Media and its ecologies
Defining the concept and idea of media ecology is not as straightforward as one would expect. There are multiple approaches to define what media ecology means in our global network. For example, Media Ecology described by the Media Ecology Association member Lance Strate is:
“The study of media environments, the idea that technology and techniques, modes of information and codes of communication play a leading role in human affairs.” (Strate, 1999)
A main question in the study of media ecology that Chris Ridgeway addresses is the question “does technology grow in the culture or does the culture grow in the technology?”
There can be multiple ways to answer this philosophical question, however as I believe they both need each other to grow and form over time from each other. You cannot grow technology without culture and culture cannot grow without technology.
Marshal McLuhan defines media ecology as something created by culture which we as society are responsible for, technology does not just happen, we create it through experience and culture, which is of course true as technology is evolved over time due to what we (society) need and want.
Through my research, I have come to understand, media ecology as how we as a society have changed our interactions and actions due to the effects of technology. However, as McLuhan points out it can be difficult for us as individuals to notice how our culture is affected by technology as we are always immersed in it. Just like a fish is to water.
A great example of Media Ecology would be the 2008 Pixar film, Wall-E, Wall-E is set many years into the future and depicts how human interaction changed due to the soaring effects of technology.
Even though this prediction by Pixar may not be accurate, it still gives us an insight and understanding as to how technology can affect society in the near future.
We are immersed in technology in today’s digital age and we literally need it to survive, each day we are becoming more reliant on technology — this can be seen as both a positive and negative aspect on our society. We now communicate through the medium and now almost like body language the way we reply to a text, respond to an email or even post a ‘selfie’ is all relevant as how we communicate. From ancient carvings to online emojis we are constantly evolving the way we communicate and interact.
