The Medium is The Message Oversimplified
Take back control of Your Life
“The Medium is the message” as postulated by Marshall McLuhan is a theory of technology, mind, and society, as well as an exploration of how they all combine and interact. It particularly emphasizes the means by which media technology shapes the mind and alters society. I found, however, this theory to be not so easy to understand due to some factors.
This unease of understanding happens partly because Marshall McLuhan’s writings are dense, dry, and seemingly far-fetched; in other words, not self-evident. Other writers have in turn contributed to popularizing this theory and have done their best in spreading the idea. Still, their efforts proved did not help me so much when I read them. I want to change that. That is why I am writing this.
To break down this theory, I dug into reading Marshall McLuhan myself and I have found perhaps some of the simplest, clearest, and relatablest ways of spreading this idea. The effort at simplifying this idea is what you will read in this essay.
I start with a quote from Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man:
"In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium — that is, of any extension of ourselves — result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology."
The medium is the message? How? What does that mean? It means what it means: that a newspaper’s content — the news — is not the message of the newspaper but the newspaper is the message of the newspaper. Reads like a tautology. Also, the “content” of the radio is the radio.
Confusing? Marshall McLuhan makes it certainly so. But let's examine practical examples of how the medium is the message and you will begin to see it everywhere.
The railway’s Message
When you think of the railway’s content or its “message”, you will say “transportation.” McLuhan disagrees. The railway did not invent movement. According to Mr. McLuhan, “the railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure.” This is to say that what the railway made possible was movement at a higher scale which hitherto altered everyday life, including work and leisure.
I am certain that not many people can connect the dot from the railway to the new job they started or the city they moved to or the kind of play their children engage in. When the railway was invented — I mean the real-life railways, we inadvertently invented rail tracks for children as toys.
A railway’s “message” is the subtle change it introduced into daily life; down to the faintest detail.
Think of it this way: A train scheduled to leave by 7:45am is no longer just a train, it is a commander. It has the capacity to dictate your daily activities, including the time you wake up, the best breakfast that requires minimal preparation time, and allows comfort on the train (to avoid unreasonable bathroom breaks).
The railway — a mode of transport — ultimately alters your psyche and consequently alters your life. This second, third, fourth, and nth-order effect on the psyche is indeed what Mr. McLuhan indicates is the message of a medium. And to better demonstrate this effect in a few words, I use this quote from Nicholas Nassim Taleb: “Technology is at its best when it is invisible.”
But we are not done with the railway yet.
Another quote from McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man:
“What we are considering here, however, are the psychic and social consequences of the designs or patterns as they amplify or accelerate existing processes. For the “message” of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.”
We have considered, partly, the psychic consequences of the railway. What are the social consequences of the railway? Well, look at it this way: if society is a composition of all the social agents in it, it follows then that individual psychic consequences at scale will result in social consequences.
Compare transportation by donkeys to transportation by train. Transportation by donkeys is obviously slow, limited in capacity, tiresome, and mostly privately owned. Movement by train (the railway) is fast and straightforward — from origin to destination, has a large capacity (can carry a lot of human beings and goods too), and it is mostly public property. But consider also that the railway is a massive infrastructure. It needs maintenance to remain in operation. So, we have employment. Now new jobs will have to be created. The town will have to make adjustments to accommodate the railway. Businesses will open around the area to meet the personal needs of railway workers and commuters — possibly some of those commuters who wake up late, cannot afford to miss their train, and have to eat something at the rail station. Booksellers and newspaper vendors will expand their businesses too. All these mostly unplanned, random movements ultimately change the shape and form of this town, and slowly but suddenly, it becomes a city. Another quote from McLuhan: “To the blind all things are sudden.”
Also, considering that the railway connects two towns or cities (or more), cultural barriers weaken as migration increases. As people come and go, they are exposed to better opportunities that exist in the neighboring town. Before long, some indigenes will move permanently for “greener pastures.” For instance, a watchmaker who sees that the neighboring town lacks good clocks and wristwatches may decide to move his family there because business is about to change for the better or open a branch of his business, or if he thinks big, start a school for watchmakers. His life will change.
How does this affect families? Well, now young couples who would have, in the absence of the railway, stayed one block away from their childhood home and start a family may decide to move to a different city—a reasonable distance from their extended family—knowing that there is an available transport mechanism that allows them to visit home when they want as long as they don’t miss the train.
On a sub-social scale, the railway changes the face of romance. A young man, Jack, could spend the entire day with his lover Rachel in the next city and still be home by evening. No donkey to slow him down.
