The first time I read McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Massage”, I struggled understanding the main idea of his work. I usually blame the early 20th century writings for using big words that a commoner, like me, could barely understand. It quickly changed, however, when I read this passage:
In an electric information environment, minority groups can no longer be contained—ignored. Too many people know too much about each other. Our new environment compels commitment and participation. We have become irrevocably involved with, and responsible for, each other.
It is shocking to realize that McLuhan’s piece was written in 1967 yet the message speaks even to today’s generation. This year alone, the mass media were filled with minorities being oppressed. We have the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, Donald Trump’s views against Immigrants, and now, the #IStandWithAhmed movement that surfaced the internet after a Muslim boy was detained for bringing a clock to school because the teachers thought it was a bomb. These are just few of the stories that headlined this year if it wasn’t for the ‘electric information environment’ that we are living in.
It may not be crazy to argue that McLuhan is a prophet. Remember that this was written back when the internet did not exist, still, McLuhan was able to predict that “our new environment compels commitment and participation.” We now live in a world where the news posted is shared, ‘liked’, and commented by millions of people around the world and where protests are spread by placing a ‘#’ in front of a phrase. Although we are now involved with each other, we are still far from being truly responsible for each other. It takes more than just a Facebook post or Tweeter hashtag to make a difference. Voicing out our opinions is one thing, and actualizing that opinion is a different thing. One day we will get there as it is just a matter of time before we collectively learn how to use the power of internet in ways that we could never imagine.