Mediatization, polarization, and intolerance (between environments, media, and circulation)

From mediatization to deep mediatization 29 various forms of automated analysis which has become a fun- damental part of the construction of the social world (see, for example, in relation to journalism, LOOSEN, 2018). Through this shift into the digital, mediatization research has developed various connections with more general research on the influ - ence data has on society (see, for example, BEER ,2016 and GIL- LESPIE; BOCZKOWSKI; FOOT, 2014). Digitalization has seen us emerge into a new stage of mediatization, which we can identify as deep mediatization. Deep mediatization is an advanced stage of mediatization in which all elements of our social world are intricately related to media and their overarching infrastructures (COULDRY; HEPP, 2013, p. 7, 34). Researching deep mediatization presents a chal- lenge to mediatization research as it must incorporate the analy- sis of algorithms and digital infrastructure into the way it ap- proaches its objects of analysis. The investigation of algorithms becomes necessary because, in a state of deep mediatization, facets of the mediated construction of the social world occur through automated data analyses (GILLESPIE, 2014). Classifica - tion into certain interest groups when shopping online and per- sonal recommendations based on this technology are made pos- sible and are automated through the use of algorithmic systems, as are suggestions of new friends or users to follow on online platforms. More attention needs to be paid to the digital infra- structures that underpin contemporary media (MOSCO, 2017). As the current connectivity we are experiencing will increase, it can only be approached from a cross-media and global perspec- tive. Understanding mediatization as a concept that sensitizes us to media change means that we must rethink the relevance of specific research paths once more and forces us to further inte - grate more detailed analytical concepts into the field. 4. The making of deep mediatization As my previous statements in this article have made clear, mediatization is not a “natural” process, but a form of so- cial transformation “made” by human beings: By “making” digital media and their infrastructures the basis of more and more social