Opinions Always Vary

The term “mass media” is more than just the entertainment, television, books and movies. Mass media is the part of the world that keeps every human being connected. I agree with Marshall McLuhan when he says that media forms a “global village”. Information travels in seconds from one part of the world to the other through newscasts, radio messages, cell phones and the Internet. In McLuhan’s Playboy Interview, he mentions how the printing press has changed the way many things are used such as the Bible. When the Bible was first created it was a rare religious book that was locked up. The establishment of the printing press produced the bible in different languages that distributed and was available throughout the world (The Playboy Interview).

This is where I believe the term ‘mass’ comes in. The word mass is often referred to as a large body of matter with an indefinite shape—this being the earth and it’s people. Mass media is the world’s media. Media is constantly changing the world’s environment. When I was a child, my daily routines were to go to school and come home and play. In high school my daily routine was going to school, doing homework on the computer (while chatting on msn and Facebook). Present day my routine is to go to university, listen to the news on the radio on the way to class, message people on my blackberry and take notes on my computer. Do you see what I mean? Media is changing our daily routines in the smallest ways possible.

McLuhan believes that media ecology should not be viewed as good or bad and this is where I disagree. I agree with Neil Postman when he says that media ecology should be viewed in a moral and ethical context (Postman). I believe that everyone’s opinions are different due to their experience. What I may find positive, another may find negative. The person reading this blog may completely disagree with me or have similar views. For some people, the mass media dominates their life—for instance, I do not know how I would cope throughout one day of my life without my cell phone. If I ever lost my phone I would feel I lost a part of the world and myself (my cell phone has email and web browsing). I feel secure when my phone is with me. Media is a huge part of my life and I know many people would agree.

The mass media is the world’s way of communication and it still advancing. Word of mouth says that advertisers want to send commercial videos directly to cell phones (I think this is awesome). I am a huge fan of media and its capabilities and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.


Works Cited

The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan. Playboy Magazine. 1969. 10 October 2009.

Postman, Neil. “The Humanism of Media Ecology.” Media Ecology Association. Accessed October 9, 2009.