Digital Mediatisation and Social Construction: Unravelling the Role of Media in Shaping Society

Abstract

In today’s digital ecosystem, technology and media do more than relay information—they actively reshape our social landscape. Digital platforms have evolved into complex networks where human intentions, algorithmic processes and cultural symbols converge. These networks challenge traditional communication models and highlight digital media’s transformative potential. Mediatisation theory argues that media is not a mere conduit for information but a fundamental force that permeates all aspects of society. Contemporary scholars have conceptualised mediatisation as the process by which media logic gradually restructures traditional social institutions and practices. This logic, which governs content production, circulation and consumption, prioritises immediacy, interactivity and personalisation. Political debates, cultural norms and everyday communications are increasingly oriented around these media-driven imperatives. Couldry and Hepp (2017), in their work on ‘The Mediated Construction of Reality’, contend that mediatisation blurs the boundaries between producers and consumers, effectively reconfiguring power dynamics within society. Digital platforms, with their algorithmic curation and user-generated content, integrate media logic into the very fabric of daily life, impacting both public discourse and private interactions. It is widely recognised in media and communication scholarship that media play an active role in shaping public discourse through framing, agenda-setting and the modulation of collective perceptions. Mediatisation theory provides a robust analytical lens to examine how digital environments channel collective attention and steer social behaviour. Media do not merely report events; they construct contexts that redefine accountability, legitimacy and authority. This framework compels us to trace how digital media transform various sectors—from political communication and social movements to personal identity and interpersonal relationships. Digital mediatisation amplifies these transformations by embedding media logic into multiple aspects of social life. Social media platforms’ interactive affordances and real-time responsiveness facilitate rapid public sentiment and cultural norms shifts. Integrating user engagement with algorithmically curated content leads to a media ecosystem where traditional gatekeeping mechanisms are increasingly circumvented. The impacts of mediatisation must be emphasised, as they are deeply embedded within existing social, political and economic structures. These complexities underline the necessity for a more sophisticated analysis of mediatisation that considers the reciprocal relationship between digital media and broader societal processes. As a theoretical framework, mediatisation offers critical insights into the dynamic interrelations between technology, culture and agency. It focuses on how media mediate, construct and transform everyday life. Eleanore Glynn, David H. K. Brown and Lisa Edwards open this issue with Discriminatory Meme Culture on Football Twitter: Othering and Racialisation Through Insensitive Humour. They scrutinise how Twitter users deploy humour to mask racialised othering. By analysing tweets from the Euro 2020 final, the authors reveal that memes are potent vehicles for reproducing and concealing discriminatory narratives. Their work challenges us to reconsider the cultural impact of social media humour. Arif Md Tareque Habib and Mohammad Yousuf shift the focus to global news dynamics in Foreign Solutions over Local Realities: Impacts of Leading Global News Networks on Framing of COVID-19 News in Bangladesh. Their study demonstrates that Western journalistic practices infuse local media narratives. Through qualitative and computational text analyses, they show that local news frames in Bangladesh mirror global storytelling techniques, underscoring the interdependency of media cultures in a digital world. Bo Nilsson’s Strategies of Legitimisation and De-legitimisation in Polarised Representations of Climate Activists in Swedish Media offers a critical exploration of mediated discourse. Nilsson dissects how media texts mobilise strategies that validate or undermine climate activism. His analysis of 98 Swedish media texts documents how discursive practices forge political divides, enriching our understanding of digital narrative construction. Sreedeep Bhattacharya, in Window-Shopping Humans in the Dating Store: What User-Bios Tell Us About Online Dating, examines how digital dating platforms convert personal identity into marketable profiles. Bhattacharya reveals that dating apps construct social identities by framing intimacy as a commodity. His study underscores the pervasive influence of digital media on self-representation. Anirban Ghosh and Sarvesh Dutt Tripathi extend our inquiry with Understanding Viewer Fascination with Reaction Videos: A Discourse Analysis of YouTube Comments. Their research, informed by the uses and gratifications theory, uncovers the varied needs that reaction videos satisfy. The authors show that these videos offer identity affirmation, emotional connection and communal engagement—especially vital in socially isolated environments. Toktam Namayandeh Joorabchi, Amin Farokhi Haghighat and Mehdi Qorbanian Qohroudi explore the darker side of digital engagement in Examining Instagram Addiction and Social Isolation: Study Conducted among Iranian Students Based on Uses and Gratification Theory. Their quantitative analysis reveals that the purpose behind Instagram use, rather than mere usage patterns, mediates experiences of social isolation. This work challenges us to look beyond superficial metrics and investigate the motivations that drive digital behaviour. Finally, Sydney E. Brammer, Ryan J. Martinez and Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter discuss this issue with College Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of TikTok Use on Their Lives. By analysing open-ended survey responses, they identify eight themes that capture TikTok’s multifaceted impact—from time management to mental health awareness. Their study provides a nuanced view of how a single platform can influence multiple aspects of daily life. These contributions emphasise that digital media actively constructs social realities. They compel us to consider how mediatisation processes continuously reshape cultural and social landscapes alongside audience-driven needs and framing dynamics.