Social Interaction

            Where would we be without text messaging, skype calls, and facebook chats?  People have become so dependent upon these pieces of media that without social networks we would all be lonesome!  The reason I say this with such conviction is because the time spent texting, skyping, AIMing, and facebooking far outweighs the time spent actually interacting with one another face to face.  We are losing our ability to initiate simple face to face contact.  Introductions are now being executed via friend requests and wall posts. 

            It’s ridiculous how many friends I have on facebook that I have literally never talked to.  I will admit that I am and will continue to be an offender of facebook friending colleagues that I have said fewer words to in person than the number of words in this blog.  I have however become much more in tune with this habit so many of us have developed and am making a conscious effort to reduce this tendency.  When I go to class now and when I go out at night, I have concentrated on meeting and learning about my classmates and peers by talking with them instead of effortlessly friending them on The Book.

            I like to think that I would be fine without these pieces of media in my life.  But I know at the end of the day I would be lost, disconnected, and feeling lonesome.

Life without Wires

Living life entirely without restriction is truly impossible.   When we were children we had parents who would tell us when we had to be home or how much milk we had to drink per day.  Upon getting our drivers license there were intersections indicating when we can go and when we need to slow down.  Prior to wireless cell phones we were even restricted as to where we could make phone calls.  The rotary phone which will soon be classified as an ancient antique is a perfect example of a medium whose wires restricted our daily lives.

                The location of the rotary phone in the home could make or break your social life.  Privacy was almost nonexistent depending on the length of the cord because usually the rotary phone was located in the most highly trafficked room in the house.  This made talking with friends extremely difficult.  Parents and siblings knew more about your life than you would normally care to share with them.  It almost wasn’t worth making a phone call unless you were home alone by yourself.   

                Technological advancements were made so that phones no longer had cords.  Meaning people were free to walk talk on the phone around their home at their own leisure.  Being able to avoid nosey listeners was a lot easier once phones were not longer connected to the wall.  Our society was taken a step further upon the introduction of the cell phone.  No longer were telephone conversations restricted within the walls of our own homes.  Telephone conversations could now be held while one ran errands down the street or in a different neighborhood.  The only restrictions we have to deal with now is cell service.  I'm not sure if its appropriate for me to complain considering technology has come so far but, when are we going to make dropped calls a thing of the past?

Defining Media

            Medium is the platform in all things which allows for change.  A change is something that implies movement from one specific position to another.  This movement does not necessarily imply physical motion; movement can be as simple as the alteration of thought, light or sound.  Sir Newton Isaac said that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an external force.  If it were possible for everything in this world to be at rest and remain at rest then there would be no need for a medium of any type.  However, external force in this case shall be synonymous with both movement and change because they are necessary in order for our world to exist and continue to exist.   Media, the plural of medium can be qualified as the intermediary emotions, objects, or tools that facilitate movements and change.

            Humans for the most part are in tune and can identify their own feelings.  We understand that these feelings can fluctuate due to certain events and occurrences. An example of this fluctuation is how a warm sunny day can elicit happiness and joy yet our mood can change to gloom and frustration if that sunny day is then tainted by bitter rain.  The medium that assists these types of mood swings can be identified as emotion.  Although the weather acts as the external force which stimulates our change in feelings, internally our emotions act as the medium which allows for this change.  

             McLuhan states in, Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man that, “The electric light is pure information. It is a medium without a message” (8).  McLuhan is correct by identifying the light bulb as an object in which acts as the medium.  However, he is incorrect by stating that electric light is a medium without a message. The emitted light which is produced is the change or message in itself.  A light bulb by itself serves very little purpose.  Yet, when acted on by an outside force such as electricity, together they can generate light.  The light bulb in this situation is the object that acts as a medium and facilitates the movement from dark to light. 

            A musical instrument by itself is an example of a tool that when at rest, will remain at rest until acted on by an outside force.  This tool when at rest cannot produce noise, movement, or change of any kind.  However, silence can be changed to sound once external force is applied to the musical instrument.  It is at this point that the tool is acting as a medium and facilitating the organized noise.  And it is this beautifully organized sound that is sending a message out to all those who are able to hear.  The interesting yet complicated part about this form of medium is that although the instrument provides the same unified tone to all those able to hear, the message or the interpretation of that message will be received quite different by each of its individual recipients.

            It was proposed by McLuhan that “medium is the change of scale or pace or pattern” (McLuhan 8).  I can agree with this statement to some extent although I believe that it needs to be revised.  Medium acts as the intermediary platform which allows for change of scale or pace or pattern.  The changes or movements that occur in our everyday life are produced by external forces not by the media themselves.  Without media in our lives we would not be able to experience these changes and life as we know it would be nonexistent.