Mediatisation as a Driver of Big Data Growth

Abstract

The possibilities and consequences of the application and penetration of information technology in different spheres of society are of particular interdisciplinary interest in today’s academic environment. The methodological basis of the study was a combination of informational, comparative, systematic and conceptual approaches. Besides that, the secondary data analysis method was employed. This article examines mediatisation as an important factor in accelerating the accumulation of big data in the digital age. With the emergence of new media and the digitalisation of modern media space, researchers have recorded a process of ‘deep mediatisation’. It is noted that, in domestic practice, the main emphasis in the study of the phenomenon of ‘Big Data’ is on its technical aspect, while socio-humanitarian characteristics and effects are revealed to a lesser extent. The article represents an attempt to consider ‘Big Data’ technology as a symbolic and authoritative resource of the information society. Mediatisation and big data are interrelated. On one hand, ‘Big Data’ technology allows for the identification and measurement of quantitative indicators of the mediatisation process (e.g. active social media audience, etc.) and facilitates the processing of the findings. Mediatisation, on the other hand, facilitates the accumulation of heterogeneous data and, as a theoretical concept, allows for the implications of big data technology to be identified and for social institutions to be adapted to it. In addition, mediatisation is changing the paradigm of the private and individual aspects in media space as a result of the growth in the volume, storage and reproduction of social information in the digital society, the lowering of the barrier of access to the media age, and the emergence of new actors of communication: micro-subjects (e.g. Influencers).