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Marshall McLuhan, a Professor of Media Studies at Toronto University, rose to prominence during a time in history marked by rebellion against authority and societal norms. He became well-known for introducing society to memorable phrases such as "the medium is the message". Although his theories have been subject to ongoing discussion, they were widely accepted during their era and are currently enjoying renewed interest.
The essay will explore Marshall McLuhan's concept of the "Global Village" and its connection to his other ideas.
McLuhan was influenced by Harold Adams Innis, who suggested that different forms of communication had a "bias" towards time, impacting society's stability.
According to Innis, media with a "time bias," like stone carving, would persist over time and contribute to a stable society. Conversely, media with a "space bias," such as papyrus, could be easily revised and lead to an unstable culture (Meyrowitz 1985:17).
According to Mcluhan, different media possess a "sensory bias," while Postman argues that each medium carries an "ideological bias." Mcluhan perceives every new media invention as an expansion of a human ability.
In The Medium is the Massage, he highlights examples such as the wheel as an extension of the foot, the book as an extension of the eye, clothing as an extension of the skin, and electronic circuitry as an extension of the central nervous system.
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Within the context of the "global village," the most significant extension is the electronic circuitry.
In their book, McLuhan and Fiore discuss how our new electronic extensions are enabling us to disconnect from local society and connect globally.
They argue that we now live in a Global Village, where events occur simultaneously (Mcluhan & Fiore 1967:63).
This Global Village is akin to a global community, with strong connections similar to those found in small rural settlements. The notion of an "always on" culture further supports this idea, as news can now travel instantly worldwide. Moreover, the fact that one in six people own a mobile phone (Guardian 2002) and the Internet has eliminated previous communication barriers have revolutionized the way we communicate.
When Mcluhan first introduced the phrase "global village", the Internet was not yet fully developed. Although initially associated with radio, there is ongoing debate about its origins. Eric Mcluhan suggests that James Joyce and Wyndham Lewis also made similar references, indicating that his father may have been developing the concept prior to encountering it in Lewis' writing. Mcluhan had a positive outlook on the "Global Village" and believed it would enhance social interaction. He emphasized that in an electronic information environment, minority groups could no longer be ignored.
This paragraph expresses a technological determinist view which emphasizes the importance of the medium in influencing people's involvement. Mcluhan also acknowledges that there is no inevitability in this influence if people are willing to reflect on what is happening. However, this viewpoint contradicts some of Mcluhan's other work where he poetically describes our vulnerability to technology's power over us. Additionally, digital TV provides more interactive features such as access to email and online banking, alongside a wider range of entertainment options.
Sheltered housing is using digital technology to allow residents to reach out to the manager when they encounter problems, demonstrating how new technology is being inclusive towards minority groups. However, there is pressure on the government to sell the broadcasting spectrum currently used by analogue television due to the rise of digital TV, and they intend to do this before 2010. Regrettably, this decision is expected to worsen the existing divide instead of closing it. While half of households currently have access to digital TV, one-third of homes still cannot receive digital TV signals.
In 2004, the Department of Trade and Industry conducted a report which revealed that 6% of the population may object to the analogue signal switch-off due to concerns about upgrading costs and excessive television consumption. If this switch-off were to occur, individuals who cannot or do not want to receive digital TV would be left without access to television. Consequently, this would lead to an increased wealth disparity and deeper social divisions. The notion of a "technological revolution" frequently mentioned by Technological Determinists has raised worries about those who might be left behind.
Mcluhan’s presentation of the issue is oversimplified as there are additional factors to consider beyond the medium alone. During Mcluhan’s time, the Internet was not as widely accessible as it is today. However, just five years after his death in 1980, the platform that is most relevant to the concept of an "online community" became operational. Internet forums enable people from around the world to have real-time conversations. The Internet appears to be the most compelling evidence for the existence of a "global village". With broadband, most actions can be carried out instantly, allowing users to communicate, transfer money, access information, and make purchases regardless of their geographic location.
Mcluhan's concept of electronic circuitry expanding our nervous system is better understood when we think about someone sitting at a computer. The act of typing becomes the cause, but the result is experienced in a worldwide electronic network. Meyrowitz acknowledges that in the past, parents could discipline their children by isolating them in their rooms, cutting off their social interactions (Meyrowitz 1985:Preface). However, this is no longer true. The Internet presents the opportunity to extend our central nervous system globally.
The social effects of the Internet are extensively discussed in today's society. Wellman and Gulia note that there are two contrasting views on the impact of the internet - some believe it will generate positive new forms of community, while others think it will completely destroy communication (Wellman: "The Networked Community"). However, the actual reality is likely to be more complex than these binary views suggest. Meyrowitz argues that new media have the ability to blur the boundaries between public and private behavior (Meyrowitz 1985:93-114). The concept of the "global village" proposed by Mcluhan further supports this notion.
The newspaper headline and the newsreader's delivery of it convey different meanings. While print media lacks the opportunity for in-depth character analysis, television allows for a more personal understanding of the presenter. This blurring of public and private boundaries is evident in public broadcasts, where private situations are merged with the presenter's persona. The phenomenon extends to personal homepages, where individuals from diverse backgrounds share their self-presentations with the online world. Cheung (2000) discusses the emancipatory nature of this practice, highlighting how it provides a platform to rehearse one's self-presentation.
