Final Blog

Theme 4
Starting with MacLuhan's ideas about how media create new environments and new ways of thinking,as a special case of technological determinism, explore the idea that we take on the qualities of the " intellectual technologies" we use,or, to put it another way, that media shape out thought processes. What are some concerns that have been expressed ( in articles such as " Is Google making us stupid?", "In Defense of to Distraction", and " Old fogies in their 20's") in relation to new media for our thinking attention and memory? In particular, discuss concerns about the decline in reading- especially the reading of books.


“The Medium is the Message,” this catch phrase that is most closely associated with Marshall MacLuhan has had generations pondering what exactly it means. Does the content of something matter as much as the medium through which the audience receives the content? Well, Marshal MacLuhan believes so. In the 1960’s he championed the idea that the media not only shapes how we learn things but also can cause psychological and social changes. Many people still believe this theory is true and work to provide evidence supporting the fact that the medium is the message.


-MacLuhan, “The Medium is the Message”

In the article, “Is Google making us stupid?” Nicholas Carr tells about how internet search engines are making it too easy too access not only any type of information but also to be tricked by the wrong information. He also believes that this total availability of information has made us lazy and not thorough when it comes to our work. While it is extremely simple to type in a key phrase or essay question into Google and have millions of answers right at your finger tips, there is no real learning value in that. There is no work put in, and this allows us to be extremely lazy. Despite the fact that half the information online is incorrect, it is irresponsible as a person to just do the bare minimum. This new ‘just scratching by’ attitude will get you nowhere in life. If we learn to expect everything to be handed to us, how we interact as human beings is going to change. This technology seems to be changing our whole thought processes from that of researchers and workers to that of “googlers”. In this case Carr proves that MacLuhan is right in the simple fact that this medium of internet search engines is changing how we think, act and approach any problem or question. We are becoming extremely lazy because it is extremely easy to access tons and tons of information on any topic.

Sam Anderson writes about another trait of humans that is being changed by new media, our ability to concentrate. With all these new gadgets and technologies it has become far too easy to be distracted from the task at hand. Cell phone text messages, Facebook notifications, TV, and IPods are all immense distractions when someone is attempting to do something. These technologies are so enticing that it is almost impossible for all your attention to be focused on one thing all at once. Anderson makes many comparisons as to how we are changing because of all this distraction but the main message is the same; if we cannot focus on one thing, nothing will get done. People will be too distracted to really do anything and then nothing at all will get done. This decline won’t be cause by people being last, instead people will be just too distracted by all the pretty new fun things for any work to get done. For example, when the IPhone first came out, according to the Weapon of Mass Destruction article, some of its main selling points were that it could multi-task, it was quick and easy, and people could do a wide variety of things on it. Humans, however, are not the IPhone and in order for something to be done right and well it must have all of our attention. This new obsession with being able to multi-task and allowing oneself to be distracted so easily is changing us as well. With so many different things going on at once, the ability to concentrate is being altered and new media is shaping us by impairing our ability to focus.

Generation gaps are predictable in any time periods. In recent decades, however, the gap seems to have grown larger and the gaps seem to come more frequently. This new quicker frequency of generation gaps is known as mini-generation gaps and is discussed in the article, “Children of Cyberspace: Old Fogies in their 20’s” by Brad Stone, along with many other generational aspects. According to Stone, children as young as ten have grown up dramatically different then children now. The emergence of all new technology so rapidly and how advanced it all is, is not only affecting adults but now also shaping how children grow up. Children now are extremely savvy when it comes to electronics and their mindset now tends to be centered more on instantaneous results and new electronic toys. Stone tells a story about his daughter believing the handheld electronic reading device Kindle is actually the only way to read. Stone’s daughter is not the only one who feels this way, in the podcast “For the Love of Reading” the book-like yet more personal aspect of Kindle is defended. It is stated that Kindle reads just how a normal text would, but whoever’s reading can zoom in or change the margins if necessary. Children reading books on Kindle will no longer need paperbacks or hard covered novels and will once again see how technology caters to them. This will shape how they see the world around them as they grow up and the harsher, less instantaneous realities of life set in. They will have to learn that not everything can be customized according to their standards and their relationships and way of thinking will suffer. Aside from how we think, Stone also makes a point of how technology shapes how we socially interact with others. Text messages and IM’s seem to be the only way anyone really communicates these days. Physically meeting someone and calling them on the phone is no longer necessary as social networking sites and texting become the new social norm. By affecting how children see the world as they grow up and form relationships, media is really changing yet another aspect of society.


-A very interesting review on Amazon’s Kindle

The media’s determinate role in society and in shaping our culture has become more prevalent over the years. People have allowed new media to shape how they think, solve problems, answer questions and form relationships with other people. While media has been doing this for decades, it seems to be happening more frequently in present years. So one question is left to be asked: how much will media shape us as humans in the future?