Are you being controlled by your electronic device?
If there is something we like to do is talk, the channels that we choose to do this continue to evolve. The internet has been fertile ground for us to express ourselves and its users continue to grow. The internet is our medium of choice, becoming an integral part of mass media. It is so important to us that there are strong battles for net neutrality, and even the government is working to improve the infrastructure to allow for 5G in rural areas. There is no question about it, technology is important to us. But can the same technology affect our thought pattern in relation to the world around us? A man by the name of Marshall McLuhan focused most of his academic career questioning how the medium we choose could potentially influence our thoughts.
The media, perception, and communication.
McLuhan develops this theory called the technological determinism, in which he describes mass media as the extension of our senses by creating an ability to see and hear things at a distance and to experience them at times other than when they occur. Such as the massively distributed networks, like TV and radio created an “extension” of sorts that changed the way people relate to their environment and to each other, altering the social structure in the process (Rosenberry, J. & Vicker, L.A., 2017).
Before his observations and subsequent theories no other scholar had touched on this subject and were more focused on the content of what was being communicated. He pointed out that historical eras each had a social structure that had been the product of the dominant communication medium of its time. This is relevant to our modern day as globalization of information through the internet, satellite delivery of media messages and other technologies have changed how we communicate.
Noting that the medium creates a different environment for the audience to interact with. His famous quote “the medium is the message” is meaningful to this theory because it relates to how the choice of medium shapes our perception. Such as a person going on social media for their news, instead of going to the local news network.
The way you choose to talk to someone, the tool or medium you use would influence how that person receives your message.
Is this theory the be all, end all?
The quote “the medium is the message” implies that how the information is received has more weight than the actual information. Is there truly some silent power of the media that is shaping our understanding of the world? From McLuhan’s observations, he drove the idea of the media is another type of environment. With media being an extension of ourselves, it acts dynamically between us and the environment, and whatever happens between the two becomes our new environment. (Strate, 2011).
I am not entirely convinced with this theory, if every new medium is a new environment, and it affects the same way that the natural environment shapes us, then we should be able to measure its effects. This theory on its own does not necessarily provide us with a round picture of medium effects, instead it focuses to highlight a specific aspect of media influence.
The theory relates to all medium that is technology and man-made. While we can discuss that the internet is biased and you are being fed a specific content based on algorithms, how can we separate the influence of the medium from the content? For example, if a person plays a virtual reality game that allows for an immersive experience, is it shaping the person in a transformative manner? Once they are off the game, the media holds no effect on the person. How would this change the perception environment outside of the game?
It also implies that we are empty vessels easily moldable to media, I find that other variables are left out such as the behavior or character traits of the person and how these can relate to their choice of media and how they react.
In the end, those who preferred to read the newspapers will search for online newspapers to read, others that enjoyed a video format of consuming communication will continue to seek videos to watch. Still, the theory brought up by McLuhan should continue to be explored and studied further, who knows maybe we may have a better understanding of our digital surroundings by having more research work on these theories.
