News media can shape public perceptions of technology and meaningfully inform research on technology adoption. Yet, little is known about the news representations of a currently emerging technology: Virtual Assistants (VAs). By examining the Dutch news coverage (2011–2022; N = 2059) using the Analysis of Topic Model Networks, this study found that (1) news attention peaked in 2019 with a decline in the years thereafter (until 2022) and (2) discourse shifted from personal impact frames (niche interest) to societal impact frames (broader relevance). Findings inform media effect studies on VA adoption by illustrating what people might be learning about VAs.
Wald et al. (2026) studied this question.
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