Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams, both cornerstones in their respected and media theory and cultural studies, differed in their opinions of the relationship between media technology and social change.
McLuhan believed in technological determinism, which is “an approach that identifies technology, or technological developments, as the central causal element in processes of change” (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan 290). In other words, McLuhan believed that new technology drives the way cultural values and social structures develop. He was interested in the cultural effects produced by electronic media; he was especially interested in the effects of televisions. McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage argued that technology has changed the way humans
Rather than walking, we have cars to help us get to places quicker. Rather than talking with people face-to-face, we call on a telephone. New technology places value on doing things quicker and easier. McLuhan also believed that what changes people is the technology itself, not the content. In Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, he proposed that we focus on the way each medium changes cultures and traditions and reshapes social life, rather than the content. He describes the content of the medium as a “juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.” (McLuhan 32). To him, focusing on the medium was important because he believed that different types of media changes the balance of our sense. We start isolating and highlighting different senses. For example, print technology highlights the visual aspect of the media, but isolates sound. However, electronic media, such as television, allows us to see and hear, and therefore, reconnects senses that have been isolated by previous media (e.g., print and radio). McLuhan expands on the effects of electronic media in War and Peach in the Global Village, arguing that electronic creates a “global village.” Because electronic media allows people
...helle Hackman, a sophomore in high school, realized that her friends, rather than engaging in a conversation, were “more inclined to text each other” (Huffington Post). Michelle also became aware that over forty percent of people were suffering from anxiety when they were separated from the phones. This clearly shows that we are connected to the technology that we use, but we are also suffering from the use of technology. We spend more than half of our entire day using some sort of technology, whether that is a computer, phone, television, or radio. Technology is becoming a prevalent part of our lives, and we cannot live without it. Technology has become our family, and part of us.
Are technology and the media shedding the very fabric of the existence we have known? As technology and the media spread their influence, the debate over the inherent advantages and disadvantages intensifies. Although opinions vary widely on the subject, two writers offer similar views: Professor Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, in her article “Can You Hear Me Now” and Naomi Rockler-Gladen, who formerly taught media studies at Colorado State University, with her article “Me Against the Media: From the Trenches of a Media Lit Class.” Turkle asserts that technology has changed how people develop and view themselves, while at the same time affecting their concepts of time management and focus (270). Similarly, Rockler-Gladen believes media and its inherent advertising have had a profound effect on the values and thinking of the public (284). I could not agree more with Professor Turkle and Ms. Rockler-Gladen; the effects technology and media have worried and annoyed me for quite so time. The benefits of technology and media are undeniable, but so then are the flaws. People are beginning to shift their focus away from the physical world to the virtual world as they find it easier and more comfortable. The intended purpose of technology and media was to be a tool to improve the quality of life, not shackles to tie people to their devices. I no longer recognize this changed world and long for the simple world of my youth.
Many of McLuhan’s ideas concerning media can be classified as technologically deterministic. He argued that several technologies, alphabetic writing and movable type, were responsible for the “detribilization” of society. By “detribilization” he was referring to the creation of the individual who is responsible for his/her own ideas. He then argued that in recent times, a “retribilization” was occurring because of the introduction of electricity-based communications technologies such as radio and television. As Playboy writes, this is the “electronics revolution that will ultimately retribalize man by restoring his sensory balance”.
According to Dr. Jean Louis Ntang Beb and Dr. Shantella Sherman, people are largely impacted by entertainment and different forms as media when they become more readily available and prominent in people’s lives. Postman refers to this as ‘media – metaphors’ that “classify the world for us, sequence it, frame it, enlarge it, reduce it, color it, [and] argue a case for what the world is like” (10). The media is able to do this because it knows it has a heavy influence in an individual's life. When an entity has knowledge of power, it is able to manipulate its delivery in anyway it wants. This is because at the end of the day, even if the information received is not practical, society will still end up talking about with
Lin, C. and Atkin, D 2007. Communication technology and social change. 1st ed. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Media, the plural form of medium, describes various ways in which we communicate in society. A phone call, email, radio, computer, news on TV, etc. are all forms of media. In our society today, the media plays a significantly large role in influencing society negatively, twisting one’s perspective of the truth. In author Brooke Gladstone’s, The Influencing Machine, she discusses how media is looked at as an “influencing machine,” that’s controlling the mind of its viewers. Throughout the reading, Gladstone guides her readers through perceptions of media and how it influences them to get readers to understand the truth about media and the manipulation behind it.
