context collapse

American  

[kahn-tekst kuh-laps] / ˈkɑn tɛkst kəˈlæps /

noun

1. Sociology. a process observed in television and internet communication, in which a message intended for a specific audience in a specific context is accessed by members of other audiences unfamiliar with that context, resulting in misunderstanding or rejection of the message.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

context collapse

The effect of clipping is context collapse maximized to further a hasty impression of a vaguely famous person.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

A problem that social networks have is context collapse, which is basically you get millions of people together in a space where everyone has different levels of understanding, different politics, different beliefs.

From New York Times ● May 5, 2023

If you say the wrong thing and there is context collapse around your tweet, you might lose your job because the Beyhive is mad at you.

From The Verge ● Jun. 14, 2022

But the high potential for context collapse, in which videos are served to users beyond the originally intended audience, can lead to creators getting gun-shy.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2021

They’ve ushered in a kind of context collapse whose effects it will likely take decades to fully understand.

From Slate ● Dec. 27, 2018