Observe, hear, read, think, adjust, learn, share, impact (rinse, repeat)

Cultural studies within the field of communications examine the role of ideology in creating and controlling culture through the media and the symbolic representation within the media itself and its audiences. Many communications theories dissect the role of the message being transmitted by an individual, an organization or the media. But a unique communications theorist in the 1960s, Marshall McLuhan, suggested something entirely different. His technological determinism held the idea that the primary medium people use to interact with each other plays a significant role in determining how society is structured.

For example, McLuhan argued that it doesn’t really matter what is being said on TV or on the radio — what matters and impacts an individual and society most is the medium in which the message was delivered (e.g., TV, radio, magazine). Alongside this argument was his separation of three major historical eras and their media impact: tribal, print and electronic.

McLuhan makes multiple strong points.
· Choosing a medium is extremely important for message delivery. For example, if we hadn’t seen the basketball players’ reaction during Fergie’s infamous national anthem, and we just heard her on the radio, we might not have thought the song was so darn funny (considering the basketball players were trying not to laugh and we wouldn’t have seen the smirk from Steph Curry).

Watch Fergie’s 2018 national anthem, which is received very differently with visuals than just with audio.

· The speed at which we consume content is stressful. McLuhan essential predicted the Internet with his theories, and in the 60s before online media existed, he said: “In our time, when things happen very quickly, there’s very little time to adjust to new situations at the speed of light. There is little time to get accustomed to anything.” This quote is particularly useful for me both personally and professionally, as it highlights the sheer number of messages we push as communications professionals, and how hard our audiences need to work to digest them.

· Media as an “extension of man.” The media is a tool for us to use to learn, grow and simply do more as humans. We can use the Internet to look something up whenever we want, or we can use the news to bring us more knowledge of the world around us — the list goes on.

In this 1977 interview, McLuhan discusses hot and cool media, the increased speed of information and the lack of physical perception for those on TV or radio.

Despite his strong arguments regarding humans and the impact of the media on human nature, there are some issues and limitations with his ideas.
· Harmful messaging won’t just roll off everyone’s backs. As a white male in the 20th century, there’s no question that McLuhan had a privileged point-of-view when saying that messages don’t matter. The messaging in harmful propaganda (e.g., Hitler) does matter, especially for marginalized groups, and it’s naive to say that medium is always more important than the message itself.

· Sometimes, medium matters less than the message. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech was shown on TV, but for those who didn’t have a TV yet in 1963 and who heard it on the radio, his words and tone were just as effective. Sure, it was probably extremely powerful to see MLK Jr.’s face, but the words he spoke could transcend one specific medium, affecting anyone who heard, saw or read them. The idea that medium is more important can be misleading for communications professionals, and could result in poor copy or crisis-level communications when a message isn’t carefully considered.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963. Many famous speech-givers and speechwriters have studied MLK’s brilliance.

· These ideas can’t predict much moving forward. McLuhan addressed three major historical technological shifts, and also anticipated an even more connected world before his death in 1980, but despite these predictions, we can’t evolve or manipulate his takeaways to further predict and adjust our communications strategies. We can consider the medium in which we communicate, but this theory isn’t conducive to another massive cultural or technological shift down the road.

Even with his pitfalls, McLuhan has shown us that time is fleeting, and what we think might work in a communications sense in one era might change at the drop of the hat. But one thing is for sure — who says what, and their position of power, will always matter when communicating.