FROM THE BOOK TO THE WEB: CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE BETWEEN TRADITION AND DIGITAL INNOVATION

This dissertation explores the transformative impact of the digital age on reading and literature, focusing on the cognitive, aesthetic, and cultural shifts caused by technological integration in the production and consumption of texts. It examines how new media environments have altered the relationship between readers, authors, and content, shifting reading practices from a linear, immersive model to a fragmented, hyperconnected, and accelerated one. This shift affects not only the act of reading, but has also a deep impact on narrative structures, literary forms and the configuration of the text itself, which increasingly takes on interactive, hypertextual and multimedia features. It also discusses the democratization of cultural production and participatory culture enabled by digital platforms, raising questions about authorship, content quality, and the authenticity of aesthetic experiences. The dissertation provides a critical framework for understanding these changes, examining the opportunities and challenges digital media presents for literature and cognitive practices, and offering insights into the evolving nature of reading and storytelling in the contemporary media landscape.