The term “the media” is somewhat overused in our culture. It is a vague term we use to include any and all ways that messages are portrayed to us, usually in technology. Dr. Cyndy Scheibe, a professor at Ithaca College and media literacy expert, says that media is “messages conveyed through visuals, language, and/or sound that are mass produced for a mass audience. [Media is also] mediated by a form of technology and the producer of the message is not in the same place as the receiver of the message” (Scheibe). This means that media would include things like television, movies, the internet and print. Media doesn’t include things like text messages because they are not intended for mass audiences. For the purposes of this essay, “media” is mostly going to refer to television and video games.
Cellphones, television, and computers are just three of the most popular ways that we communicate in today. They have made a substantial impact on the United States simply by being readily available and easy to use. People are often discussing how technology has impacted us. Many believe that technology is actually hindering society rather than helping it. Then there are those who doubt technology has made our social interactions better. Certainly, this is true; without the advances in technology, our level of social interaction in education, businesses, and relationships would diminish.
This essay is based on Marshall McLuhan (1967) theory, which states that the medium is the message. McLuhan states that the form of a message determines the ways in which that message will be perceived.
Aldous Huxley, a renowned English writer, once said “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” The advancements that we have made in the recent years are astronomical. However, people of the present time are becoming increasingly dependent on technology and adversely influenced by the portrayal of the media. Initially media and technology were designed to facilitate a person’s life but as generations pass, it has become a liability rather than an asset.
“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features.” (James Surowiecki) Whether or not is known, technology has become too heavily relied on. It is replacing important social factors such as, life skills and communication skills. While technology is created to be beneficial, there must be a point in time where we draw the line. Once face-to-face conversations begin to extinguish, this means that there is too much focus on the “screen culture”. In her writing, “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle talks
The proponents of technology have always believed that technology is a product of independent creation and thus follows its own pace. They say that technology is forceful and society does not have a choice but to adapt to the changes that it imposes on the people. The members of any particular society may not be actually happy with the change but eventually they learn to accept it, as a result of which the process of change comes a full circle. This idea however is debatable because many critics point out that technology is in fact a planned phenomenon. Not only this but also they point out that there are certain forces that control and introduce technology into the society and that the expected changes from such an introduction is said to be a deliberate attempt at transforming the society. Marshall McLuhan wrote extensively about this subject in his book The Gutenberg Galaxy. The book is basically about the changes that were imposed in the European society as a result of the creation of the printing press in the fifteenth century. It was this printing press that was responsible for a number of changes in the society, which include the social, political and economic forces that were present at the time. The printing press was primarily responsible for the Protestant Reformation because a large number of bibles were available for everyone to read which meant, “Every man can be a priest.” The following essay will thus attempt to discuss McLuhan’s ideas in the light of the phenomenon of technology and discuss whether it is relevant to the current revolution in electronic publishing. The initial Gutenberg revolution discussed by McLuhan is just an introduction of other things to come. He is more interested in finding out about the...
Link to lecture and chapter: This chapter is making link with societies. Mass media make changes, marked movement from writing to print. New media creating a lot of changes but other side this can be harmful.
“The medium is the message,” uttered by the late media scholar and theorist Marshall McLuhan, and they have been revered and dissected ever since they were spoken. There has been several different interpretations on the premise of McLuhan’s words, and the meaning behind them. The best way to start unraveling his theory, is to get a general understanding of the terms used in his famous quote. In McLuhan’s own words, a medium is simply “an extension of ourselves.” Simply put the medium personifies or enhances what we as humans cannot do on our own. In a mass media perspective this means the use of technology including radio, television, and the Internet to project our thoughts, feelings, and senses (Frederman) . Finally, it is important to note that the plural of the word medium is media. Now that there is a general understanding of the medium, the other important word McLuhan spoke of is the “message”. The message is simply what the audience perceives through the medium. This could be anything from watching a television program or listening to the radio. Also, note that some believe the message McLuhan preached is a lot more complicated and not obvious. This view can be explained by, the message isn’t the news, but the attitudes that are affected by watching or listening to the message. Whichever, definition is taken for the “message”, the dissection of McLuhan’s quote will still be interpreted in a similar fashion.
The evolution of media has transformed the way we interpret the world around us. It gives us a new perspective by allowing us to interact with one another through the Internet. Media has become much more personal and diverse as user-generated content becomes more prominent in our lives. We are exposed to assorted types of viewpoints that shape our understanding and knowledge of the social world. Moreover, change in technology has brought advancement to transportation methods, which makes it very easy and fast to go long distances than before. It has also brought change in communication, with the development of the mobile phones, where the communication is now more efficient. Technology has also brought changes in education where students can do online courses, take exams, quizzes, do assignments and even discuss with the classmates the related topic of each week as if you were in the actual classroom. The changes of technology play a big part in the media and how it is used. The technological changes made throughout these time periods have made communication and the media widely spread.