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Jean-Samuel Beuscart joins the médialab

Digital sociologist Jean-Samuel Beuscart joined the médialab last October: an overview of his background and research.

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Jean-Samuel Beuscart, newly arrived at the médialab, shares his experience and ambitions. A specialist in digital sociology, he explores various aspects of the digitalization of markets, consumption, and daily life. He talks about his aspirations and the projects he hopes to develop at the médialab.

Hello Jean-Samuel, can you tell us about your background before joining the médialab?

I completed a generalist training in social sciences at ENS Cachan (now ENS Paris-Saclay), where I gained a solid foundation in general sociology. It was there that I became interested in digital objects, with a master’s thesis on Napster, the first peer-to-peer tool for music sharing. This subject, emblematic for its rapid adoption and the controversies surrounding copyright, fascinated me.

I then pursued a PhD in economic sociology, focusing on the online music market and examining how the internet reconfigures the music industry and copyright issues. I have continued to work on music, studying, for instance, how music recommendation algorithms transform our relationship with music.

After my PhD, I spent 15 years at Orange Labs, exploring how digital tools, such as customer reviews and online advertising, reshape consumer behavior. In parallel, I taught at Université Gustave Eiffel.

Three years ago, I joined Télécom Paris as a professor, teaching digital sociology to engineering students. My challenge was to show them how sociology could help them understand the social, ethical, and political impacts of the technologies they develop.

More recently, I broadened my research to explore the intersection of digital and ecological transitions. I studied digital tools aimed at reducing energy consumption or monitoring pollution but found their promises often fall short. This led me to focus on digital sobriety, the environmental impact of digital technologies, and how these issues shape consumer practices.

What are your first impressions of the médialab?


The médialab is home to many highly skilled researchers and has a genuine collective spirit. There is a strong culture of democratic and constructive discussion, with productive exchanges in every meeting.

I’ve also noticed that it’s a very dynamic environment. I’m still in the process of discovering most of the research projects, and I think it will take me some time to fully understand this complex ecosystem and the initiatives researchers are involved in.

What are your main research areas?

Currently, my research focuses on two main areas. The first, rooted in my studies on the digitalization of consumption, concentrates on the music industry. I am part of a collective project called Records, which analyzes databases containing listening traces and user preferences to study the impact of algorithms on musical tastes. Together with my colleague Samuel Coavoux, we are exploring what it means to have a musical culture in the digital age, especially through the varied uses of playlists.

The second area focuses on digital sobriety as an aspect of the ecological transition in the digital sector. This project aims to identify the practical actions underpinning discourses on ecological transition. I am also interested in the work of Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier on consumption norms and regulation, which helps analyze how recommendations to reduce the digital footprint influence the practices of companies and consumers, and how entities like ADEMEor the press promote eco-gestures and establish responsible consumption norms.

How do your studies on digitalization and ecological transitions align with the médialab’s projects?

My work will gradually integrate into the médialab, and I believe it will do so naturally, given the lab’s focus on studying digital objects and digitization. The médialab also addresses environmental issues, notably through the research of Guillaume Lachenal  and Nicolas Benvegnu.

Historically, the médialab pioneered environmental controversy mapping, a process initiated by Bruno Latour to develop theoretical and technical tools for analyzing controversies through digital objects. I plan to build on these tools and studies to better understand the environmental challenges of the digital sector. While I don’t yet have a detailed plan, I am confident my research will contribute to the médialab’s existing activities by offering new perspectives on environmental challenges.

Do you have specific projects you want to develop at the médialab?

Yes, I’m arriving at the médialab with several ongoing projects and room to develop new ones in collaboration with both internal and external colleagues.

Recently, I completed an interesting project on screen time, which we are currently analyzing. I am considering ways to extend it meaningfully. We have also completed an initial investigation into controversies surrounding the digital footprint, and we are looking at how to expand this research while continuing work on digital sobriety.

I also want to explore the relevance of certain topics with my new colleagues at the médialab, particularly around tools for mapping public spaces in a broad sense and political debates on the digital footprint. There is a tension in public debate where digital actors often argue that technology contributes to the ecological transition without closely examining its environmental footprint. I want to delve deeper into this issue.

Finally, I continue to research and work on music, which remains for me both a source of inspiration and personal enjoyment.