Consequences of digital platforms’ use on the work–life balance of Brazilian journalists

This study investigates the influence of digital platforms on the work–life balance of Brazilian journalists. It comprises empirical research with 35 news professionals, including 35 semi-structured interviews and 33 diary materials. Data were qualitatively analyzed using the thematic networks approach. Findings reveal that digital platforms have influenced the work–life balance of journalists in conflicting ways, encompassing positive, mixed, and negative effects. In this sense, news workers have employed various practices to limit their use of digital media and promote work–life balance. Overall, this study presents a more comprehensive description of the impact of digital platforms in journalism. It also highlights these technologies’ prominence to positive or negative spillovers between personal and professional spheres. Last, it introduces a cognitive map of the actions put in place by a professional group to keep their digital media use under some control, which may also be seen as practices of journalistic disconnection.