"The Medium in the Massage"

This week we were to read “The Medium in the Massage” – and boy did your eyes need a massage after looking through the book.  Marshall McLuhan used very strong graphic images to create a mood and tone of past vs. present.  The graphic book discusses the effects of new-media. McLuhan explains that the morality of each individual is no longer shaped by “experts”, but rather by the media seen through various mediums.  Furthermore, it has been found that the current generation can no longer find information for themselves because new-media spits out random pieces of news; students no longer need to go in search of everything because everything is at their fingertips.

While most of what McLuhan discussed are true facts,  he seemed to put a negative connotation on his points.  Yes, it may be disturbing that students have a difficult time finding relevant information, but it begs me to ask the question: do we need those skills in the future?  If the current students are the ones shaping the future, maybe we won’t need the skills that the older generation expects us to have.   Because of new-media, electronics (iPads) have been introduced in the classrooms.  These electronics are greatly enhancing the educational process.  So much information is in the world and can be found remotely anywhere.  While there may be a lot of irrelevant information and it might be difficult to find scholarly sources, there are many opinions in the world from a variety of people.   In fact, this might be taking on a new role in daily life.  If students are able to find various opinions on things happening in the world (international relations, politics, etc…), it would help them form their own ideas.  Sure, it might seem like that role is being taken away by teachers and parents, but the opinions of those around us are always being taken into account – either consciously or subconsciously.

McLuhan’s book may be interesting to look through, but I think the graphics are distracting from the content in the book.  This may be a mockery of how new-media affects those who use it: when searching for a topic, random results may come up to distract you.  In any case, I would have appreciated it if there were fewer graphics in the book.  It was difficult to concentrate on anything that McLuhan was trying to emphasize.  That being said, I think McLuhan has a valid picture of how contemporary society acts in certain situations.  The text in his book is very strong and accurate.  I agree with him on his topics, but he may be a bit extreme for my liking.