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.