Due to the absence of face-to-face communication, one can continuously improve their presentation until they are satisfied. Mcluhan's concept of the "global village" is believed to generate a higher degree of social engagement, as demonstrated by the personal homepage. People are now able to reach out to a worldwide audience and express their individuality. Grosswiler argues that Mcluhan would have supported the notion that electronic media intensify the yearning for connection and intimacy within the Global Village (Grosswiler 1998:118).
However, the definition of "closeness and intimacy" presents a challenge. While a personal webpage offers more personal content than the BBC homepage, it falls short in comparison to face-to-face communication. According to Mcluhan, the level of "closeness and intimacy" found on personal webpages is the only existing type in our interconnected world, which he refers to as the "global village". Mcluhan believed that this form of intimacy could be experienced with anyone, regardless of their location. However, some individuals who view the Internet from a technologically determinist perspective tend to isolate it from other aspects of life.
While the Internet is increasingly providing the possibility to live without human contact and enables online ordering of almost everything, it is not the sole source of social interaction for most people. Despite the popularity of personal webpages, they do not offer a substantial system of communication. Town centres continue to exist as people still engage in face-to-face communication with their friends and acquaintances, indicating that offline interaction remains significant. This is evident in the accusation that Mcluhan often exaggerates his conclusions.
It is evident that although some individuals form friendships online, the majority of interactions occur in person. The well-known saying by Mcluhan, "the medium is the message," suggests that the medium itself has a social influence that most people are not aware of. If the media's power is so significant, how can determinists like Mcluhan remain detached to comment on it? Additionally, Mcluhan believed that once we recognize something as our environment, a larger process must be at play (Mcluhan, Eric).
However, McLuhan was knowledgeable enough to sit on a board that was established to examine "the totality of communications problems in modern society" (McBride cited in Briggs and Burke 2002:258-260). Unfortunately, political conditions stopped the proceedings of this report. If the report had been completed, I might be discussing a different concept now. McLuhan once commented that a fish is unaware of water, despite the fact that the water determines everything the fish does - the fish remains blissfully ignorant.
The point is that we are the fish and technology our water. However, this doesn't prove the argument, it simply explains it. At first glance, the phrase appears clever yet contains no empirical evidence and is typical of Mcluhan's inventive and persuasive use of language. Mcluhan's global village is perceived as optimistic. Yet a Marxist interpretation offered by Ang notes that "the making of the 'global village' can be rewritten as the transformation, or domestication, of the non-Western Other in the name of capitalist modernity" (Ang 1996:150-180 cited in Grosswiler 1998:142).
According to sociologist Tom Nairn, the spread of communication has the potential to create a global village, as suggested by Mcluhan. However, Nairn argues that this potential is hindered by the social forms of capitalism, which result in the destruction of non-western cultures and capitalist exploitation. He believes that Mcluhan's theory overlooks the contradictions and creates myths about the actual social world. Nairn contends that while achieving a global village is possible, it contradicts much of the current social reality (Nairn 1968:150 cited in Grosswiler 1998:34).
The following graphic illustrates a comparison between the distribution of Internet routers and the global population, sourced from Soon-Hyung Yook, Hawoong Jeong, and Albert-Laszlo Barabasi at http://www. cybergeography.org/atlas/geographic. html. It is evident that the majority of the global population remains unconnected. This highlights the fact that the "global village" consists of only a minority of the total population, portraying a model that falls short in promoting social inclusion and has the potential to create a digital divide between the connected and unconnected individuals.
The statistic mentioned in my introduction, which states that 1 in 6 people own a mobile phone, supports the idea of the "global village". However, upon closer examination, Briggs and Burke explain that in 1982, there were only 600 million telephones worldwide. Additionally, half of the world's population lived in countries with less than ten million telephones combined. This evidence contradicts the concept of the "global village" and supports Nairn's criticism regarding the media's potential being at odds with reality.
According to Mcluhan's perspective, the idea of the "global village" primarily applies to developed western countries. However, this viewpoint overlooks minorities who are not part of it. Additionally, the Marxist standpoint argues that when third-world nations become part of this global society, it is only to exploit them for capitalist benefits and erase their distinct identity. Therefore, it can be inferred that Mcluhan's vision does not correspond with reality because a considerable part of the world remains disconnected and there is no concrete evidence of it promoting global unity.
According to a report from the Guardian in May 2004, Africa has become the leading continent in terms of mobile phone ownership, surpassing landline subscribers. It is the first continent where the number of mobile phone users exceeds that of landline subscribers. The report predicts that by the end of this year, there will be 60 million individuals using mobile phones, which is more than double the 27 million with a landline connection. Additionally, mobile phone ownership in Africa is growing at an annual rate of 65%, twice the global average.
Despite the rapid progression towards a "global village," Africa's mobile phone ownership has been on the rise. However, only 6% of the population is able to utilize these devices (Guardian, May 2004), and internet usage is even lower. Thus, although there may exist a virtual village, it falls short of Mcluhan's grand global vision.
Marshall McLuhan's "Global Village" and Media Bias. (2018, Aug 31). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/global-village-community-essay
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