Mediaalisointi

Mediaalisointi, often translated as mediatization, describes the process by which media institutions, practices and technologies come to shape social life, institutions and everyday experiences. It refers to the growing pervasiveness of media logic in politics, religion, education, work and culture, where media are not only channels for information but also frameworks that organize action, interpretation and social expectations.

Key mechanisms include the spread of media logic, platformization, commercialization and audience fragmentation. Through platformization, digital platforms, algorithms and datafication steer what people see and how they engage. Media logic emphasizes speed, visibility, narrative genres and immediacy, influencing political campaigning, corporate communication and religious outreach, as well as everyday communication.

Impacts include agenda-setting and framing of public discourse, shifts in authority relations, and new forms of participation and interaction. The professional routines of journalism, public relations and marketing adapt to rapid production cycles; education and culture increasingly foreground media literacy. Examples include political campaigns leveraging social media, newsrooms adapting to real-time feeds, and religious communities using television, streaming and online platforms to reach followers.

Critique and debate note that mediatization is not a deterministic force; actors retain agency, and effects vary across contexts and cultures. Measurement challenges exist, as mediatization interacts with digitalization, globalization, and other social processes. In Finnish scholarship, mediaalisointi is commonly used similarly to mediatization, with attention to both traditional and digital media, platforms and data-driven mediation of social life.