Like Jenkins, Marshall McLuhan, one of the first
media critics discusses “media as one of the most powerful social,
economic, political, and cultural institutions” (31). McLuhan asserts “mass media[s] grip on
contemporary life altered human nature” (You Tube). In the interview, McLuhan addressed the
future (now present) advancement of media technology as well as the need for it
to be used responsibly warning the alteration of human nature.
McLuhan made accurate predictions. Throughout this course, we have read about
and discussed accessibility and location.
In his interview, McLuhan makes reference to a global village. This has come to fruition as pointed out by
Varnelis (2008) when discussing technological advancements stated, “the public
sphere was being evacuated and along with it place…was quickly disappearing”
(p. 274). McLuhan called for an increase
if human autonomy indicating to me that as a society, we are all responsible to
teach critical media.
We each play a role both individually and
collectively in critical media awareness.
The bottom line is that media has changed and continues to change life
in so many ways. Foe the most part, we
have all become too reliant on technology.
Awareness on responsible use of media in all aspects (research, social
media, communication etc.) is paramount for humans to stay connected at the
human level.
References
Jenkins, H.J. (2006)., Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century.
McLuhan,
M. (1965) Marshall McLuhan speaks vision of the future. [video file] Retrieved from http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/prophecies/
Varnelis,
K. (2008). Networked publics. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
I found it rather astounding that someone back in the sixties and seventies, when television was still relatively new, could make predictions and comments regarding its use and effects that still hold true today, fifty years later. Many of his discussions are actually more true today, because they can not only apply to television use but to multiple forms of media that are available today. Plus, the arguably extreme use of technology by all demographics, but especially by today's youth (which contributes to Mcluhan's comments on the addictive quality of media).
ReplyDeleteI like how you addressed us as teachers having to teach media. I wrote something similar about how we need to focus on the validity of the media. Not everything we read is a true statement. The media sometimes stretches the news to grab the attention of its readers or viewers. There are also new types of media coming out that Mcluhan knew would happen. He mentioned the computer and would have probably been right about the way media would be portrayed online had he been alive later on. With the increase in technology, teachers need to focus on teaching themselves and then passing it on to their students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you stated that, "The bottom line is that media has changed and continues to change life in so many ways". As educators it is our job to prepare our students to be ready for the world. The world of technology is changing so rapidly and will continue to. The problem we are facing is that older educators are often resistant to change. The task of learning new types of technology is often daunting. Even though the task may be difficult we need to learn how to be fluent with new technology because we are responsible for teaching it to our students. They are looking for us to be the facilitators in introducing these new concepts to our students and giving them the ability to use them independently. We cannot pass this information on to students unless we learn it ourselves.
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