Introduction: the dynamics of digital communication in the Philippines: legacies and potentials

This special issue brings together six research articles that speak to the dynamics of digital communication in Philippines, a country firmly located global geography economy and an early adopter innovator mobile communication. Increasingly, rise platforms is spurring on new business models applications find wide range appropriations developing with high level skills inequality. These have, turn, fuelled popularity social media populism has gained international attention and, more critically, taken into uncharted political terrain. We introduce this Special Issue by taking stock legacies potentials highlighting how sustain extend past conversations. Drawing from cover topics (entertainment, intimacy, labour, journalism politics, scandals pornography), we identify three overlapping themes capture socio-technical Philippines: (1) emplaced material, structural conditions; (2) networked publics communication; (3) convertibility capitals emergence competencies. point contradictions, continuities changes relate Philippine modernity context capitalism.