Media theories
It is not so much about the output of the medium but rather how it shapes culture and society
Take for instance:
Smartphones vs landlines
- Back before smartphones or Internet, we only had landlines to communicate over a distance. If someone did not pick up the phone; that was it.
- With the Internet and our phones, we are constantly connected regardless of time and space, and we even have read receipts,
- This generates expectations of: immediate response, constant connectivity, fast-paced communication
- The way we live our lives might be accelerated due to these factors
Television vs Netflix
- Television: top-down distribution, and plays an episode only once; if you miss it you will never get to watch it again
- Netflix: you decide what you want to watch, when you want to watch, how much you want to watch
- generates infinite distractions
Radio vs Spotify
- Radio: you listen to what was playing and you cannot control it
- Spotify doesn't give you music; it gives you access to music
Search Engine vs Recommended feeds
- I used to actively search for what I want to watch on the Internet but these days YouTube has algorithm to decide what I think I would like
- Subconsciously, I let the Internet decide to think for me
Writing vs auto-correct
A question i posed to my professor was what would happened to society if advanced machines did the thinking for us, and to which he said: "well, it has already happened. Take a look at auto-correct and word suggestions". Isn't that in some way controlling the way we think?
Last modified 3yr ago