The Medium is the Message
McLuhan’s work with literature and culture produced the revolutionary thought that “the medium is the message.” In other words, cultures are changed not only by the “content” of technology, but also by the technology itself.
The basic “content” of technology is easy to recognize. The content of the railway would seem to be transportation; the content of the Internet would seem to be information. But McLuhan’s idea that the medium proclaiming the “content” is itself the message is a hard one to understand.
In the example of the railway, he says that “[t]he railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure” (8). In other words, in addition to providing fast and available transportation for people, the railway also fundamentally restructured society. People were able to travel, see new things, have new experiences, realize that there are people living lives very different from their own. A farmer in the country and a doctor in Philadelphia suddenly both had the ability to travel the country by train and enlarge their views of American society as a result. The railway united citizens across the country and created a new sense of nationalism. (Of course, as with most technology, there were social class restrictions involved with the availability of railway travel, but that point is not relevant to McLuhan’s argument.) Society’s views of work changed with the railway as well. One no longer had to live in a city in order to work there. It could likely be argued that this created American “suburbia” as we know it...
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...undamentally connected to if not essentially responsible for the French Revolution (14). De Tocqueville realized that the “typographic principles of uniformity, continuity, and lineality had overlaid the complexities of ancient feudal and oral society” and empowered the formerly illiterate peasants with a sense of unity that led to their uprising against the upper class (14). When the peasant people were able to read, they read about other people’s points of view and experiences, and they were willing to fight to change their society as they knew it.
Currently, our society is changing again with the onslaught of electric media, namely computers and the Internet. We must continue to analyze this technology with the realization that the medium is the message, or else we will never fully understand our culture or the effect of technology on it and on our lives.
The topic of technology and our society has become a very controversial subject today. Many people believe that technology is an essential component of our modern world, helping us to improve communication from farther distances as well as giving us easy access to important information. On the other hand, there is the opinion that too much technology is affecting social interactions and our basic development. “Technology…is a queer thing, it brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.” (Carrie Snow.) The CBC Documentary “Are We Digital Dummies” displayed the pros and cons when it comes to modern technology that we use in the western world everyday.
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.
From time immemorial, hell was an inspiration for the costumes used during Halloween. In the contemporary society, turning up for Halloween dressed up as a goblin, zombie or ghost is less likely to make a staunch follower of the event to receive sufficient appreciation. Popular culture has succeeded in replacing the underworld in terms of providing influential costumes for the event. The aspect of individuals from different races increasingly dominating pop culture is causing costume lovers to face a number of issues. The most dominant question has always been whether it is ethical to dress or appear dressed up like someone from a different race during Halloween. This factor largely bases on the costume an individual chooses, and the manner he or she ends up presenting the costume. It also depends on what the individual wearing the costume is representing or duplicating during the event. In view of all the complexities involved in choosing an appropriate dress code, it remains imperative to display keenness while settling on certain attire. Observing one’s dress code prevents an individual from making a racial gaffe that may occur when the person wears attire that derogates another race.
Consider for example, the radio and television. The radio and television (before the advent of the internet) were monumental in their effects on transmitting culture, products, and ideas accross vast distances of the United States. Suddenly American’s could relate to the horrors of war overseas, as well as they could learn of each other’s culture, or product. Of course, this was not the same as being able to transport them there, though newer, better, faster forms of mass transit would be developed to help facilitate just this. But all of these developments pale in comparison to almost a half-century later, with the rise of the internet, and with the increasing array uses for it, in the modern day. +++====
In the beginning of the book, Postman establishes the idea of media as a metaphor. This means that media can be viewed as what is important to a society. Postman is very influenced by Marshall McLuhan’s theory of the “medium is the message” (8). Postman then applies this theory to his own findings to form an argument against television. He tries to describe the extent to which media controls the messages we receive. For example, the television is continuously trying to persuade consumers to buy certain unnecessary products through a variety of manipulative techniques. Postman argues that Americans need to learn to differentiate between the different types of schemes used by the television to trick us. He concludes this idea of media being a metaphor by claiming that the media is changing and influencing the American culture.
