Medium is the Message

McLuHan ’s most famous aphorisms ‘the medium is the message”.For me , i am totally agreed.How important that when the technology become better day by day ?I think one of the potential effect of mass media(technology) is helping people to build up their public concern by using media.So that one of the importance of mass media is showing what happened or happening on our world for us as soon as possible.

 Some hi-end brand such as LV , GUCCI , DIOR ,CHANEL .etc.

They usually use many advertisement or sponsor to show how luxury of their brand are.For example, "Chanel no.5 cologne ’s advertisement ",they invited Brad Pitt to show people ‘when human using Chanel no.5 cologne , they will become feel like more highly level of society position and more luxury ‘concept. So we can see that , the influence of mass media can affect people as far as our way to thinking and decide to reflect people how to show up their self-worth vales by using the products on this sample.

Moreover , i believe that when technology become better per day , people will more rely on media to receive daily happen of our world news ,it is good for people to exchange their message from others , but at the same time , when we losing our self  ability to judge the authenticity of message by using media egregiously, it is terrible that the media would affect our values directly.

student name: chan ho yin edward 

 

Medium is the message !!

I agree with the statement declared by McLuhan that "Medium is the message".

Generally, people realise Media as mass-media, such as the radio, television, press, and so on, which can forward the information to the public. Thus this, people can understand what is happening on the world. Yet, they only emphasis on what information they can get, they neglect that our lives are surrounded by every things, Media, that delivering the message to us.

The Form of Message

In my comprehension, McLuhan's meaning of media is not only on the scale of mass-media, but also on a larger scale that every technologies, innovations, even, our consciousness can be deemed as media. As McLuhan theorised that Media are the extensions of man, the concept of Medium should be a form of message rather than an expression of content.

I understand that Medium itself embeds the message and it affect the way that we live. Maybe let me explain in the ways of clothing, shelter and entertainment -- some basic needs of us.

Clothing

As for clothing, I will wear formal dresses when I am going to attend an interview. But I would not wear the same dresses when I am going to sleep at home. It is the unwritten rule that we will follow in different occasion. In different places, we wear different clothes and it will encode a message to the others, the receivers, and they will decode the message that what kinds of a person we are. Same clothing itself has different forms of message.

Shelter

For the place we live, house provided a message that we had to organise our clansmen and live together so that we could enlarge our force to forestall the enemy in the past. Nowadays, house is providing a totally different message that it is a place we can get along with my family and take a rest from work. The function of it is different and the form of message is different as well.

Entertainment

It should be the easiest realised that Media, the forms of message are changed in our lives. For example, we, nowadays, are willing to communicate with the others through texting on our smartphone rather than dialing or writing a letter. We are willing to receive the news feed on Facebook and the news app rather than on television.

Our behaviours are obviously changed by Media. Clothing is not only for getting warm and shelter is not an organisation any more. As now I believe that Medium is the message, and I can keep an closed eye to my life and keep analysing on how media affect us.

Student: Lo Hing Lun, Austin

The medium is the message

In my mind, “The medium is the message” got several meanings.

First is that people can know about the message through medium before they know about the content inside. Another is how media affect people’s life, thinking or culture.

For me, I agree some of the point that McLuhan said.

I agree that media affect people’s life and thinking, media can change people's thinking through their platform. For example, pirate was bad image in people’s mind before, like piracy off the coast of Somalia. They do rob, they set fire and they are murder also. But now on TV or films, pirate are nice people, they are funny, they loyal to the people who are nice to them. Media makes people think pirate are not as bad as the think before. Media now got the power to control how people think about one thing.

"Never judge a book by its cover". I don't really agree McLuhan that "never mind the content". For poster or photo, people can know what they mean when they just saw that image without explain. But for video, they can’t just know what do that video deeply mean without watching the whole video. We can know that person is happy when they saw he smile, but we can't just saw the name of a film and know what the film want to told. We can't miss the content of the video as the meaning will be inside the film and we need to feel it while you watch.

So for some points, I don't really agree with McLuhan as in some medium, you can't miss the content.

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Student: Harry Lau Hoi Ming

How can media change our mind?

