Mcluhan Theory Of Media Ecology

Decent Essays
Media Ecology McLuhan’s Media Ecology is the study of media as media; he states, “The media is the message.” McLuhan (1964). In the study of media ecology, the evolution of communication is brought to attention. According to (Knut Lundby 2009) in Mediatization: concept, changes, consequences “ McLuhan pointed to the ‘implosion’ driven by the electronic media following the ‘explosion’ of the print media. This transformed people, social relations, and societies. There are two interpretations for media ecology, one being “media as species” the other being “media as environments”. In the interpretation of media as environments, the communication technologies from writing to digital media create environments that affect the people that use them. …show more content…
(McLuhan 2003) also argued “the medium is the message because the content of a medium is in a certain way another medium.” For example the medium of speech becomes the content of writing, the medium of writing becomes the content of print, and the medium of print becomes the content of hypertext. Other reasons why McLuhan argues that the media is the message includes him stating that the user is the content. (Strate 2008) gives the example, “ Audiences and readers must interpret the messages that they receive, process the sensory data that they take in, make meaning out of their environments, the artifacts that exist in them and the events that occur within them.” If the message is mainly constructed on the receiving end of communication, then it’s effect on us is not as abundant. “Therefore it is the medium and not the message that has the greatest influence on the audience.” (P.132) Similar to Mcluhan saying, “the media is the message”; Strate says it is the context that determines the content. McLuhan viewed media as environments, but he is better known for using the popular notion that technologies are extensions of bodies and our capabilities. (McLuhan 2003) “In shielding and protecting ourselves, our technologies come between ourselves and our environment, and thereby become our new environment.” (p.135). “In shielding and protecting us from our old environment, our media numb our bodies and our minds.” This is why McLuhan said that “every extension is also and amputation.” In his novel, homo Faber, (Max Frisch 1959) said, “Technology is the art of never having to experience the

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