Blog #4- Marshall McLuhan
I want to discuss Marshall McLuhan in this week's blog post. Throughout the course, we spent a great deal talking about Harold Innis; therefore, what better way than to talk about McLuhan, who Innis inspired?
Marshall McLuhan's, Understanding the Media: The Extension of Man mainly focuses on the idea that humanity's technological advancements increasing power and speed can be understood as extensions of man. In other words, media is an extension of humans that affects how humans look and feel toward things, as media can alter sensory ratios. He takes you on a historical journey illustrating the breakdown effects of speed through papyrus, the phonetic alphabet, electronic technology, typography, printing...etc. By doing this, McLuhan highlights the argument that power and speed are a disruption in the extension of man that ultimately gets in our way resulting in detachment and uninvolvement. For example, Specifically, McLuhan states, "an extension appears to be an amplification of an organ, a sense or a function, that inspires the central nervous system to a self-protective gesture of numbing of the extended area, at least so far as direct inspection and awareness are concerned" (McLuhan 172). From my understanding, because the media is a reliant extension of humans, he is comparing its functions metaphorically to reliable human parts such as organs and the central nervous system, as those parts are crucial for survival. The central nervous system is responsible for transmitting all signals and messages to every part of the body. As a result, if technology and the media can alter our senses, then they are an aspect of the signals that the nervous system transmits. He believes that due to constant rise, power, speed, and technological advancements, humans have become desensitized to these altercations. Humans use many different senses at once, making it more difficult to understand as the message is harder to perceive. Essentially when there is a shift in technology, there is this self-protective numbness to protect us from shock because he believes our bodies cannot handle the senses of new technology. McLuhan refers to the numbness that humans need to be aware of not only of their speed and power but also of the speed and power that technology possesses and their connection.
This is very interesting to me as there is a clear connection between Innis's medium theory and Mcluhan's understanding of the media.
Discussion question:
Do you agree with McLuhan? Can you think of an example of a technology that we have become blind or numb to?
Hi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative post; I appreciate how you applied your understanding of McLuhan. It helped me make sense of the messages in His writing. For example, the following passage from your post particularly stood out as an easier way to conceptualize his theory of media extensions of man. "The media is a reliant extension of humans; he compares its functions metaphorically to reliable human parts such as organs and the central nervous system, as those parts are crucial for survival." I liked your method of breaking down Mcluhen's metaphors in terms that make sense to you because it often helps others, including myself, understand him better.
Your question about numbness to technology media is good; it has significant relevance to the media we are exposed to in every facet of our life. Because media and technology infiltrate consumerism, marketing, education, communication and physical care aspects of everyday life, people become numb to some of its adverse effects. A symptom of this numbness is how people become reliant on technology. This reliance stems from technology use value; for example, when Rodgers shut down, no one knew what to do, impacting everyone significantly. From people in need of calling an ambulance to people working high-stress jobs, having no connectivity becomes a way to understand how much one relies on technology. This reliance also suggests a numbness towards technology and its interaction with humanity. People think technology will always be there to make their lives more efficient and effective; when it fails, it asks whether the creator should plan to operate without technology, particularly communication technology.
Some other examples of numbness include the violence in video game media and its impact on youth and children. Growing up, I played a lot of Call of Duty and reflecting on it now, it is so disturbing that 12-year-olds play a video game with guns where they kill people in a military setting and then talk about it at school. Finally, my last example is The speed at which something can blow up on social media, potentially damaging real-world effects on individuals. Another name for this process, which I do not like, is "cancelled." While social media allows victims to find a voice and a platform, the speed at which something can be posted online and shared throughout can lead to a person's life being destroyed before they know what is happening. The speed and shock of stories often overshadow the accuser, accused, victim, and perpetrator. An example of this would be when an OHL hockey player shared a picture of a woman he was having sexual relations with his hockey team; that picture then circulated around to multiple people and ruined that young girl's life.
Overall, great post. I hope my examples answered your discussion question.
Hi Victoria, that was a very thorough and informative blog post regarding McLuhan's observation of numbness towards technology. To answer your question I think notifications are one thing that we have become desensitized or numb to. It's expected that our phone will light up and we don't realize the effect it has on our body when that screen lights up with a text, Snapchat, like, comment, etc. I've has this discussion in many of my other communications classes where we have discussed how the phone has become an extension of the self like another limb. We are so attached to our phones to the point where we don't realize how much we rely on it or the effects it has on us until they are gone. One example would be when you receive a like or comment on your social post and the dopamine that your body reacts with. We don't realize all the small changes and alterations that have affected our minds and bodies. Smartphones have become so integrated into our lives that we don't even realize it has become part of our routine. Overall, great post! You did an effective job at pointing out the effects of numbness to technology.
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria, Great blog post!
ReplyDeleteFrom my understanding, Marshall McLuhan’s theory of technology as an extension of the human body and senses is that technological inventions and advances extend the human body by imitating or strengthening physical and cognitive abilities. We as humans use technological tools to enhance our capabilities, by being dependent on technology and not advancing personal abilities, we then make the tool an extension of ourselves. So, ultimately I do agree with McLuhan. You mentioned how McLuhan argues that power and speed are a disruption in the extension of man that gets in our way resulting in detachment and uninvolvement, as I also mentioned in my post the internet has transformed people into individuals unable to focus on an article that is longer than a page. We have become lazy since technology has made us depend on it.
An example of a technology that I believe we have become numb to is our phones. People have become literal addicts, unable to function without it, starting to have withdrawals basically when they have to go longer than 5 minutes without it. And I can say this because I have become numb to it, I can't think of a time or day when I didn’t have my phone in my hand or near me. With each social media platform, every notification I receive feels like an itch and I am tempted each second that I go without opening it or seeing what it is. Our phones also have every single thing we can ever need, the only transformation or advances they now go through are either camera changes, better photo quality, or increase in size. And the only reason for the yearly upgrades are for the competition between companies.