Is The Medium Really The Message ?
Canadian media scholar Marshall McLuhan became identified with the alternative paradigms in the early 1960’s. His most memorable phrase was “the medium is the message” and also “the global village”. The central idea of McLuhan was that the social structure curated in historical eras could possibly be the result of the dominant communication medium at the time. Several paradigms were created to coincide with the current media being used, which include the tribal paradigm, print paradigm, linear-print paradigm, and electronic paradigm.
During each of these paradigms, it showed how the medium is truly the message. I feel this short phrase has so much meaning to it. McLuhan is stating that the content being given is not about how it changes the way people think but how it changes society in a dominant way that alters the way messages being expressed. He would notice how an individual would change from listening to news on a radio to viewing it from their smartphone. McLuhan did not think the content mattered, instead he thought about the way message was being arbitrated was what was important. The other phrase “global village” was created in the 1960’s as well and came from technology permitting people to easily hear and see things from around the globe effortlessly. He felt that individuals could utilize the communication skills dating back from the pre-tribal era but without limiting them from taking advantage of geography.
After reflecting on Marshall McLuhan’s theory on technological determinism, the three strong points I have found are: that the medium is truly the message, a global village does in fact exist, and that the media does extend the senses to see and hear things from a distance. The limitations I found were that content does not matter and only the message does. I feel that content is extremely important when it comes to our social structure.
