MEDIA ECOLOGY

The term Media Ecology is coined by Neil Postman (1970) which defines as the study of media environments. He stressed on how media of communication shapes human perception, thought, feeling and value; and how our interaction with media assists or obstructs our living (Postman, 1970).

Media are crucial. For example, we read newspapers, watch tv and log onto the web every day, and this has relevance to what McLuhan stated, that media has fundamentally changed our lives (Levinson, 2000).

McLuhan boldly stated that the medium is the message (Griffin, 2012). He believed that medium and the message is one and the same.

For example : Getting a message (inbox) on Facebook from an admirer would make the person who received the message excited because the idea of ‘inbox’ is somewhat “inviting.” And that was before he read the entire message. So clearly, in this case, McLuhan’s theory of the medium is relevant.

The content of the medium changes when the medium changes (Griffin, 2012). This can be explained through a simple example of television and radio. Televisions and radios both have the same function; to deliver message. However, if a person listens to an information through the radio, he/she might misinterpret the content of the message because there is no visual aid to support the way the message is delivered. Unlike the radio, people listen and watch televisions; so they receive the message through hearing and watching. Therefore, the message is clearer.

Another example is an adaptation of a book to a film/movie. The content of the medium is derived from medium to medium. For example, the Harry Potter books made into a series of movie. It changes the original content of the medium.

However, in our generation today, there is a possibility that maybe, the medium is not a message; that the medium and the message are different. For example, Twitter and Facebook are just alternatives of connecting people. The Flickr is another example how this can be explained. The Flickr is a photo sharing service where it only allows users to upload photos of them. It has no way for others to even provide social validation by liking them.

References :

Griffin, E. (2012) A First Look At Communication Theory. Wheaton College : McGraw Hill.

Levinson, P. (2000) McLuhan And Media Ecology. Assessed on 12^th April 2012 from http://www.media-ecology.org/publications/MEA_proceedings/v1/McLuhan_and_media_ecology.html

Postman, N. (1970) The shape of the future in American secondary education. New York : Pitman.

Strate, L. (2004). A Media Ecology Review. Fordham University : CSCC