In this week’s reading “McLuhan and Media’s Messages”, I was introduced to a new phrase. According to Marshall McLuhan, “the medium is the message” means in order to grasp the technology used we have to understand its impact on our society and culture. Once we understand this, we realize that change is the message being communicated. To then go off of McLuhan’s phrase, Nicholas Carr adds how technology has been beneficial to us in terms of convenience. However it affects the way we understand and then apply that information.
I would agree with Carr in terms of how easily we are able to search up a question on google. To then rely on the web surface to provide us with information or facts we deem as reliable. However, why has it become so easy for us to do that? Rather than gaining personal insights from peers or family members on information they may be profound in, we turn to a technological device to help us figure things out. In the long run it affects our reading and relationship with what we read.
My freshman year of college all my courses were online due to covid. I will admit that “learning” online changed my perspective and interpretation of learning. This was because I didn’t feel like I was learning at all. It was harder learning through an online zoom call compared to being in a physical classroom. This affected my motivation and desire to really apply myself as school focus became attendance and completing online work to check off a box. My perspective on professors changed as well as their lack of passion for teaching was evident.
I would have to agree and say McLuhan made some valid points. The focus has grown to be more centered on the technology we use and less about the information presented. It seems efficient because of how easily accessible and appealing it comes off. When really it’s affecting how people think for themselves.
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