Critical theory 2.0 and im/materiality: the bug in the machinic flows

The notion of Media Studies 2.0 is reassessed in the light of both past and present Critical Theory. It is argued that Media Studies 2.0 risks repeating the mistakes of earlier media studies by failing to engage adequately with stubbornly relevant critiques of mass society. A more sustained recognition and interrogation of Critical Theory's analysis of technological processes is called for. Whilst writers such as Jean Baudrillard and Slavoj iek are presented as possible examples of a Critical Theory 2.0 to compensate for the worst excesses of Media Studies 2.0, it is suggested that there is still much to be learnt from such Critical Theory 1.0 figures as Adorno, Heidegger, and Kracauer.