools for planning and decision-making, including when travelling.
This study explores the evolving relationship between technology and humans within the framework of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), focusing on how the rise of the network society has redefined cultural values through the logic of transparency. As data-driven infrastructures increasingly mediate social life, transparency emerges not only as a technical condition but also as a pervasive cultural discourse. By integrating ANT with Foucauldian discourse analysis, and adopting a critical ethnographic approach, this research aims to uncover how digital technologies function as non-human actors that co-construct meaning within sociotechnical networks. Rather than treating transparency as a neutral value, the study examines it as an ideological force embedded in contemporary design, media, and spatial practices. Through interdisciplinary case analyses, ranging from wearable devices and automotive interfaces to media artworks and cinematic representations, the research reveals how transparency manifests itself in varied forms: as bodily self-objectification, interface abstraction, aesthetic spectacle, and even social isolation. These artifacts are not passive reflections of culture but active mediators that shape perception, behaviour, and power dynamics. The findings demonstrate that in the network society, the ideal of visibility paradoxically leads to alienation, self-surveillance, and semantic impoverishment. ANT provides the analytical lens to frame these artifacts as dynamic actors, while Foucault’s theory of discourse helps trace how power operates invisibly through transparency. Together, these frameworks allow for a nuanced understanding of the cultural implications of technology in contemporary society. Ultimately, the study positions transparency as a performative and ideological construct rather than a mere by-product of technological advancement. It argues that understanding the aesthetic, spatial, and ethical consequences of this logic is essential for rethinking design, architecture, and cultural production in the digital age.
This study examines the relationship between political correctness and authenticity in contemporary political communication, focusing on how deviations from political correctness norms shape public perception and political polarisation. Through a comparative qualitative analysis of selected public statements and media representations of Donald Trump and Zoran Milanović, the study explores contrasting communication styles and rhetorical strategies used to construct authenticity. While political correctness promotes inclusivity and reduces overt conflict in public discourse, the analysis indicates that its perceived constraints may encourage political actors to adopt more provocative and polarising communication styles. Trump’s rhetoric is characterised by direct, emotionally charged language, whereas Milanović employs irony, sarcasm, and historical references. In different political and cultural contexts, both approaches function as strategies for visibility and authenticity-building. The findings suggest that departures from political correctness can increase public engagement but may simultaneously contribute to societal polarisation and declining trust in institutions. By situating political communication within broader debates on authenticity and responsibility, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of contemporary political discourse and its democratic implications.
The rapid growth of e-commerce in the digital era has fundamentally transformed consumer behaviour and marketing communication strategies. It has profoundly influenced both retailers’ business strategies and consumer behaviour patterns, while also playing a significant role in shaping the global economy. This study examines key psychological and communication factors that influence consumers’ intentions in the e-commerce environment. The theoretical framework integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), extended by the constructs of Perceived Risk and Convenience. A quantitative questionnaire-based survey was conducted amongst 1,035 Slovak consumers from Generations Y and C, applying confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that aspects such as Perceived Usefulness, Subjective Norms, Attitudes Towards Online Shopping, and Convenience all exert significant positive influence on consumers’ intentions to shop online. In contrast, the aspect Perceived Risk was found to have a negative effect. The study offers valuable theoretical insights by contributing to the conceptual framework of digital consumer behaviour. The findings also offer practical guidance for e-commerce businesses in planning and optimising their marketing communication and sales strategies.
The inability of established democratic institutions to offer adequate and effective solutions to accumulated crises has created fertile ground for the rise of populism, which is transforming liberal democracy into an illiberal order that we can term populistocracy. In imperfect democracies, it is correct to diagnose the phenomenon of unfulfilled and dysfunctional liberal democracy, including an analysis of the factors contributing to this state of affairs. Key empirical findings reveal an asymmetry in citizens’ commitment to democratic principles: while citizens remain firmly committed to the electoral pillar (free elections), their support for key liberal pillars – such as judicial independence, media freedom, and horizontal accountability – is surprisingly elastic (Ferrer et al., 2025). Quantifying this phenomenon through Willingness to Pay (WTP) shows that citizens are willing to give up individual liberal principles for a relatively small increase in income, which legitimises the gradual weakening of democracy – creeping authoritarianism (Diamond, 2020). Empirical findings support the authors’ thesis that we are witnessing a transition from politics based on universal values and rational argumentation to semantic politics, where rhetoric, emotions, and symbolic gestures replace rationality. This transformation of the political paradigm is not a random development, but the result of a deep crisis caused by a set of interrelated factors – economic uncertainty, structural inequalities, a crisis of trust in institutions, and the sophisticated use of disinformation in the digital age.
