A Bibliometric Analysis of Media Convergence in the Twenty-first Century: Current Status, Hotspots, and Trends

Media convergence has transformed how people access information and interact with technology, obscuring the lines between traditional and digital media while reshaping societal communication and cognitive frameworks. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 274 academic papers published between 2000 and 2024, focusing on the keyword "media convergence." Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software, we examined the research landscape, including publication volume, source journals, research areas, countries, affiliations, and authors. Keyword co-occurrence, clustering, and emergence analysis revealed five primary research areas- (i) Media Convergence and Journalism Studies; (ii) Digital and Social Media Studies; (iii) Internet and Online Interaction Studies; (iv) Cultural and Regional Studies; and (v) Entertainment Studies. The development of media convergence research was categorized into three phases- (i) an initial focus on core communication theories and the emergence of new media (2000–2009); (ii) the integration of new media and traditional journalism driven by widespread Internet adoption (2010–2018); and (iii) recent explorations of cross-platform communication and artificial intelligence (2019–2024). This study offers valuable insights into the evolution of media convergence research and outlines potential future directions, providing a foundation for further comprehensive investigations.