6.6 What's New About New Media?

Summary

The script delves into the concept of new media theory, exploring the distinction between 'old' and 'new' media. The speaker invites the audience to reflect on media like mobile phones, the internet, and traditional outlets like books, newspapers, and TV. The discussion highlights historical critiques of new media, such as Plato's skepticism of writing, and compares them to modern concerns about the internet. Drawing from Marshall McLuhan’s theories, the script emphasizes that technological advances drive shifts in media and society, urging a broader, timeless understanding of new media beyond current examples.

Takeaways

• 😀 All media were once 'new' at some point in history, including the written word, books, radio, and television.
• 😀 New media theories that focus only on current technologies like the internet or mobile media may not be useful for understanding past media revolutions.
• 😀 Plato’s ancient critique of the written word is a historical example of how new media were initially viewed skeptically, similar to modern critiques of the internet.
• 😀 Defining new media based solely on today's examples, such as interactivity or user participation, can lead to outdated theories when new media emerge in the future.
• 😀 Technology determinism, as proposed by Marshall McLuhan, argues that new media revolutions are driven by innovations in technology, such as the printing press and the internet.
• 😀 The printing revolution led to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, while the rise of the internet ushered in the digital information age.
• 😀 It is crucial to avoid the trap of only seeing our current media (internet, mobile media) as 'new' and instead consider all media revolutions as historically significant.
• 😀 Scholars warn against developing media theories that apply only to present examples because new technological innovations may quickly make them obsolete.
• 😀 McLuhan’s work showed that the impact of media revolutions is always broad, influencing societal development beyond just technological innovation.
• 😀 New media theories should aim to explain the broader phenomenon of media evolution, encompassing both historical and modern shifts in technology and society.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the transcript?

The transcript focuses on discussing the concept of 'new media' and explores its theoretical implications, particularly how new media theories can be both historical and present-focused.

Why does the speaker mention Plato's criticism of the written word?

The speaker uses Plato’s criticism to show that concerns about new media's effects on knowledge and learning are not new. Plato's skepticism about the written word in 360 BC is a historical parallel to modern critiques of new technologies like the internet.

What examples of old media are mentioned in the transcript?

Old media examples mentioned include newspapers, books, television, and radio.

What examples of new media are provided in the script?

The new media examples provided include mobile phones, the internet, tablets, and Blu-ray discs.

What is the definition of a new medium according to the transcript?

The transcript does not offer a single definition but invites the reader to reflect on why certain media are considered new while others are seen as old. It critiques overly narrow definitions of new media.

What point does the speaker make about media being 'new'?

The speaker emphasizes that all media were once new at some point in history. This highlights the danger of only focusing on current technologies as new, without considering the historical context.

What is the danger of creating new media theories based on current examples?

The danger is that these theories may become outdated as new technologies emerge, limiting their ability to explain the broader phenomenon of media evolution.

How does Marshall McLuhan contribute to the understanding of new media?

Marshall McLuhan's contribution is through his technology determinism theory, which suggests that technological innovations drive major shifts in human development and media landscapes, and that these shifts have profound societal effects.

What is 'technology determinism' as described in the transcript?

Technology determinism is the idea that technological innovations are the primary drivers of significant shifts in human society and culture, such as the printing press leading to the Renaissance or the internet contributing to the digital information age.

Why does the speaker argue against defining new media based on user participation or interactivity?

The speaker argues that such definitions may be too limited because they focus only on the characteristics of current new media, which may not apply to historical examples like the written word or the printing press.