Extend, Transform and Bridge

Everything in our lives has a message; in essence, everything is supposed to be a medium where a message derives from. I argue that not everything is a medium. If media are all the things we have around us, in essence, there are no media then what is the point to even study it.

I do agree that everything in the social world has a message, however, the impact the message has on the reader suggests whether something can be categorized as a medium or not. For example, the tray bin sitting on my desk is a medium, it allows for papers to be stored, which in turn is a medium for writing, which has another layer of medium for thoughts, which has yet another layer of medium for emotions. Another example is the Blackberry. One layer of medium is the BBM, the next layer is text, which is another layer of medium for writing, then thoughts and finally a last layer for emotions. I can go on and on with many examples and suggest that everything is a medium; nonetheless, there needs to be a limit on whether we consider something a medium.

My definition of media are everything that is an extension of man that influence and transform the way we live. Looking at the two examples I use, both agree with the first half of the definition as they are extensions of man that allow us to do things differently; yet, they are different in the level of influence in our lives. The tray bin has little influence as to how I live my life; it helps me organize and keep order, it only changes how I do something. On the other hand, the Blackberry influences the way I do things, it transform my life; it not only helps me organize and keep order, it provides me with entertainment, education, exploration, communication, literature and a number of other things. The level of influence from each source differs, making it more realistic to say that a Blackberry is a medium and a tray bin is not.

Another important point about media are the connections it has with the rest of the world. One concept that Croteau and Hoynes mention in their book is that in today’s world, media often acts “as the bridge between people’s private lives and their relation to the public world” (18). Taking this into consideration, a tray bin is not a bridge between my private life and the world, whereas a Blackberry is. It is important to keep this in mind when thinking of what defines media because there are many things that can close a gap or create a bridge in our personal lives. Conversely, something that only impacts our personal lives should not be considered media. Being able to connect to the world through a medium that is an extension of us and has transformed our lives is media. 

Generally speaking, in today’s society, media has been categorized as the press, internet, broadcast, publishing, and other mediums through the use of technology. While some media historians might suggest that everything is a medium. I suggest that in order for something to be categorized as media, it needs to agree with three specific determinants. If it lacks one, it cannot be considered media. That is why my definition states that media are the extensions of man, which we are transformed and able to bridge the gaps between our personal lives and the rest of the world.