This scientific study offers an exploratory insight into knowledge about emotionalization in contemporary television news. It examines the extent to which – and the strategies through which – emotionalization is encoded and manifested in news headlines within the main newscasts of the two most popular commercial television stations in Slovakia: Televízne noviny (TV Markíza) and Noviny TV JOJ (TV JOJ). The study is grounded in the attention economy framework and in concepts such as infotainment/tabloidization, negativity, and dramatization, conceptualising headlines as an initial “attention-grabber”, and simultaneously as a pre-framing of event interpretation. The research combines both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of a sample of 283 headlines from one continuous broadcast week (October 6 – 12, 2025; TV Markíza n=186, TV JOJ n=97). Headlines are coded for the presence of emotionality (including the following types: slogan-like wording, metaphorical framing, expressiveness, confrontation/crisis framing, modality, and vagueness) and for sentiment (negative/positive/neutral), while the occurrence of accompanying studio elements (SG/SA) is also tracked. The results show that emotionally laden headlines constitute the majority (TV Markíza 70.4%, TV JOJ 74.2%) and that negative frames are predominant; however, the broadcasters differ in the typology of emotionalization (TV Markíza shows more slogan-like headlines, whereas TV JOJ relies more on metaphorical framing and modality). The findings suggest that headlines can systematically increase the attractiveness of news content, while simultaneously reinforcing interpretive and polarising framing effects, which may be further amplified by visual studio add-ons.
This study examines the literature on children’s consumer behaviour between 2000 and 2024 through a systematised exploratory review guided by the SALSA method (Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, Analysis). In a globalised and digitalised communication context, the review analyses dominant research themes, methodological trends, and emerging gaps. The search was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science using multilingual terms related to consumer behaviour, youth, brands, and advertising. After applying appraisal criteria, 62 articles were selected. The results reveal a strong concentration of studies on alcohol, tobacco, food, and brands, while other forms of emerging consumption remain underexplored despite their growing role in adolescent identity and digital self-presentation. Most of the studies are quantitative, predominantly based in the United States, and seldom employ qualitative or mixed methods capable of capturing cultural specificities. The study proposes a more inclusive and interdisciplinary research agenda that addresses neglected areas of consumption, integrates local contexts, and combines diverse methodologies to better understand how family, peers, and digital platforms influence adolescents’ consumer decisions.
This study examines the causes of the polarisation of society in Slovakia and identifies weak public trust in the media as one of the main factors. The authors argue that the failure of the media to report objectively and truthfully stems from the lack of epistemological training of journalists, which leads to ethical lapses such as the prioritisation of ideological, political, or economic interests. The main aim of this study is to clarify the epistemological and ethical conditions that influence the process of journalistic reporting in Slovakia. Using a hermeneutic-semiotic method, a deeper and more coherent understanding of these principles is achieved. The text emphasises the need to develop epistemological competences of journalists, which include the ability to comprehensively understand social phenomena, the limits of language and the relationship between fact and interpretation. Equally important is the moral integrity of journalists and their resilience to external political and economic influences. The authors conclude that improving the epistemological and ethical levels of journalists can contribute to mitigating the polarisation of society, but this process requires the prioritisation of education, which is a long-term and difficult task.
This study addresses the critical role of communication in implementing the ISO 9001:2015 standard within socio-economic systems, where complexity and dynamism make information exchange a decisive success factor. The research aims to develop a systematic approach for analysing and optimising communication processes in quality management systems (QMS). The methodology is based on systems analysis and graph theory, representing QMS elements as vertices and their interactions as edges. This formalisation enables the identification of weak links, isolated or overloaded components, and critical communication nodes. Key indicators such as connectivity, rank, articulation points, and survivability were applied to evaluate system robustness, particularly at the design stage, where errors are most costly. The results demonstrate that graph-based modelling facilitates early risk detection, supports structural optimisation, and strengthens communication flows. The findings highlight the novelty of integrating qualitative management principles with quantitative graph analysis, offering organisations a proactive tool to enhance adaptability, reliability, and compliance with ISO 9001:2015.
