Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication. (1967)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The way people communicate matters more for shaping society than the actual messages they exchange.
- In plain terms
- How we talk changes society more than what we talk about.
- What can you take from it?
- Communication methods shape culture more than message content.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Which media channel influences your views most?
- Does what we say matter less than how we say it?
Another view
Content can still drive significant societal change independently of the medium.
More from Marshall McLuhan
Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity. (1967)
Permalink to quote #60 'The future masters of technology will have to be light-hearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the dumb.' (1969)
Permalink to quote #62 There are no remote places. Under instant circuitry, nothing is remote in time or in space. It's now. (1965)
Permalink to quote #59
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