What Do Media Do For Us

Marshall McLuhan used the term in his book Understanding Media to describe how mass media, in particular the telegraph and radio, was making the world spatially smaller by allowing people from all corners of the globe access to the same information. In contemporary times the term “global village” most commonly refers to the internet, which takes it one step further: now people around the world can not only access the same information, they can also access each other, instantaneously. Worldwide electronic communication is ostensibly bringing us all together under one global cultural umbrella, promoting mutual understanding and hopefully reducing conflict. Although it is tempting to believe this is the case, in fact the ease with which people can now connect electronically has only changed the ways in which people interact, not the basic form of those interactions. The world is no more a village than it ever was. The term “village” brings to mind a community that has banded together for mutual protection. Members of a village have a vested interest in the survival of other members: there is strength in numbers, and if your crops fail, chances are your neighbor will spot you until the next harvest. Since the advent of the internet, the idea of a community no longer necessarily means everyone lives right next door to each other, but the basic premise of unity and reciprocal care remains. People who connect online do so because they are interested in similar things: they are somehow alike, just as people in real villages are often related through family or industry.