You are What you Watch. What are You?

“Society has evolved as its technology has evolved. We have been affected by, and affect, electronic media. In other words, ‘the medium is the message.’ The laws of media—enhancement, obsolescence, retrieval, and reversal—demonstrate that technology affects communication through new technology. Society cannot escape the influence of technology.”

-- Marshal McLuhan

We are living in cynical times and opinion polls consistently show that the public’s view of political leaders rates lower than their view of paying taxes. The scandals associated with politics relate to lobbyists, campaign financing, infidelity, deception, conflicts of interest, cover-ups, bribery, conspiracy, tax evasion . . .Watergate, Filegate, Travelgate, Troopergate...the list goes on and on.

The ethical problems associated with politics may never go away, despite efforts to establish ethics commissions and oversight advisory boards in state and national governments – but especially because of the impact media has on our thoughts, words, and actions. Media spreads the “news” that shapes how we see ourselves, and others. How does today’s media shape politics and vice versa?

Technology is often described as the most important influence on society. Few can challenge this claim. The Western world is filled with examples of how technology influences life. For instance, no doubt many of you begin your blogging on a subject near and dear to you (okay, so maybe not everyone). Perhaps you use your iPhone for your appointments or respond to voice mail and email.

When you return home from work, you probably turn on the television or radio to listen to the day’s events. And it’s fair to say you begin and end each weekday in pretty much the same manner, probably unaware of your reliance on communication technology – and the media.

In his book “Understanding Media” (1964), Marshall McLuhan wrote about the influence of technologies such as clocks, televisions, radios, movies, telephones, and even roads and games. Although today we would not classify some of these as technologies, at the time, McLuhan was interested in the social impact of these primary mediated
forms of communication. In other words, what is the relationship between technology and members of a culture?

McLuhan was a Canadian scholar of literary criticism who used poetry, fiction, politics, musical theatre, and history to suggest that mediated technology shapes people’s feelings, thoughts, and actions. McLuhan suggests that we have a symbiotic relationship with mediated technology; we create technology, and technology in turn “re-creates who we are.”

Electronic media have revolutionized society. We are highly dependent on mediated technology. Recall that this theory was conceptualized nearly fifty years ago and, even today, McLuhan’s assertion about technology rings true. Since the public’s growing consciousness of the Internet starting in the mid-1990s, media has directly mold and organize a culture.

McLuhan (1964) based much of his thinking on his mentor, Canadian political economist Harold Adams Innis who felt that major empires in history (Rome, Greece, and Egypt) were built by those in control of the written word. Innis argued that Canadian elites used a number of communication technologies to build their “empires.” Those in power were given more power because of the development of technology. Innis referred to the shaping power of technology on a society as the bias of communication.

People use media to gain political and economic power and, therefore, change the social order of a society...and communication media have a built-in bias to control the flow of ideas in a society. It is nearly impossible to find a society that is unaffected by electronic media. In fact, content becomes biased in the process. Our perceptions of the media and how we interpret those perceptions are the core issues associated with MET.

Assumptions of Media Ecology Theory

• Media infuse every act and action in society.

• Media fix our perceptions and organize our experiences.

• Media tie the world together.

Media—interpreted in the broadest sense—are ever-present in our lives. These media transform our society, whether through the games we play, the radios we listen to, or the televisions we watch.

We are directly influenced by media...media fix perceptions and organize our lives. Media are quite powerful in our views of the world. Consider, for instance, what occurs when we watch television. If television news reports that the United States is experiencing a “moral meltdown,” we may be watching stories on child abductions, illegal drug use, or teenage pregnancies. In our private conversations, we may begin to talk about the lack of morals in society. In fact, we may begin to live our lives according to the types of stories we watch. We may be more suspicious of even friendly strangers, fearing they may try to kidnap our child.

We become manipulated by television. Our attitudes and experiences are directly influenced by what we watch on television, and our belief systems apparently can be negatively affected by television. Some view television as instrumental to the erosion of family values...calling it a “plug-in drug.”

Media Connect the World

McLuhan used the phrase “global village” to describe how media tie the world into one great political, economic, social, and cultural system. Recall that although the phrase is almost a cliche these days, it was McLuhan who argued that the media organizes societies socially. Electronic media, in particular, have the ability to bridge cultures that would not have communicated prior to this connection. The effect of this global village is the ability to receive information instantaneously (think “The World is Flat” by Friedman). As a result, we should be concerned with global events, rather than remaining focused on our own communities. He observes that “the globe is no more than a village” and with that we should feel a connection with and responsibility for others.

The Medium Is the Message

Media Ecology Theory states the content of a mediated message is secondary to the medium (or communication channel). Although a message affects our conscious state, it is the medium that largely affects our unconscious state. So, for example, we often unconsciously embrace television as a medium while receiving a message broadcast around the world. Consider the fact that the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, the train bombs in Madrid in 2004, Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects in 2005 (and now, Hurricane Isaac), and the 2008 earthquake in China were reported not only immediately after the events but, in some cases, during the events. Many of us went to TV immediately and instinctively, captivated by the horror and the images as they occurred.

We were pretty much unconscious of the medium, but rather consumed with the message. Nonetheless, we turned to television again and again for updates as the days and months progressed, rather unaware of its importance in our lives. This represents McLuhan’s hypothesis that the medium shapes the message and it is, ironically enough, our unawareness of the medium that makes a message all the more important.

Gauging the Temperature: Hot and Cool Media

Hot media are high-definition communications that have relatively complete sensory data; very little is left to the audience’s imagination.

Hot media are low in audience participation. Meaning is essentially provided for us. An example of a hot medium is a movie, because it requires very little of us. We sit down, watch the film, react, maybe eat some popcorn, and then watch the credits. Hot media give the audience what they need—in this case, entertainment.

Unlike hot media, cool media require a high degree of participation; they are low definition. Little is provided by the medium, so much has to be filled in by the listener, reader, or viewer. Cool media require audiences to create meaning through high sensory and imaginative involvement. Consider, for instance, cartoons. Generally, we get a few frames of illustrations and perhaps some brief phrases. Cartoons are low definition and provide very little visual information. We need to determine the meaning of the words and the pictures, and even supply missing words or ideas that are not provided in the cartoon.

Laws of Media

What does the medium enhance or amplify?

What does the medium push aside or make obsolete?

What does the medium retrieve from the past?

When pushed to its limits, what does the medium reverse or flip into?

West, Richard L (2009). Communication Theory: Analysis and Application. Humanities & Social Science.

Is communication technology the end of our cognition?

How might Fox TV “news” or MSNBC TV “news” change how we think about others, ourselves, and the world around us? Consider the impact these “news” sources have on our opinions of others who tune into one while you tune into another. Is this creating connection with others or a greater chasm with others?

Do the types of messages shared via these media encourage you to practice positional bargaining (zero-sum) or principled bargaining (win-win) when discussing hot topics such as politics, education, healthcare, or the economy?

Do you "read" the cartoons? Have the political satirists impacted your view of politicians in any way? Do you note the difference between satire and serious news?

How can Media Ecology Theory be applied to YouTube, Google, and Facebook?

Thoughts?