To the theory of McLuhan, I understand that his theory “Medium is the message” is through the media, it can affect to what we think in the daily life. How we can get the latest news is through the media and after we get in it, we will easily think the news is right without any judgment. I agree with his theory but I think when we easily get the message it will affect to what we think towards to our daily life. 

Here I am going to explain another social media platform that is usually use by Hong Kong people, that is HKGolden. I remember in the few last year it happen a “Kong Lui Five Hundred” event, it is about a ready to get marry woman post a status on Facebook about if you give five hundred cash gift, you don’t come to my wedding party. I remember the starting point is from Facebook but the HKGolden netizen immediately open a new topic or make a song or article saying about her and say she is such a selfish girl. This event made many people start to feel fear about when you type a status in Facebook. Also, when their friends get weeding they will think about how much give to their friends. Wedding is a grateful day to share the happiness with family and friends but after happen this event, make people use “wedding” as a tool to check your friend is a “real-friend” or not. (255 words)

Student name: Poon Lok Hang, Jodi

The Medium is Message

McLuhan express a most popularly known theory – “The Medium is the Message” he considered that anything that is an extension of ourselves as a medium. So more broad than human communication, and can encompass any technology that extends our physical and intellectual essences.

I am strongly agree this theory, I think the arise of social media has been change in television programs. When I was child, there are some television programs having a mailbox for me to send a letter to join a game or express my opinions. And those letters would be selectively read on-air until the next broadcast. But now, the television station use some more new and diverse approaches to interacting with audience have happened afforded by social media. For example, Facebook is the famous medium to be used to assist for some talkback about the TV drama, question and answer form the audience, and it is more interactive and helps audience know more detail about the drama.

In the other example, there is a television live program shown in last month, call “The Million Dollar Minute”.  The audience can use their smart phone to answer the question of the program immediately; also the program would show the result of the vote after one minute. 
These examples show us, the social media unintended increase interaction between television program and the audience

Student Name: Ma Shun Hei

Personal understanding and perception on McLuhan’s idea

McLuhan used his efforts and passions regarding to culture and technology with his entire life in order to prove us that his theory and argument “Medium is the message” is true. I totally agree with his idea and I would like to express that every medium has its ability to change and affect our daily life and future.

Besides, we should consider the medium itself rather then its content when we try to distinguish what the medium is as McLuhan suggests “Hot & Cold” in order to explain and classify the difference and characteristic of different medium, from traditional tools (print, radio) to modern tools (Facebook, Advertisement).

From my point of view, when I started to use a smartphone when I was 17 years old, my communication between my relatives and friends had changed since I tried to reply on WhatsApp more regularly rather than SMS at that time. Once I engaged with a new medium, it became much more convenient and reform our way of communication and the method of interact with the others to a certain extent. 

Nowadays, I could easily take a look at my sister’s photos that she shares on her Instagram in order to realize and visit her daily life in Taiwan since electronic media is an instantaneous exchange and extension of the human senses (McLuhan, 1989). Furthermore, we could travel around the world with our eyes using the smartphone without distance, and that’s why it maybe the external organs or needs of us right now.

Student Name: Chi Wai Chu Chiwai

Is it necessary?

Is it necessary?

I agree with McLuhan’s “medium is the message”, because all media is disseminate some message to people, let people know what happening in this society, such as we through the TV drama or movie, we can understand the social atmosphere or culture of our society or other counties. For example, I using the “MTR app” usually, because I go to school by MTR every day, I will check it before I go out from my home, then I will be know the MTR is it normal operation or malfunction, and this problem is it will influence me to be late, if will, then I should go out early. Therefore, I think this app very useful for me.

In the other hand, some media is not necessary for people, for example, the “17”app very popular recently, although this app stopped to download. This app for user to have a live chats with others, but is it necessary or useful for people? How many people really need it then to use it? Some people will think, “This live chats can convenient to workers of high class to have an important meeting”, but somebody can saw this live chats and give some comment, then how they get an important meeting? Moreover, some user to be illegal of live chats, such as pornography.

So that, someone can be a medium in this society, but how do you use it is the problems. If you correctly to use the media, then it will be useful for you, but if you use it to be illegal, then this media will be failure.

