MEDIA ECOLOGY

Media ecology as defined by McLuhan is “the study of different personal and social environments created by the use of different communication technologies” (Griffin, 2009, p. 313). Media ecology basically looks into how we are affected by the varieties of technologies presented to us.

According to Postman, “Its intention is to study the interaction between people and their communications technology. More particularly, media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival. The word ecology suggests the study of environments: their structure, content and impact on people in their daily lives” (Ott & Mack, 2010, p. 266).

The medium is the message

Medium refers to a particular type of media: a book, newspaper, radio, television, telephone, film, website or email (Griffin, 2009, p. 313).  The above statement is based on McLuhan’s theory of media ecology. All the while that we thought medium and message as two separate things, McLuhan saw them equally as one (same). We also tend to look pass the medium and only concentrate on the content to which McLuhan wrote, “For the ‘content’ of a medium is like a juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind” (Griffin, 2009, p. 313). There wouldn’t be any content without medium and therefore the medium itself is the message.

Media ‘Hot’ and ‘Cold’

McLuhan (1997) distinguished the difference between a hot media and a cool media whereby hot media are low in participation whilst cool media requires high participation or completion by the audience.

For examples:

The image at the top is a Time’s magazine and it is a hot medium. According to McLuhan (1997), “A hot medium is one that extends one single sense in “high definition”. High definition is the state of being filled with data...hot media do not leave so much to be filled in or completed by the audience” (pp. 22 - 23). Time’s magazine provides audience with data in the sort of articles and requires low participation from the audience which answers why it is a hot media.

Whereas the image at the bottom which shows a different coloured iPhones is an opposite of the hot media. These iPhones are considered as a cool medium because it requires a high participation from the audience. McLuhan (1997) stated that, “telephone is a cool medium, or one of low definition, because the ear is given a meagre amount of information. And speech is a cool medium of low definition, because so little is given and so much has to be filled in by the listener” (pp. 22-23).

References:

Griffin, E. (2009). A first look at communication theory. (7^th ed).                           New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

McLuhan, M. (1997). Understanding media: the extensions of man.                   London: Routledge

Ott, B.L., & Mack, R.L. (2010). Critical media studies: an introduction.                  Retrieved from http://books.google.com.bn/books?                                    id=htwHHQJ4Sw0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&&f=false