A Discursive Approach to Mediatisation: Corporate Technology Discourse and the Trope of Media Indispensability

Abstract

Hitherto, and mainly by way of ethnographic studies, mediatisation research has informed us regarding the relevance, influence, and role of media in various spheres of social life. Less is known, however, about how mediatisation is discursively constructed. The relevance of constructivist approaches to mediatisation has been explicated, e.g., by Krotz (2017), who calls for critical mediatisation studies that consider the economic interests of mediatisation stakeholders, including the ICT industry. Against this backdrop, this article scrutinizes what the alleged 'mobility revolution' entails according to some who would benefit most from such a revolution. More concretely, the article studies the discursive practices of three leading corporations in the mobile communications sector: IBM, Huawei, and Ericsson. Stimulated by critical mediatisation theory as well as related accounts of the (technology) discourse-reality relationship, the article asks: if mobile media changes 'everything' in life-whose lives are being changed? If mobile media are 'indispensable' to modern ways of living-what are they supposed to do? Ultimately, the article speaks to the theme of this thematic issue by interrogating how contemporary mobile technology discourse contributes to the (re-)production of social space. Findings suggest that mediatisation is constructed as the response to an internal human drive for connectivity and as an inexorable natural force. Three sub-discourses on mobile technology are identified: 'technologies of cosmos', 'technologies of self', and, ultimately, 'technologies of life'. Altogether, these sub-discourses disclose and reinforce the hegemonic nature of mediatisation by communicating the indispensability of mobile media in modern-notably, urban and privileged-lives. In addition to providing answers to the study's empirical questions, the article includes a discussion about the potential implications of existing discourse overlaps between ICT companies and mediatisation theorists, as well as a sketch for an agenda for the 'discursive turn' in mediatisation studies.

Mediatization as a Framework for Social Design: For a Better Life with Media

“…As Elliot and Urry (2010, 28-33) argue, mobile media technologies provide resources for the containment of emotion, making a life on the move increasingly sustainable and desirable. This is also the predominant way in which such technologies are promoted and marketed; studies of corporate discourses in the realm of mobile media show that "connected lives" are regularly associated with successful careers, flexibility, and global mobility (Fast 2018). There is thus a mutual interplay between technological affordances and dominant discourses, which spurs the growing reliance on new media in social life and promotes connectivity and flexibility as desirable social norms.…”

The disconnection turn: Three facets of disconnective work in post-digital capitalism

“…What I here refer to as disconnective technologies of work are not primarily constructed as instruments of flexibility, speed, or efficiency (as is usually the case with connective media; cf. Fast, 2018), but rather as tools for accomplishing digital wellbeing. In promoting spatial and temporal fixity (or "presence" rather than multitasking), these technologies in effect prescribe that space (and time) should be "divided according to a specific function" (cf.…”

“…Aiming to remedy the identified blind spot, this article asks how the disconnection turn, and the grander post-digital value schemes that feed into it, affect how we (think about) work. In post-digital capitalism, which is my overarching fond here, companies and governments continue to promote connectivity as the key to a happy working life (Fast, 2018). Yet, while they do so, a growing number of agents-ranging from "Silicon Valley dystopians" (Karppi and Nieborg, 2020) to "digital detox coaches" argue that we should use digital technologies less, or at least more "mindfully" (Baym et al, 2020).…”

Media Studies for a Mediatized World: Rethinking Media and Social Space

“…Their argument is that the present media landscape, the norms and practices connected to it, incurs a heavy burden for the individual media user-who has to manage and control their communication, and be aware of the consequences of their actions in a networked and surveilled everyday life. Fast (2018), in turn, shifts our attention to corporate technology discourse and how the transnational information and communication technology (ICT) companies Ericsson, IBM and Huawei construct the notion of media indispensability in their external communication. Despite the social costs and the power dynamics that come with the mediatized and mobile society, the discursive trope of media indispensability is mobilized on the part of ICT companies as the key to the "good life".…”