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