Think too about crime. Criminals may expand their businesses by operating in the next town without having to live there. I have every reason to believe that the railway ultimately birthed the Confidence Men popularly known as ‘Con Men.’ These and many more are the social consequences of a medium—an extension of man, or any technology.
To reiterate, according to Marshall McLuhan, the content is irrelevant. Or at least, matters less than how the content is passed. The medium—how the message is passed—is the message.
The gun(powder)’s Message
A quote from Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man:
“Renaissance gunpowder and ordnance ended the military role of the knight and returned the city to the pedestrian burgess.”
What is the “message” of the gun? We will presume mistakenly, that the message of the gun is harm, violence, or defense or (insert whatever you think the gun does). However, from Mr. McLuhan’s standpoint, the gun’s message is rendering irrelevant, the distance and physical strength in conflict. This meme does a good, yet the funny job of depicting this:
What the gun actually affords as the “message” is the needlessness of distance, strength, and skill to afflict lethal harm.
All weapons have their “content” so to speak to be the capacity for harm. But be it a fist, a kick, a stone, a sword, a spear, a gun, or a bomb, the content remains violence.
However, a sword requires wielding. Wielding requires skill. Such skill requires strength and training—extensive training and discipline. Good as we will have it, swordsmanship at its best is an art that requires that even the weapon is tailored to suit the swordsman; like private property. But a gun changes all that.
A gun apart from rendering physical strength and distance irrelevant democratizes violence. Since you only need to acquire one (and the bar is low for acquiring one). Frankly speaking, democratized violence is a pillar in the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. (Even if we celebrate the brilliance of the drafters of the Declaration, its success was impossible without violence by the gun). This democratization of violence in the American spirit is best stated by Friedrick Douglass’ quote that “A man’s rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, jury box, and the cartridge box. Let no man be kept from the ballot box because of his color. Let no woman be kept from the ballot box because of her sex.” (Emphasis mine).
A woman with a loaded gun is more dangerous than a man with biceps for a weapon. A scrawny teenager with an AR-15 poses more danger to society than a man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times (no diss to Bruce Lee). We have evidence for that—the corpses of schoolchildren.
The psychic consequence of the gun then is the feeling of power and safety you have when you hold one or by merely having it in your wardrobe. The social consequence of the gun is the rapid quantity of casualties than we will get if all we had were knives and stabbing crimes.
The medium then is the message.
Let us examine one last example; a more humorous touch to the entire essay and I think, a worthy conclusion.
The “message” of Internet porn.
A quote from Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man:
“Cultures like ours, poised at the point of transformation, engender both tragic and comic awareness in great abundance.”
If you have seen the TV show Friends (1994-2004), you will easily remember Season 4 and episode 17: The One With The Free Porn; a classic as far as I am concerned. (You should see it if you are yet to or as a refresher).
It started off with the guys (Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani) finding out that they had free porn on TV. This was porn; a delight for horny men living in Manhattan, New York. However, this was free porn, unpaid for, accidentally found, and even better, a rare occurrence. They were not going to let this golden opportunity pass them by. What did they do? They passed a decree. What decree? “No one touches the TV and no one touches the remote. (most importantly), NO ONE TOUCHES THE AIR AROUND THE TV” (Emphasis mine). But, living in this age of internet porn, I am amused and I ask: what is the big deal about this free porn? I get free porn all the time wherever I want and whenever I want. What’s all the fuss about?
Well, the fuss is that to Chanoey, porn is scarce, not to talk of free. Do you want porn? Then you have to pay. But “paying” is not just about money. You also pay with your image.
A culture — a sane one — that sacralizes sexuality has the blowback effect of shame on anyone who desecrates sexuality. To live then at such a time where internet porn was not the gravy, one had to pay both with their money and image. Do you want to buy a Playboy magazine? Then you have to go to the street stand, face a vendor, and get your copy. Do you want to buy a porn CD? You have to walk into a store—publicly—and see your fellow “losers,” pick your choice of CD, walk to the store clerk, pay, and walk out publicly again. Money was the least of such concerns.
Considering these hits to one’s image when acquiring porn, it is fair to Chandler and Joey that they will be delighted to the heavens that there was free porn right there in their living room on their TV without interruption. In this specific case, if Television is the medium, porn is not the message. “Free” is the message.
Commoditised nudity and sexuality cannot be the “content.” That has existed since cavemen existed; in other words, “nothing new there.” What is new, however, to quote Mr. McLuhan himself, “is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.” Free porn on TV effectively altered Chandler and Joey’s lifestyle. They only now used one station on their TV to avoid losing the free porn. Their guests — other members of their friend group — are also subjected to this risqueness whenever they came visiting — which was most of the time. To take a break from free porn, Chandler and Joey would go over to Monica’s apartment (next door). Lifestyle changed. What psychic and social consequences do we face today with internet porn; most of which is free?
