Publishing Journal ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 62-72.

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The Polyphony of Time: A Study on the Cultural Practice of Nostalgic Reading in an Accelerated Society

  

  1. (Integrated Media Publishing Research Center, Henan University, Zhengzhou, 450046)(School of Journalism and Communication, Henan University, Zhengzhou, 450046)
  • Received:2025-08-10 Revised:2026-01-11 Online:2026-02-09 Published:2026-02-09

Abstract: Taking nostalgic reading as the research object, this study employs virtual ethnography and in-depth interviews, and conducts analysis within a three-dimensional analytical framework encompassing temporal experience, symbolic memory, and technological mediation. The findings indicate that nostalgic reading can be categorized into three practical pathways: direct nostalgia associative nostalgia, and hybrid nostalgia. These respectively correspond to embodied return triggered by the materiality of books, the activation of collective memory through textual symbols and the reproduction of memory under the intervention of algorithms and platform mechanisms. By reconstructing temporal perception and modes of bodily engagement in reading, nostalgic reading functions as a form of “decelerated” practice in response to the acceleration and fragmentation of contemporary reading. Meanwhile, under conditions of platformization and capital logic nostalgic reading increasingly exhibits tendencies toward the fragmentation of memory symbols and the proceduralization and commodification of emotional experience, thereby giving rise to risks of weakened authenticity and cultural homogenization. This study deepens understanding of differentiated reading cultures in the digital age from the perspectives of temporal politics and media practices, and provides analytical pathways and empirical reference for future research. 

Key words: Nostalgic reading Accelerated society Reading culture Media memory

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