Narrative Networks: Storytelling in Social Media and Online Communities as the New Myth-Making Spaces

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-618-0_14How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Narrative networks; mythology; social media; storytelling; participatory community; feminist retellings

Abstract

Onset of modernisation has created a rise in the use of the digital world. These digital platforms have transferred the landscape for storytelling, shifting it from single author to an enhanced distributed and participatory audience. This research examines the use of social media as well as various online communities create a space for narrative networks where stories are not just presented but are constructed, circulated and reframed through various perspectives and collaborative efforts. The study explores ancient oral storytelling traditions finding renewed ways to resonate with the digital age. Discussion on neo-mythological retellings by Indian authors like Amish Tripathi, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Kavita Kane has been made. This presents how classical myths have re-entered public space through online discussions, debates, reinterpretations, fan practices. This paper argues that online platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter have given new grounds of exploration, where mythological characters are reimagined to align with the contemporary world. These characters are related with concerns of the modern world such as feminism, and identity. These characters are utilised to create digital activism which further makes them archetypes for the present-day readers. Narrative networks have preserved the traditional myths and has also extended them to collaborative, hypertextual forms which presents the developmental future for the sphere of literature. This research presents the idea of online communities creating a new space for the mythology to be revisited creating new mythology for the digital age users, characterising new possibilities of inclusivity and interactivity.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Malika Payal
AU  - Pinki Chugh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/16
TI  - Narrative Networks: Storytelling in Social Media and Online Communities as the New Myth-Making Spaces
BT  - Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Library & Technology on “Artificial Intelligence and Humanities in Library and Education 4.0 (AIHLE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 193
EP  - 204
SN  - 1951-6851
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-618-0_14
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-618-0_14
ID  - Payal2026
ER  -