Media Ecology

Neil Postman, 1970, said that Media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival.


Media ecology is the study of media as environments. How we are somewhat controlled by media and that the actions we made is affected by how the media is towards us. It speaks of how media shapes and alters our society and how it alters our social structures. Postman said that it structures what we can see and say and, therefore, do. 

The media has the power to make us believe whatever their message is. It's only a matter of persuasion, clever lines and a few tactics to get viewers their attention and then their beliefs. 


For example, Mount Everest, have you ever been there? Well, for the case of many of us, of course we haven't. But then again, what's our reason for having to believe that Mount Everest is the highest and  one of the dangerous mountain in the world? Did you ever experienced the near death everyone mentioned, and have you ever climb the mountain to assume that it is the highest? Of course not. 


It's the media. They told you to believe those things. It had an effect on you to believe that it's true. It's called the hypodermic needle effect;where media directly affects viewer. Well, it is a fact that Mount Everest is the highest mountain, but what had made you certain on it? Yes, it's the media. Have you ever question the media? To an extend, you won't question them, because, media are the ones who is shaping you. Not just on Mount Everest, but almost every bit of your life




Marshall McLuhan is well known for his theories about “hot and cool" media. McLuhan, 1964, quoted "Hot media are low in audience participation due to their high resolution or definition. Cool media are high in audience participation due to their low definition (the receiver must fill in the missing information)."

This media environment, may they be hot or cold, affects our decision and life choices. It may generally be harmful as it can manipulate us into doing something stupid and wrong. As what McLuhan said, the medium is the message. So, however way the message are supposedly to be told, the medium are still the ones which influences how the message is perceived. McLuhan, 1911 said that "Technological determinism: the belief that technological development determines the social and culture change."

What changes has the medium took in your life?

Social media, similar to the term, is basically a way of socializing. May that be interacting with others, expressing and sharing your feelings towards the world or stalking other people, social media, via the internet, is making all these things easier as it is just a touch away. This way, people are now becoming much more transparent; expressing their feelings, doubts, fear and so on, and are more courageous to speak up in public (via social media).


Facebook and Twitter, are two of the biggest social media networks today. So, how have this social media, Facebook and Twitter, have invaded and changed our lives?

With Facebook and Twitter, it is a case of, putting it simply,a diary. Having pictures, status updates (expressing feelings, sharing thoughts and what they did) and then having them shared with friends and the world, shows how people are more transparent than how they used to be, revealing their humanness. We now have people openly sharing personal views on social issues, and have the courage to stand up for their political views. Indeed, our decision to reveal and when to reveal our thoughts can be delicate, and there are also things which we wish to keep private,but then again, social media are now helping you to create greater personal transparency. 


Having that said, you are now indirectly allowing people to snoop and have a look into your private live, wanting them to invade your privacy. It's similar to having them looking at you through your front window. This seemed to be accepted by everyone nowadays as it is now a part of our life, just as what McLuhan had said about global village, how by the means of these mediums, especially World Wide Web, that it is now easy to accept and pass message thereby making the world become like a small single village where people can easily contact one another; "the whole world considered as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being interdependent economically, socially and politically" - McLuhan.


Other than that, the positive of it is that people can easily connect with one another. We can easily talk via internet, video-conferencing and share files and works. This benefits us by how we can now easily send texts without having to end letters, share files without the need of confrontation and so on.  


In a way, Media Ecology has it's positive and negative side. But all in all, it does change our life. In the case of social media, we benefit from having easier access to information, the frequent updates on social news and the ability to intercommunicate with people. It also helped us to be more transparent so that we can express our feelings and thoughts without having them questioned. Privacy wise, it has affected us by making us feel that "snooping and stalking into other people's life" is alright. Our morale on respecting other people's privacy became unimportant as their "life" are now publicized.




Reference:
Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore (1968) War and Peace in the Global Village


Marshall McLuhan (1911) Technological Determinism

McLuhan, E., Zingrone, F., (1997) Essential McLuhan. London: Routledge.

McLuhan, M., (2001) Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. London: Routledge.

Neil Postman (1970), “The Reformed English Curriculum.” in A.C. Eurich, ed., High School 1980: The Shape of the Future in American Secondary Education