Social cohesion in platformized public spheres: toward a conceptual framework

Abstract

Social cohesion is crucial for democratic societies since it unites individuals who do not have a direct relationship with each other. By representing social heterogeneity and enabling public debate, the public sphere is vital for fostering social cohesion. However, platformization—that is, the establishment of social media platforms as an infrastructure for public communication—challenges the constitution of publics and thus raises the question of whether the public sphere is still able to fulfill its cohesive function. Expanding on this question, our article systematically theorizes how platformization at the meso-level induces the emergence of a platformized public sphere at the macro-level. The article presents a framework that allows us to analyze: (1) which actors constitute publics in the age of platformization; (2) the logics according to which this happens; and (3) to what extent these logics, consisting of social media affordances and algorithms, contribute to the cohesive performance of platformized publics.