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HISTORICAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
Old McLuhan on New Media
Media and technology theories from the 1970s applied in 2022
Marshall McLuhan was famous for his unique concepts and probes relating to technology. When McLuhan died in 1980, the most advanced technology was a cellular device that weighed over two pounds. If McLuhan was still I alive today, he would be able to create new theories and apply his previous probes to social media. It is not possible to know exactly what McLuhan would say about social media, but by looking at his previous work, and interpretations of it, his thoughts can be deduced.
Social media supports interpersonal communication and collaboration using Internet-based platforms including very popular websites and apps such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and several others. In regards to social media, McLuhan would still say, “the medium is the message.”
McLuhan would say that social media is ‘cold’. Social media would encourage his belief in technological determinism. McLuhan would also apply social media to develop the notion that content is dictated by form. Finally, he would say that the Global village has become even smaller.
