1.3 The Medium Is the Message

For communication to work, both the giving and receiving party must agree to shared signs or symbols. For example, in the written English language, we’ve managed to agree on a standard alphabet, what the letters look like, and what they should sound like. We then need to agree on what those letters, when they’re combined in different ways, actually mean. Dictionaries were born from this need to share common interpretations, yet even with these massive tomes, there is still frequent debate about what many words should mean. Without a common consensus on signs and symbols, communication becomes impossible.

Further complicating matters is the idea that the medium is the message. Not only do we need to agree on what individual letters do and what words made up of those letters mean, but we must also find consensus when it comes to where those words are presented, how they’re presented, and who they’re coming from.

In his 1964 book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Marshall McLuhan states that “the medium is the message,” claiming that the medium that carries a message is possibly more important and warrants more attention than the message itself.1

To illustrate how important the medium and context are in communication, think about how the message “I can’t see how we’ll ever recover from this” changes in different situations. When that message comes from your sister via text message during an informal conversation about her medical bills, it elicits feelings of empathy and support for your sister. You know she may need some emotional support. However, when that same message comes from the President of the United States at an impromptu press conference while discussing the latest economic downturn, that message could elicit feelings of fear or hopelessness and incite actions of self-preservation. The words, in both cases, are identical, but the medium and context through which the words were communicated drastically changes their meaning and your subsequent response.

“I love you” means something very different coming from a love interest, your grandma, a fan of yours, or a complete stranger. “Help me” means one thing when mouthed by a friend caught in an awkward conversation at a dinner party than it does when written in sand on a deserted island, and the response in either situation should be completely different.