Marshall McLuhan: What is media and why should they be studied?

It is often difficult to begin investigating the work of Marshall McLuhan without first understanding what McLuhan means by the term media. "You have to understand that my definition of media is broad: it includes any technology whatever that creates extensions of the human body and senses, from clothing to the computer" (McLuhan, 1995, p.239). When most people think of media they usually think of what is termed the mass media. That definition includes books, radio, newspapers, magazines, television and film. Most people would not stop to consider that something as common as a shirt or hat is in fact a communication medium.

McLuhan's definition helps to show just how submersed we are in the culture that we live in since everything human-made is included in McLuhan's definition of media. This definition is easier to believe if it is thought of in terms of the clothes that people wear. A man in a suit and tie is often defined as a businessperson whereas a person in raggedy clothes is often defined as homeless. The clothes that the two different people are wearing communicated to the audience (in this case people passing in the street) what would seem to be the likely vocation of the person wearing the clothes.

Using this definition of media it is easier to understand why the media should be studied. The fact that it envelops every facet of today's society suggests that media have a profound effect on a person's life.

In the past, the effects of media were experienced more gradually, allowing an individual and society to absorb and cushion their impact to some degree. Today, in the electronic age of instantaneous communication, I believe that our survival, and at the very least our comfort and happiness, is predicated on understanding the nature of our new environment because unlike previous environmental changes, the electric media constitute a total and near instantaneous transformation of culture, values and attitudes (McLuhan, 1995, pp.238-239).

These remarks that McLuhan made summarize his attitude towards the media and his reasoning for studying the media. The fact that through his definition, McLuhan shows that everything human made is a communication medium extends that the media, in fact, surrounds every facet of life. While in the past changes to the media were slow to take hold due to the global barriers that existed, in today's world those barriers no longer exist as strongly. That means that change can take place much faster. Society does not have as much time to adapt to these changes. It is important to study the media to avoid drowning in the fast-paced changes that are taking place.