In this section, we move closer to the Postmodern era and examine Marshall McLuhan’s ideas about media. His theories were radical at the time and have been influential in the study and practice of design and media theory. They are especially important now with regard to the persuasive advertising model used by social media.
Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian professor and philosopher. He is known for coining the phrase “The medium is the message”. This statement first appeared in his book “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man – The Medium is the Message, which was published in 1964. And in his more experimental text “The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effect“, co-created by McLuhan and Quentin Fiore in 1967.
McLuhan died before the birth of the internet, but many believe that his theories about electronic media were prophetic; that he envisioned the internet decades before its arrival. He spoke about communication technologies as having the ability to create a “global village” and the increasing loss of privacy as a result.
McLuhan argued that we should focus on the medium of communication itself, and he defined media as a technological extension of the body. He used the term “media” in a very broad sense, including the spoken word, the written word, the printed word, telephone, films, radio, television, etc.
There are many excellent interpretations and critiques of McLuhan’s ideas. Let’s watch a few videos to help us to understand his ideas in the context of today’s contemporary media.
Marshall McLuhan – A film by Daniel Savage
The media has the power to transform human nature and furthermore, no matter how powerful or persuasive the message, it’s the media that has changed our thought patterns and behavior. What does this mean for the “electronic environment” we inhabit? How do we decipher what media is fact and which is fiction? Discerning the difference is crucial now, more than ever.
Daniel Savage: The Medium of the Message – ADC LAUREN FESTA
What does “The Medium is the Message” really mean?
“The idea is that the mediums have a far greater impact on the fundamental shape and nature of society than any message that is delivered through that medium. What has had a greater impact on society and the way that we interact with one another, all the content of every Youtube video ever made or the existence of Youtube itself? All the conversations that you’ve ever had, the existence of your cell phone?… How do the mediums that you use help shape the world?”
The Medium is the Message explained by Dan Olson
This Is Marshall McLuhan – The Medium Is The Massage (1967)
“The electric age is changing you, it’s changing your family, it’s changing your neighborhood, it’s changing your education, your job, it’s changing your government, it’s changing your relationship to others. These little circuits are making our world go. The electric age is having a profound effect on us. We are in a period of fantastic change that’s coming about at fantastic speed. Your life is changing dramatically, and you are numb to it.”
This Is Marshall McLuhan – The Medium Is The Massage (1967)
Created in 1967, this video could be describing the new mediums of today: the internet, social media, online video, video games, virtual reality, etc. Watch from start to 08:23 (or longer if you have time.)
Social Media is the Message
McLuhan believed that media (in the broadest sense) is an extension of humanity, of the human body, and mind. How does media affect us? Our bodies? Our relationships? Our understanding of the world? Are we being changed right now?
Tristan Harris, the founder of the Center for Humane Technology, believes social media as it exists now “is a simultaneous utopia and dystopia.” The utopia the user experiences is the dopamine hits and efficiency of on-demand everything, and the dystopia of the giant manipulative matrix that we are living in. How do we recognize the Matrix if we don’t know that we’re in the Matrix
Tristan Harris – A New Agenda For Tech Presentation (54 mins)
The Social Dilemma
In the documentary, The Social Dilemma (Netflix), early leaders in social media, like Tristan Harris, posit that the medium of the internet, specifically social media, is becoming an existential threat to human society.
While he didn’t foresee the negative effect on society, consider Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic theories about electronic media in the late 1960’s, specifically how technology is an extension of humanity. Think about the current design of social media and the consequences of our growing dependence on it.
What will become of society if the persuasive technology used for for-profit social media advertising is allowed to continue as it is now?
Clip from The Social Dilemma (45 secs)
Questions
- How have technology and graphic authorship influenced social responsibility in design?
- How has social media’s persuasive technology transformed human nature and changed human thought patterns and behavior?
- Based on what the inventors of/leaders in social media have revealed in the above videos and interviews, why do they believe that the medium of the internet, specifically social media, become an existential threat to human society?
- What will become of society if the persuasive technology used in for-profit social media advertising is allowed to continue as it is now?
- How could the social media advertising model change to put people before profit?
Readings and Other Media
Use Hypothesis to annotate as you read the texts. See Using Hypothesis for details.
- McLuhan, Marshall, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, The Medium is the Message, 1964
- McLuhan, Marshall, Fiore, Quentin, The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects, 1967
- The Medium is the Massage, Audio Recording (2011 CD reissue), Free Download (160kbps MP3)
- McLuhan Medium is the Message Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFwVCHkL-JU
- McLuhan Estate Website: https://www.marshallmcluhan.com/
- BBC Radio Summary of McLuhan’s ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko6J9v1C9zE
- Research study of McLuhan’s media theory summarized from MIT Media Lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZQMaN5pYc
