Has the Media Worked Us Over?

In his book The Medium is the Massage, Marshall McLuhan claims that "all media work us over completely" (p. 26). Since the book was originally published in 1967, he couldn't have been talking about social media, like Facebook or Twitter. Instead, when he referred to media he was talking more about any way in which messages are transferred to the public, whether via phone, billboard advertisement, radio, television, etc. Was McLuhan's statement correct?

Let's first think about what he meant by "work us over." According to Merriam-Webster dictionary's website (Merriam-Webster.com/work over), "work over" can be defined as follows: 1)  "to subject to thorough examination, study, or treatment"; 2) "to do over" (as in "rework"); 3 ) "to beat up or manhandle with thoroughness." I don't think the second definition is applicable, but what about the other two? Does all media subject us to thorough examination or study? I think modern social media certainly does, since it allows us to broadcast our everyday lives to the world, if we so choose. By thoroughly filling out a Facebook account, a user allows the world access to everything about them: their picture, their favorite books and TV shows, where they were born, currently live, and have travelled to, all the way down to their mundane daily activities. Many users tend to give a play-by-play of their everyday lives (much to the annoyance of their friends and acquaintances. Yes, I'm sure that cereal was delicious this morning. Oh, is it raining where you are? Tell me how that makes you feel. But I digress). Social media like Facebook make it incredibly easy for a "Facebook stalker" to thoroughly examine and study who we are as an individual. In that sense, yes we have been "worked over."

This brings me to another point brought up by McLuhan. On page 63 of The Medium is the Massage, McLuhan states that, "We now live in a global village...a simultaneous happening." At the time he was talking about the human race's connectedness via technology like the railroad and telephone, but his ideas are more relevant now than ever. We live in a time where the individual can be connected to people all over the world via phones and the Internet. As I write this blog it is highly possible that someone on the other side of the world is also writing a blog post, perhaps one also about the media. What's even more amazing is that we could actually end up reading each others blogs at some point, connecting our words and ideas in a way that, once upon a time, was only possible by a face-to-face conversation. The ways in which we as a race are connected are truly astounding, and not always negative like "Facebook stalking" or the third definition of work over ("to beat up or manhandle with thoroughness"). It is because of technology like the Internet and telephone that I can stay in touch with people who live on the other side of the United States, or even in other countries. It may not be as satisfying as seeing them in person, but to stay connected in some way is a great and beautiful thing.

Technology: A Help or a Hinderance?

Nicholas Carr posed an interesting question in his article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", which, in a nutshell, concluded that mankind's lack of attention span for lengthy reading is partially caused by Internet surfing and skimming articles rather than reading them entirely. He has many good points, especially considering the fast-paced world we live in where many people want things instantly and become irritated when technology doesn't immediately do our bidding (I'm guilty of this myself). But can we fully blame a decreasing attention span or stupidity on the Internet entirely?

Others say that new technology has been blamed for centuries, and wrongly so. For instance, Mike Masnick posed a similar question in his article "Did Pencils Make Us Dumber?". As it turns out, the fear of new technology making people stupid has gone back as far a Plato's time. He criticized the act of writing because it would make our memories weak. After all, why remember things when we can write them down and look at them later? Plato also believed that writing was less interactive than talking to other people, and social interaction would deteriorate.

Where do I stand in the midst of all this? It's hard to say. I don't believe that technology has made us stupid, as long as we learn not to believe everything that we read on the Internet as fact without taking the time to do more research and get our facts straight. There are many, many benefits to technology. New technology has allowed lives to be saved in hospitals, and for us to stay in contact with people who live thousands of miles away. The simple act of writing a letter to someone, thanks to that evil written word Plato was so afraid of, has allowed people to stay in touch with others long before we started posting nearly every aspect of our lives on social media websites.

What I personally believe is that technology has hindered people's ability to live everyday life without being connected to some sort of electronic gadget. I grew up in a tiny village and lived without a cell phone or Internet until I was a senior in high school, and that was my personal preference. As a child, if I wanted to be entertained I read a book, or went outside and played (yes, I did watch TV. I didn't completely grow up in the Stone Age). Today I cringe every time I see a young child with an iPhone, and I constantly wonder what happened to all the children in my hometown when I go home and walk the streets. When I was young there was always children and teenagers outside having fun and causing mischief with each other. Instead, the streets are barren. What happened?? Mankind's increasing reliance on technology could easily be our social downfall. Even I find myself spending too much time on Facebook when I'd much prefer to be spending time with my friends in person, so I'm not saying I'm any better than the people I seem to be scoffing.

So has Google and pencils made us less intelligent? I think no, if anything they have just given us better mediums to share our ideas and to learn things about the world. My main concern with the advance of technology is how much farther it will push us away from each other. In truth, I'd prefer to have this conversation aloud with another person but, for now, I'll just post this to the Internet at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite.