mediatised

Mediatised is an adjective used in media studies and sociology to describe social life, institutions, and practices shaped by the logics and technologies of mass media. When a process is mediatised, media considerations such as reach, presentation, and audience engagement become central to how events are produced, interpreted, and sustained, often beyond participants’ intentions. The term is closely related to mediatization, referring to the broader process by which media influence expands across domains of society.

The concept arises from mediatization theory in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Scholars such as Knut Lundby and Stig Hjarvard argue that media increasingly structure politics, religion, education, and everyday life. The mediatised character of a domain involves the integration of media logic—immediacy, dramaturgy, personalization, and simplified framing—into routines and assumptions.

Practically, mediatised politics may involve announcements timed to fit news cycles or campaigns built around debates and viral clips. In religion, institutions adapt rituals and messaging for broadcast audiences; in education and family life, media use reorganizes routines and interaction. The concept also applies to sports, entertainment, and crisis communication, where visibility and rapid dissemination shape outcomes and perceptions.

Critics warn that mediatised can be too broad or deterministic, obscuring agency and structural factors. Empirical work often traces how media logic interacts with organizational practices, cultural norms, and technological change, rather than claiming a single effect. The term remains a useful analytic for understanding how media power traverses sectors of society.