Student name: Ip Man Yee

Medium IS the Message

To my larger extent, I agree with the idea of McLuan's "medium is the message".  He explained that the effects of technology do not occur a the level of opinion or concepts, but alter sense ratios or patterns of perception steadily and without any resistance.

Based on his idea, we can know that the medium itself is the message.  We don't understand the medium that is television, new media etc.  However, we focus on the medium that we are consuming and the medium becomes a message.  We react differently to different forms of media and understand the message from the sense of ratios of people such as the visual and the sound.  As a result, the medium influences the society.

The faster development of mobile technology, everyone should have their own smart phone.  Moreover, they understand the message from the mobile, but they can understand the message from the internet in their mobility.  For example, Facebook is not the message, but the Facebook content is the message.  When someone is stalking the Facebook page, they can consume different kind of message and information from the photos and video.  They will look at the photo's caption or watch the video.  Those content can extend our audio and visual sense as to understand the message.  

In our daily life, different medium has their own message and we can understand the message according to our personal experience.  

When we look at the above photo, some people will think that it shows the freshness of the lobster.  On the other hand, some people may think that it promotes the  sharpness of the knife.  Thus, medium is the message and people will understand in different meaning according to their understanding and beliefs.

In conclusion, medium is the message.  Everyone can understand the message from the medium.  However, they will have different understanding and views when they are consuming the medium.  This leads to the social conflicts among people.

Student: Tang Yee Ting, Stephanie

The medium is the message

How important that the technology order our sense? The potential effects of mass media content has been the focus of public concern. Most people lack the awareness of personal experience of an environment, but mostly from the media coverage, recognized the"second-hand real" which showing the importance of the media in community and public. McLuhan mentioned "The medium is the message", I fully agree. 

In technological determinism, the technological base creates the social superstructure, such as the class division, social values, representative democracies. The media has always been regarded as a bridge between the public, society and government. Using the umbrella revolution which occurred in last year as an example, public dissatisfaction with the government was not so strong originally, people informed that social situation through Facebook or other media, which gathered a group of people to express their wishes through actions. I was one of people who was not satisfied with the government and stand up. First do not comment on their action was too aggressive or not, we can see the role of the media, not only reporting the important social information, also distinguish right from wrong which is playing the inevitable social responsibility. The influence of the media can be as far as our way of thinking.

I understand everyone would have different views on the social policies. Therefore, I would like to use another example.

I believe that all girls want to find a boy who loves her so much. I am no exception. And the best way to express love, in addition to usual care, that is the gift. For a while, PANDORA became the most desired gift in Hong Kong. But precisely because its price is not cheap, it was criticized for worships money, the symbol of Hong Kong woman. With the online critical voices constantly which make people deterred and fear of being tag. When we loss the reflection on self-worth, it is terrible since the emergence of the media would affect our values directly. 

Thus, the media determine our way of thinking.

Student name: Grace Yip 

Medium is the Message

McLuhan said that medium is the message. The content of any medium is always another medium. Our understanding of message is affected by the propagation mode. I strongly agree his idea.

At different times, the interpersonal relationship, understanding of message and the human society are different because of various medium. For example, in the past, the transmission technology was poor. People know the message from newspaper or narration only. However, nowadays, the propagation technology has developed. We know many messages on various hot and cold media such as textbook, advertisement, Facebook and TV news. Some strong message will be getting the attention easily. Our understanding of the message is affected. When the new medium is intended, it will control and change our personal thinking or even the social cultural. Therefore, the medium actually is the message. 

The novel and movie are another example to explain the theory. These mediums are hot media and high in information content. The novel was adapted for the screen like Maze Runner. I watched the Maze Runner movie only but my friend read the novel. Movie has time limitation. It does not show all the details of novel such as each character personality and some plots etc. My friend has read the novel so she knows a lot. Finally, we have distinct understanding of Maze Runner. This situation follows that even though novel and movie of Maze Runner are showing the similar content but understanding of the message are different. The movie played with conceptions of speed and time transformed. Therefore, I agree that medium is the message. (263 words)
Student name: Tam Yi Ki