ABSTRACT
One of the clearest expressions of mediatization is the pervasiveness with which numerous media have become materially indispensable to people in their daily lives. Mediatization involves a variety of everyday material transformations, but a common denominator is the experience of living with media things as seemingly natural elements of the lifeworld. People have literally (re-)arranged their life environments in response to the appearance (and disappearance) of media. This chapter discusses media as technics, following Don Ihde's phenomenological view of technology and the lifeworld. It looks at media as properties in a Bourdieusian sense, addressing the cultural shaping of indispensability. Finally, following Henri Lefebvre's understanding of textures, the chapter discusses how media, as both technics and properties, become part of the felt cultural-material fabric of everyday life. Taken together, these analytical levels contribute to a holistic understanding of indispensability, helping us to unpack the various articulations of media as socially recognized cultural forms.