Today's customers are not afraid to voice their opinions when they feel that a brand has done wrong. Certain customers even develop brand hate, especiallywhen companies do not respond adequately. Against this backdrop, we investigate the roles of brand attachment and corporate crisis response strategies in shaping brand forgiveness following value-based brand transgressions. We empirically show how different levels of brand attachment and crisis response strategies lead to different levels of brand forgiveness. Our findings reveal thatwhile customers with medium to high brand attachment demonstrate forgiveness levels that are unrelated to crisis response strategies, those with low attachment are significantly influenced by the nature of the response. Specifically, strategies that involve taking responsibility and apologising enhance forgiveness amongst less attached customers. These insights underscore the pivotal role of fostering brand attachment as a buffer against negative outcomes during crises, while emphasising the need for appropriately tailored crisis communication.
Digital transformation has revolutionised cross-cultural communication, creating both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges, including the persistent digital divide. This study applies a quantitative bibliometric approach to examine global research trends on the digital divide's influence on cross-cultural communication from 2000 to 2024. Utilising Scopus-indexed data, the research employs performance analysis and science mapping techniques using VOSviewer and Publish or Perish to analyse publication patterns, identify influential contributors, and uncover thematic clusters. Findings reveal a substantial increase in scholarly output over time, with dominant themes including digitalisation, intercultural competence, and emerging technologies. However, persistent gaps in representation, particularly in marginalised and underrepresented communities, underscore the urgency for more inclusive and equitable academic efforts. The findings offer critical implications for theory and practice, and serve as a foundation for more inclusive, globally informed digital communication practices.
The systems and mechanisms inherent to generative artificial intelligence have sparked a digital revolution in the field of marketing and marketing communications. Artificial intelligence has enabled marketing entities to create original communication outputs in the form of personalised campaigns, in which deepfake plays a central role. This highly sophisticated generative AI tool is capable of constructing highly realistic yet inherently artificial content within a short period, utilising text, images, videos, and audio. Due to its ability to convincingly manipulate multimedia content, deepfake represents a significant factor in redefining traditional marketing communication concepts while opening new possibilities for content personalisation. For this reason, the objective of this research study is to examine the positive applications of deepfake technology in marketing communication campaigns, focusing on content personalisation, the creation of digital personas, and the enhancement of audience engagement. Through a qualitative case study approach, we analysed the positive aspects of the application and implementation of deepfake in selected communication campaigns: "Malaria Must Die", "Deepfaked Dolph Lundgren", and "My Dear Slovaks". The research findings demonstrate that, despite the predominantly negative perception of deepfake technology by the general public, its targeted use in marketing communication campaigns has yielded the opposite, positive effect. Recipients do not perceive this generative technology with disdain or disapproval in the context of its application in communication campaigns; rather, they regard it as an innovative and interactive element of marketing communication that has the potential to enhance interest in the given brand.
Current scholarly debates on period drama acknowledge that the term has always carried a variety of problematic gendered associations. Although the genre is widely popular (not only) in the Western cultural framework, on the silver screen and small(er) screens alike, it has long been delegitimised as inherently feminine. This is why many period dramas, even the most popular ones and especially those offered by internet-distributed television, have struggled to achieve critical acclaim which would allow them to assume the status of quality (or rather prestige, high-end) TV, except for HBO's male-centric productions such as Deadwood (Milch, 2004-2006) and Boardwalk Empire (Winter, 2010-2014). The aim of this study is to explore how the period drama Outlander (Moore, 2014-ongoing) incorporates avariety of narrative and discourse elements typical for high-end television, offering a complex transhistorical portrayal of characters born in different centuries and driven by diverse needs and motivations. This objective is fulfilled by contributing to the wider academic dispute on the formal and content-related differences between period dramas, costume dramas, and historical dramas, as well as on the presumed appeal of contemporary period dramas to female audiences expecting to experience complex displays of femininity and masculinity. The study also utilises narrative and discourse analysis to discuss Outlander's apparent ability to function as a genre hybrid merging fantasy, romance, and period drama with transhistorical storytelling, and also as a visually appealing and detailed portrayal of intimacy, emotional vulnerability, and female agency, particularly through the characters of Claire and Jamie Fraser.
