Everyone is connected to the larger picture of how media has shaped society. You, your family, your neighborhood, your education, your job, and your government have all been changed. When McLuhan states that, “The family circle has widened.”, I agree with him. Now families are connected through social media. You can message or even use video chat on Facebook to speak to family members in other states or countries.
I found it extremely interesting how McLuhan describes media as an extension of the human senses. I think media can be an extension of the mind or the hand or even the eyes. These are some of the things you need in order to create. At one time the ears replaced the eyes through the use of word of mouth. For example storytelling or oral tradition or oral history. Stories are passed down orally through societies in order to have a visual. Therefore, I disagree with McLuhan when he states that, “… we do not live in a primarily visual world any more.” Much of media is visuals.
“Until writing was invented, men lived… in the dark of the mind… Speech [was] the step from the dark into the light of the mind… How to embody, and to colour THOUGHT?” I thought that this part of the reading was beautiful. I never thought about speech in that way before and how much society truly has changed. The ability to say and see your thoughts and feelings is liberating.