‘’The Evolution of Traditional to

New Media’’
Marfelyn T. Languita
Kris B. Ocariza
 THE MCLUHAN MANTRA
Marshall McLuhan , who is famous for the phrase “the medium is the message” and is the
proponent of the media theory on technological determinism, believed that society is driven by
changes in media and communication technology.
McLuhan (2007) explain that society adapts advances in technology, thus, changing cultural,
political, even historical aspects of that society.
Takes for instance the case of mobile phone and a computer. How did this two gadgets change
the way people live their lives today? Some of you might think that is almost unimaginable to
revert back to the old times where this two did not yet exist. People who agree with the
technological deterministic idea believe that media an communication have and will always
significantly affect and change our way of life.
The only things constant and inevitable is change. Thus, some look at technology as an indication
of progress. Social chance is typically associated with technological advancement. As technology
stabilizes, users and consumers adapt their behavior to the feature and perceived benefits of this
technology, oftentimes making people overly reliant to technology. A media form that emerges
from an older form has is features format primarily patterned from the one that it followed. The
internet is not exactly an original concept but rather a hybrid or derivative of the older forms such
as print media, broadcast media, and film. The mobile phone are built on old idea of telephony,
and smart phone and tablets, on the idea of internet and computer technology.
 HOT AND COLD MEDIA?
In the language of McLuhan, “hot” media refer to forms requiring little
involvement from the audience and examples included film and
television. They are hot because, metaphorically speaking, they cannot
be “touched” and thus the experience is relatively passive and static.
“Cool” media are those with high level user interactivity, where the
experience is more dynamic and the audience is more involved.
Media forms that utilize animation, such as video games, or provide
participation, like online media platforms, are examples of cool media.
 Milestones in Media Evolution

FOR MCLUHAN (1962),THE THREE MOST SIGNIFICANT INVENTIONS IN

COMMUNICATION WOULD BE THE PHONETIC ALPHABET , THE PRINTING
PRESS , AND THE TELEGRAPH. EACH OF THEM LINKED ONE PERIOD TO
ANOTHER.AS MENTIONED EARLIER , THE MOST RECENT FORMS OF MEDIA
CARRY THE FEATURES OF THE OLDER MEDIA.
IN THE MEDIA MAP SHOWN, THERE ARE FOUR MAIN PERIODS IN THE
HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION.IT BEGINS WITH TRIBAL AGE WHERE HEARING
WAS THE PREDOMINANT AND MOST VALUABLE SENSE OF RECEPTION. EARLY
HUMAN ANCESTORS RELIED HEAVILY ON THEIR SENSE OF HEARING TO HUNT
FOR FOOD AND TO STAY ALERT FROM DANGER. THE NEXT PERIOD IS THE
LITERACY AGE WHERE THE SENSE OF HEARING TO HUNT FOR FOOD AND TO
STAY ALERT FROM DANGER. THE NEXT PERIOD IS THE LITERACY AGE WHERE
THE SENSE OF SIGHT WAS DOMINANT . IF THE TRIBAL AGE WAS HIGHLY
ACOUSTIC, THE LITERATE AGE WAS HIGHLY VISUAL . THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE
INVENTION OF THE ALPHABET , ALLOWING HUMANS TO LEARN TO READ.
THE PRINTING PRESS WAS INVENTED IN THE PRINT AGE , WHICH MEANT
MASS-PRODUCING WRITTEN TEXTS. HAVING MORE COPIES OF THESE TEXTS
GAVE HUMANS THE LIBERTY TO READ THEM AT THEIR OWN PACE AND TO
SHARE THEM TO OTHERS. WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF PRODUCED AND
REPRODUCED READING MATERIALS CAME THE INEVITABLE – THE BUILDING
OF LIBRARIES AND OTHER REPOSITORIES.
 Mcluhan’s (1989) idea of the ‘global village’ a community where everyone in
the world is interconnected through media, was invented which paved the way
to the invention of more recent technologies such as the telephone , television
, mobile phone , and the internet. The communication technology at this time
led humans to instantly connect to each other even great distances. An
example as when you log on to play in an online video game while
simultaneously chatting with other players from other parts of the world.
In addition to the media map of history are two other time periods not
covered in mcluhan’s periodization. One is information age when the world
entered into a new era of media experience in the 21 st century. Also known as
the digital or new media age, this is a time in human history where everything
relied heavily in the use of computers to run major industries.
digital technology and internet become pervasive , thus ,pushing the world
the infrastructure.
 Culture Shapes Technology
Despite the views provided by mcluhan , not
everyone agrees with his proposity contrary to
idea of affecting change to society , cultural
determinism explain that culture and society
shapes technology .