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The new media and new technologies release and provoke socio-cultural changes not only in function of the old media but also in human existence. In the centre of the author's interest is the concept of "self-television". Although the role of television in contemporary world is still very significant, the evolution and modernization of television structure is essential. On one hand television structure very quickly reacts to very dynamic socio-cultural processes and challenges and on the other adapts to them. The concept of self-television emphasizes two processes which are responsible for the construction of modern television. One of them is meta-television narration and another is related to the autoreference nature of television. Both of them have caused a series of changes in the television structure which adjust to the cognitive structures of the television viewers. In this sense the television which tries to follow socio-cultural changes reproduces and popularizes the social mechanisms and social rules. In the context of the modern role of television in society it brings up also the problem of confusion of the public and private sphere and public and behind the scene actions which is analyzed in the article. Therefore the main purpose of the article is to research these two main processes which are observed in the construction and development of self-television.

The extreme makeover culture is a consequence of global changes and a market appetite for ever greater profits. The question arises nevertheless, as to whether this is a culture which is tending to homogenize societal groups, their lifestyles, the manner in which they spend their free time, their way of eating, furnishing and decorating the interiors of their homes in accordance with the tastes of others — specialists. The extreme makeover culture can be treated as a culture of optimism, realizing the desire for freedom and equality. It can be treated as a culture of pessimism, condemning various spheres of human life to homogenization and the processes of aesthetics as dictated by the canons of the experts. The idea of the extreme makeover originated in the Unites States, where the maintenance of an appropriately attractive appearance and a youthful life style is a passport to obtaining a better job, and the good aesthetics of ones milieu is a cultural prerequisite. The first transmission of the TV-program Extreme Makeover was in 2002. It quickly became a media success, which initiated the production of spin-offs. The basic themes and construction of these programs are essentially identical, however there are some minor differences. The author recognizes and describes them.

The article presents the research project "Pandemic diaries" carried out by a team working under the scientific supervision of prof. Wiesław Gumuła. The project was implemented in cooperation with the Institute of Literature in Krakow, which in 2020 announced a literary competition for journals that were to be devoted to everyday life in pandemic conditions. Researchers adopted the theoretical perspective of the sociology of everyday life and the phenomenological one. The analysis concerned the categories appearing in dailies such as social change, social relations, time, death, tourism, economy and economy, and many others. The diaries have literary value and contain important social content that has become the subject of sociological analyzes broadening the knowledge about people's lives in conditions of sudden and unexpected change.