21 terms
Media Ecology Theory
Media Ecology Theory
the medium is the message; the laws of media (enhancement, obsolescence, retrieval, reversal) demonstrate that technology affects communication through new technology
media ecology
the study of how media and communication processes affect human perception, feeling, emotion, and value
Media Ecology Theory Assumptions
-media infuse every act and action of society
-media fix our perceptions and organize our experiences
-media tie the world together
-media fix our perceptions and organize our experiences
-media tie the world together
bias of communication
Harold Innis's contention that technology has a shaping power on society
global village
the notion that humans can no longer live in isolation, but rather will always be connected by continuous and instantaneous electronic media
epoch
era or historical age
tribal era
age when oral tradition was embraced and hearing was the paramount sense
literate era
age when written communication flourished and the eye became the dominant sense organ
print era
age when gaining information through the printed word was customary, and seeing continued as teh dominant sense
electronic era
age in which electronic media pervades our senses, allowing for people across the world to be connected
ratio of the senses
phrase referring to the way people adapt to their environment (through a balance of the sense)
the medium is the message
phrase referring to the power and influence of the medium-not the content-on a society
hot media
high-definition communication that demands little involvement from a viewer, listener, or reader
cool media
low-definition communication that demands active involvement from a viewer, listener, or reader
laws of media
further expansion of Media Ecology Theory with focus on the impact of technology on society
tetrad
organizing concept to understand the laws of media
enhancement
law that states media amplify or strengthen society
obsolescence
law that states media eventually render something out of date
retrieval
law that states media restore something that was once lost
reversal
law that states media will-when pushed to their limit-produce or become something else
technopoly
a term coined by Postman that means we live in a society dominated by technology