Marshall Mcluhan s The Medium Is The Massage - 1190 Words

Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage, first published in 1967, explores the rise of technology and its impact on mass media. As the media spreads nationwide, McLuhan criticizes the growing power and the increasing influence of the media. McLuhan also argues that â€Å"all media are extensions of some human faculty,† meaning that technology has changed the way humans do things. Rather than walking, we have cars to get us to further places quicker. We use a phone as an â€Å"extension† of our ears, allowing us to hear what others have to say from other countries. While these technological advances allow us to easily communicate with those whom we normally wouldn’t be able to talk to, it also forces us to do things the easy way. We can see†¦show more content†¦Our dependence on technology is dangerous because we wouldn’t be able to do much without it. According to McLuhan, the media is an invisible force surrounding us. Media is everywhere, sending messages to the public. He argues that the media is â€Å"so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, ethical, and social consequences that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered.† We don’t realize how powerful the media actually is. It can change the way we look and feel about ourselves, the attitudes and beliefs instilled in us, and change the way we think. Because the media is everywhere, it is hard to avoid the effects of it. We can see that McLuhan’s argument still works today. We constantly hear cases of body shaming on the internet, causing young adults to develop low self-esteem. Teenagers, especially female teenagers, may feel the pressure of having a slim body because they constantly see slim figures in the media. This may lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Popular movies and televis ion shows, such as Mean Girls and Pretty Little Liars, may influence the way we talk and dress. Politicians use television campaigns and online advertisements to swag the public to vote for them. Even television news, such as Fox news, may endorse certain politicians and promote that politician to their audience. The internet is filled with advertisements