Why is thee internet SUCH a powerFUL medium!
It is the most interactive medium of communication right after in-person conversation (if one can consider that a form of media. Afterall, is media not simply just a form of communication?) Moreso than books. More than television, then pictures. More than art, than radio, than music. The internet is all these things and more.
The Media is a Medium
We take the choices we are given, for there is no other choice —MysteryGirl18
The internet is 2 way, mass communication. But we only have some control over the information we receive, and how we interact with it. For example, we can pause, rewind, or change movies halfway through while streaming. But we cannot change the storyline or color scheme of the movie.
We can post whatever we like. But we can only post what a website allows us to, logistically and semantically. The data will be transmitted as electricity over wires, and we do not have a say in this. We cannot control how various people online interact with our content, how they comment, make memes, post reactions.
Where does the infrastructure of the internet experience end, and the propoganda start? How is the message transformed in the transportation process, and limited by the medium? How is the interaction shaped by the user?
"The eye— it cannot choose but see; we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be, against or with our will." —Wordsworth
In "The Medium is the Massage" by Marshall McLuhan, there are many messages given in variable formats. What kind of message do you want to see? Click a button and explore, for the power of this medium relies on you!
What Would You Like to See?
You cannot know what is in store until you make a choice. But you must take action if you want to know. How will you choose to imbue meaning into the message? To what extent will you cooperate in receiving the intentions of the message?
