This issue of the Journal of Man and Society, Vol. 12, Issue 1 (January–June 2026), offers insights into shifting social phenomena influenced by digital technology, consumer culture, online communication, the preservation of local identity, and the negotiation of meaning in everyday life.

              Amidst a context where local languages and cultures face growing pressure from standard Thai and modern media, the article " Lexical Variation across Age Groups among Phu Tai Speakers in Ban Dung District, Udon Thani Province" sheds light on the dynamics of local dialects across generations. Here, language is treated not merely as a tool for communication, but as a repository of memory, identity, and the cultural transmission of a community.

              Concurrently, articles focusing on online media-namely " Factors Affecting Infographic Consumption in Thai Online News " and " Linguistic Strategies Used in Horoscope Predictions on Thairath Online" reflect how digital media has transformed human perception of news, knowledge, beliefs, and life's uncertainties. Infographics have emerged as a communication format that meets the demands of a fast-paced society, while online astrology demonstrates that traditional beliefs persist by adapting to contemporary media spaces within the realm of popular culture. The articles " Moral Drama in the Digital Platform Era: The Case of “Kathoey Moral Drama” and the Logic of Its Popularity in Contemporary Thai Society" and " A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Thai Film "Do You Love Me?"(Rak Nu Mai)" illustrate that entertainment media functions as more than mere amusement. Instead, it serves as a contested arena for producing and negotiating values, ideas, ideologies, gender, relationships, and societal lessons.

           In terms of spatial and cultural identity, " Clothing and Semiotic Landscape in Café Space: A Case Study of One Step Garden Café in Shanghai" reflects the intricate relationship between urban spaces, consumption, and identity construction in the social media era. Meanwhile, " Isan Language and the Construction of the Meaning of “Isanness” through the Naming of Isan Restaurants in Urban Contexts" and " Geopolitics of Spirits: Relations with Sacred Space and Power in Contemporary Isan Society" collectively demonstrate that the "local" is never static. Rather, it is constantly reimagined and reconstructed through language, food, beliefs, space, and power relations.

          Finally, " An Eco-narrative Study of Creation Myths in Lao Folktales" offers an insightful perspective on the value of folklore as traditional wisdom that connects humanity with nature, especially at a time when the global community is facing severe environmental crises.

          The study of humanities and social sciences remains vital to understanding our contemporary world. Behind every technological and social shift lie language, beliefs, narratives, signs, spaces, and identities acting as crucial mechanisms in the construction of meaning. The nine articles in this issue do not merely present specialized knowledge; they invite readers to discern the complexities of modern life and recognize the enduring value of the humanities and social sciences in explaining, understanding, and questioning the society in which we live.

                                                                                   Pakpoom Hannapha

                                                                                                Editor