Understanding Medi The Extension Of Man Analysis

Man used to be romantic. Or at the very least, he used to be less creepy. With technology, has come a change in culture that has killed romance and the possibility of healthy human romantic relationships. This is not to say that no one has a healthy relationship now, plenty of people do. I am saying that the communicatory shifts set in place by the introduction of the internet as a medium have made it harder for those who use instant messaging and or internet communication as a primary source of communication to foster fulfilling relationships. The internet has further muddied up an already messy area of the human experience, as far as romance is concerned we might has been better off in our hunter-gatherer stages.

Communication is at the core

Marshal McLuhan argues in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man: “the personal and social consequences of any medium… result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology” (McLuhan pg. 2). The size of the message broadcast determines the message. Once upon a time, when humankind was entirely comprised of just a few hunter gather packs on the west coast of Africa. The message might have been clearer. Kill. Eat. Fuck. Today, while broadcasting all over the world the message has changed fundamentally, because of the scope. For example, In The Circle, Mae’s actions, her message, changed drastically once she adopted the technology of the see change camera. “This was a new skill she’d acquired, the ability to look , to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos… She wanted to call Annie… She wanted to be alone with Kalden" (Eggers pgs 324 – 325). The premise of the SeeChange camera was essentially to police the public. “Wouldn't you behaved differently if you knew the see change cameras were at the marina?” (Eggers pg. 282). The answer was of course yes. SeeChange is an exaggerated example of the modern day internet. conceptually, between Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, we should be able to see every change occurring in lives of our peers. For Mae, this meant hiding her real emotions until the cameras were