Abstract
Mediatised communication as a term and concept stands here in the theoretical tradition of enriching the diagnosis of an increasing heterogenisation of modern societies with the search for a compensatory counterpart, social (re)integration: What holds society together when modernity dissolves traditional patterns of social integration? The concept of mediatised communication responds to this question in a similar way to modern theories of autopoietic systems. These do not focus on integration as a necessary mode of social cohesion, but on differentiation. And differentiation no longer refers to a form of universal interconnection of the differentiated spheres of society that goes beyond this in some way. Rather, according to their internal system reference, the autonomously closed subsystems establish relationships to an environment that does not exist independently, but in turn depends on the internal system states. Since modernity is characterised by a multiplicity of differentiations and a multiplicity of function-specific communication systems specialised in topics, the communication of society as a whole can also no longer be understood as a 'stable bond' across differentiations.