According to the author electronic things are not static and he believes these things would damage our future. As he writes this 20 years ago, the “now” world which we live in today is the future of the author’s essay. In this future the electronic media is so advanced that if we save an electronic textbook it will be available for us even 50 years from now but books can be damaged physically. Author has done a very convincing job with the awareness of damaging the society but he has failed to report the positivity of these new
I decided to read the book by David Harley called Viruses Revealed. This book goes into great detail about the different kinds of viruses and virus mechanisms, the solutions to these viruses, studies on different cases of viruses and then the social aspects of viruses. In the first part of the book, Harley talks about the problems with viruses. A virus is a program that infects other programs to modify them. “Infecting means that a virus will insert itself into the chain of command” (Harley). The virus structure was defined into three different parts: Infection, Payload, and Trigger. The infection is defined as the way or ways in which the virus spreads. The payload is defined as what the virus does besides duplicating itself. Trigger is defined as the procedure that decides whether or not the payload is necessary. Harley also talks about the difference between damage versus infection. The major difference between the two is that many users have infected documents or applications on their computer. Whether or not those applications are run is the difference between the two. In part one Harley also converses about Trojan Horses. Trojan horses are normally known as a virus, but he shoots that down. Harley says that Trojan Horses are normally not viruses, but just a worm that goes from computer to computer. After talking about different kinds of viruses and worms, he goes into Anti-Virus softwares. There are two different kinds of anti-viruses. One being virus-specific. Virus-specific means that every time a virus is found on your computer, it is identified but not detected. Generic scanners do the opposite. Generic scanners detect viruses but do not identify them.
Besides making copies of themselves, viruses can have other harmful effects. They can delete or change document contents, change Word settings, set passwords on your documents so that you can’t read them, or delete all of your files the next time you start your computer.
“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.
Internet as a medium has been a thoroughly discussed topic, especially in recent years with the rise of the World Wide Web. Analysis of relevant literature in the topic shows that the internet is not a new medium. This argument can be shown by looking more in depth into what defines a medium and what defines the internet. From that analysis by looking from a historical point of view the internet can be seen as an old medium which uses re-mediation to deliver content to users. The connection between internet and its users has helped the internet influence the way media is viewed today. Although the internet is not a new medium the content it presents is new. The advances in technology have helped the use of the internet reach new heights in terms of interest and it's capabilities are now being utilised by the masses. This rise in popularity has given the implication that the internet is new. These points can be analysed in more depth which has led me to take the stance that the internet is not a new medium.
As a child it was obvious how much I loved animals, not just house hold pets like fish, dogs, and cat but even outdoor animals the average toddler would probably not be so fond of. When I was younger I woul...
Viruses are programs that attach themselves to legitimate programs with malicious intent. It is designed to spread from one host to another. Once a virus has successfully attacked, the program will remain dormant until the device has to execute its code. Once infected the computer virus can infect other devices on the same network and cause some major damage. These damages include corrupting files and even taking over the
The standard 21 year old adults have exchanged 250 thousand emails, spent 5 thousand hours video gaming and 10 thousand hours using their mobile devices (Lei, 2009). When people hear the word technology, they think of microwaves, televisions, cars, NASA, different types and transportation and more. For all that, technology has occurred long ahead these discoveries. Technology is an arguable matter amongst people. .In the old days, people lived an extremely simple life without technology. They used candles to light their houses and lanterns at the dark to travel, they used fire to cook and used newspapers and mail to share news. On the other hand, technology has seized an important place in our society. People are living in a stage of progressive technology. They are using all natural reserves applicable for making their lives better and easier. The society cannot picture life without electricity since it allows them to live through their everyday life. This paper argues that technology positively impacts people’s lives.
Media and technology have an ever increasing role in how we as humans communicate with one another as well as help impact our culture. The printed word, once able to be mass produced helped usher in an era where where people could seek the education and reading skills they desired, brought print and knowledge to the masses. Now with the more common use of digital communication and media outlets, our options for information and communication are almost entirely unimpeded. Technology allows us to live through multiple Renaissance type periods filled with ever growing pools of information from which to share, and culture changing happenings coming from every corner of our connected world.
Rosen, senior editor if New Atlantis, on her essay published in Wilson Quarterly in autumn 2009 “In the Beginning Was the Word,” points out how digital technology, especially in communication and entertainment, affects negatively on our lives socially and cognitively. She believes that although technology might appear as sign of our progress as humans, it is withdrawing us from the core literature. Rosen explains th...