Before we demonstrate the psychic and social consequences of internet porn, a glance at Barney Jennifer Stintson’s life shows that porn to him was not just a source of “entertainment” but a tool of discouragement.
Swarley, your favorite TV sociopath simply uses his public stack of porn CDs to generate disgust in his one-night-stand partners and to stop them from wanting more from him. In this case again, the content — graphic display — is not the “message.” Rather you have the social consequence of disgust at work. Now to the crux and to the closing.
The internet offers immense connectivity and promotes frictionlessness. With Google’s capacity to generate about 458,000,000 results in 0.54 seconds, we are living in Chandler and Joey’s porn utopia. Abundance and speed are key.
This is what frictionlessness looks like–in contrast to what Chanoey’s experience without free porn: 458,000,000 results in 0.54 seconds with variety and spice (“Variety is the strength of porn” - Me), private browsing, portable and movable screen (mobile phone, tab, or laptop), private yet quality audio systems (earphones to provide an immersive experience), and the absence of judging stares. As I said, this is Pornutopia.
Frictionlessness is both scale and pace happening at the same time — no friction means smooth sliding and minimal interference. Hence, frictionlessness is both the psychic and social consequence of internet porn.
Also, a social consequence of the technology of internet porn is the atomization of society despite the connectivity of the internet. The core components of frictionlessness — 458,000,000 results in 0.54 seconds with variety and spice (“diversity may be the strength of the people but variety is the appeal of porn” - Jegdy), private browsing, portable and movable screen (mobile phone), private yet quality audio systems (earphones to provide an immersive experience), and the absence of judging stares — pushes more young people into isolation as they get addicted to viewing pornographic material.
Note that entertainment always provides a bonding moment no matter how shallow. Families have movie nights or at least watch TV together. Friends go out to cinemas to see a movie they have all agreed on. Even concerts, no matter how exhilarating, tend to be boring when attended alone without your friend(s). Lest I forget, you also get the best experience at a sporting event when you go in groups. However, barring a special set of people who attend adult entertainment conventions, adult content causes people to drift apart more than they come together. A quote from McLuhan’s The Medium is the Message Nowadays:
“With the age of the internet upon us, McLuhan’s family circle has taken yet another hit. Now everyone has a communication medium in front of them. Whether it is a cell phone, tablet, MP3 player or laptop, they are all connected to others who are also mediated by a screen. It can be debated that this breeds a more introverted population who has been primarily trained in social interactions electronically.”
One may argue that Chandler and Joey successfully initiated Monica and Rachel into their TV Cult of Free Porn. But an easy refutation will exactly corroborate the position that it was scarcity that brought them together. Now, with the internet and mobile phones, scarcity is not a problem; the TV Cult of Free Porn has been disbanded. Speaking of scarcity, young boys had to bond over Playboy magazines as they were scarce commodities back in the day. Summarily speaking, abundance and frictionlessness are the “message” of the internet.
Conclusively…
I had a wonderful time writing this essay; precisely because I know that an essay in its original meaning, means “to try.” Writing is not just a means of delivery, it is a thought-refining process. And on this subject — The Medium is the Message, I have refined how the medium is the message in daily life. How then should you apply this extrapolation? Well, let’s summarise the entire essay in quick points:
“The Medium is the message” as postulated by Marshall McLuhan is a theory of technology, mind, and society, as well as an exploration of how they all combine and interact.
Marshall McLuhan’s writings are dense, dry, and seemingly far-fetched; in other words, it is not self-evident.
“The railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure.” – Marshall McLuhan.
Nicholas Nassim Taleb: Technology is at its best when it is invisible.
What the gun actually afford as the “message” is the needlessness of distance, strength, and skill to afflict someone else or be violent.
“A man’s rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, jury box and the cartridge box” Friedrick Douglass.
Abundance and frictionlessness is the “message” of the internet.
a social consequence of the technology internet porn, is the atomisation of society despite the connectivity of the internet
A Bonus: “Here’s a heuristic to measure the merit of an idea: if, after being told what it is, you start seeing it everywhere, chances are it’s a good one.” – Pavel Brodsky.
What you have to do — the action you need to take — is to become mindful of every technology you interact with. Refuse to get carried away by the default “message” of the internet and every other technology. Observe what changes are happening in your life. How has Snapchat altered your behavior and those of your peers? Inquire, contemplate, and possibly correct what is wrong. Beat that addiction. In conclusion, hack your consciousness and take back control of your life.
Thank you reader for reading my essay. Vale.