Marshall McLuhan

According to Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, "the Medium is the Message". By this, he means that the message that is being communicated is not actually the content, but the medium. In the first chapter of this book, McLuhan explains this theory: "Many people would be disposed to say that it was not the machine, but what one did with the machine, that was its meaning or message." (pg 23). For example, one important technology of today's world is the internet. According to McLuhan's theory, the message being communicated is not just the physical webpages, but the ideas being expressed there. The things that people do with the internet, such as posting pictures or videos, are the content, and the feelings or ideas conveyed would be the message. It is not just each individual picture or website that convey all communication, it is all of the internet put together that comprise the whole message. In conclusion, McLuhan's theory on understanding the media may not be the easiest to understand, but it explains a whole new way about thinking about communication.