The part of The Medium is the Massage that really stuck with me was this line:
“Electrical information devices… re-tribalize mankind.”

It’s such a bold and strange statement, and honestly, it feels a little unsettling. “Re-tribalize”? At first, I didn’t get what McLuhan meant. But the more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense, and it’s actually kind of mind blowing. McLuhan is saying that new technologies, especially things like TV, radio, and now the internet, are pulling us back into this way of life that’s more like a tribe, where we share emotions and experiences as a group, than being all about individual thinking like modern society usually is. What’s crazy is how much this describes the world right now. Social media has created all these “digital tribes” online groups where people come together because of shared interests, beliefs, or even anger. News and trends spread instantly, emotions blow up fast, and there’s not a lot of room for calm, rational thinking. It’s like we’re all sitting around a virtual campfire, reacting to everything in real time, with so much emotional energy that sometimes it feels overwhelming. But this idea also freaks me out. Tribal societies were super close and connected, which sounds great, but they were also really closed off and often fought with outsiders. That feels way too much like what we see online today: echo chambers, cancel culture, and people constantly arguing and dividing into “us vs. them.” The same tools that bring us together are also splitting us apart at the same time. This line really stands out to me because it flips the way we think about technology. Instead of seeing it as progress or moving forward, McLuhan makes it seem like we’re going backward, back to something old and primal. It makes me question whether new tech is actually making us more advanced, or if it’s just dragging us back into old patterns of behavior.