The Nostalgia of the Present

How Algorithmic Architectures of Music Streaming Reconfigure Temporal Experience

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2237-9967.2026v15e37753

Keywords:

Music Streaming, Presentism, Nostalgia, Memory, Platform Capitalism

Abstract

This article investigates the reconfiguration of temporal experience within the algorithmic architectures of music streaming. Based on François Hartog’s concept of presentism, it analyzes how features such as Time Capsule, Wrapped, and Discover Weekly on Spotify operationalize nostalgia and memory. Adopting a qualitative and critical approach, grounded in platformization theory, Bergson’s notion of duration, and Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of memory, the findings indicate that presentism becomes a computational infrastructure: nostalgia turns into a product, memory is metricized, and discovery gives way to predictability. It concludes that the “nostalgia of the present” operates as a form of temporal power, subordinating historicity to the logic of engagement.

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Author Biographies

Tiago Negrão de Andrade, FAAC/UNESP

Doutor pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Mídia e Tecnologia da FAAC – Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Bacharel em Comunicação Social, com habilitação em Relações Públicas, pela Universidade de Sorocaba (Uniso).

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5352-9798

Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/6885654276116955

Maria Cristina Gobbi, fa

Pesquisadora Livre-Docente em História da Comunicação e da Cultura Midiática pela UNESP pela Unesp. Chefa no Departamento de Jornalismo e professora dos cursos de Graduação e de Pós-Graduação da mesma instituição. Bolsista de Produtividade do CNPq e Bolsista Fapesp (Processo 22/08397-6). Diretora Administrativa da ALAIC. Integra o INCT Caleidoscópio.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5629-5010

Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2302756561160804

João Luiz Alexandre dos Santos, Fatec

Graduado em eventos pela Fatec-Itu. Músico profisisonal

References

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Published

2026-10-16

How to Cite

ANDRADE, Tiago Negrão de; GOBBI, Maria Cristina; SANTOS, João Luiz Alexandre dos. The Nostalgia of the Present: How Algorithmic Architectures of Music Streaming Reconfigure Temporal Experience. Dispositiva, Belo Horizonte, v. 15, p. e37753, 2026. DOI: 10.5752/P.2237-9967.2026v15e37753. Disponível em: https://periodicos.pucminas.br/dispositiva/article/view/37753. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 15 (2026): Tema Livre e Dossiê temático: Nostalgia(s) nas mídias

Section

Nostalgia(s) in Media

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Tiago Negrão de Andrade, Maria Cristina Gobbi, João Luiz Alexandre dos Santos

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