Throughout history, communication has been a phenomenon that has been critical to the evolution of civilization. The researchers believe that both the content and the medium through which it is understood play an important role in information distribution.
Communication distribution was slow and difficult during ancient eras when hard stone engravings substituted books. Only a few people in a society could read, and the others were merely listeners. These events had numerous social and psychological consequences, which researchers regard as the growth of the society’s core social structure.
Medium theory, often known as medium-specificity theory, is a media studies and communication theory topic. Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian scholar, popularized it in the 1960s. According to media theory, the form or medium of communication shapes and influences how information is received, and comprehended, and the impact it has on society and culture. In other words, the channel by which a message is carried is just as significant as the message itself. According to medium theorists, media are more than just means for transporting information between locations; they are also distinct social-psychological settings or habitats that foster some sorts of interaction while discouraging others.
Marshal McLuhan is well-known for his statement “The medium is the message,” which implies that how the media affects or disturbs the information when it is communicated is important. He emphasized the significance of changing and developing one’s views and senses as a result of changing communication sources.
He was greatly influenced by Harold Innis’s studies, which provided insight into how media influenced people’s social lives. He said that the media plays a significant role in the development of human society and that it is dependent on how knowledge is distributed among the people.
Some key ideas and concepts associated with medium theory include:
1.”The Medium is the Message,” according to Marshall McLuhan, is possibly his most famous remark. It implies that the medium used to deliver information has a substantial impact on how that information is received and its cultural consequences. In other words, the medium, not simply the message, impacts our comprehension of it.
2.McLuhan argued that different types of media create distinct surroundings or “sensory ratios.” Print media, for example, promotes a visual and personal society, but television promotes a more auditory and collective experience.
3. Medium theory frequently aligns with technological determinism, the belief that technology determines and drives societal change. It implies that new media technologies have the potential to change society and culture.
References:
- Choy T C. Effective medium theory: principles and applications[M]. Oxford University Press, 2015.
- Meyrowitz J. Medium theory[J]. Communication theory today, 1994: 50-77.
