An Analysis Of Christopher Winner's The Medium Is The Message

Overall, Jenkins is interested on the impact convergence has on popular culture, however, considering the process of convergence of modes, he recognizes that popular and political cultural are beginning to blur. Like cultural, both new and old media alike are begging to blur and evolve, while delivery technologies become obsolete and get replaced. An example would be the replacement of floppy disk to CDs and more commonly now, the use of USBs, Jenkins describes this as “The Black Box Fallacy”, where media combine as one

Ever since cellular phones first came to be in the 1980’s, people have been using them to carry out conversations, ask questions, or meet new people. Once cell phones reached a height of internet capabilities, smartphones were created. Cell phones from then on ended up changing society entirely. This research study could explain the effects of cell phones from their creation to today’s society and how they would influence the future generations. This study would also focus on the evolution of how cell phones become even more involved in our lives and how they truly influence us. This study would be beneficial to our generation by teaching them how technology is expanding, and the lives of humans will get easier as time goes on. Furthermore, this study would be beneficial as a report on how cell phones came to be in our history. This would expectedly heighten the awareness of society to how different our lives could be according to technological development. To the future researchers, this study could be used as a base for data in future development into how society adapts.

In the world today, cell phones are being used more than ever before. Everywhere you go, cell phones are present, and its users range from almost all ages. There is no avoiding the fact that cell phones are a prominent way of communication. They have become so influential in peoples’ everyday lives that many can not imagine life without a cell phone. Cell phones are not necessarily a bad tool, when used in moderation. Cell phones are changing the way people communicate and the way they live their everyday lives.

Wilbur Schramm, a former student and professor at the University of Iowa once said, “With language and writing in hand, humans had paid the tuition for their own education.” Schramm’s argument here presents a Utopian perspective on media while also illustrating Marshall McLuhan’s idea that “the medium is the message”.

In the modern-day world, there are about 6.8 billion cell phone subscriptions. Mobile telephones have really changed the way we do things in our daily life. Before cell phones were invented individuals were more interactive with each other. In the late 1900’s, Martin Cooper invented the first mobile telephone. Today we have a variety of mobile phones to choose from such as Apple and Samsung. Widespread cell phone use has definitely affected the world negatively because it is a distraction, can be harmful, and addicting.

The evolution of technology is constantly occurring in order to be more helpful in society. Therefore, a new gadget comes out within months or a year because of how it’s constantly evolving and how clients always ask for more. Andrew Sullivan wrote an essay in 2005 and talked the once popular iPod. In his essay, “Society Is Dead, We Have Retreated into the iWorld,” Andrew Sullivan uses the rhetorical triangle, visual imagery, and one of the rhetorical appeals, logos, to achieve his purpose of how technology has impacted human interactions.

When Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” back in 1967, we were facing a very different society than we are today. His focus was of course on the mediums of the time: radio, newsprint and television. Mark Federman, a Chief Strategist for the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology asserts in his article, What is the Meaning of the Medium is the Message? (2004), McLuhan was not speaking directly about the medium itself. His thought process went to a deeper level. Federman “note[s] that it is not the content or use of innovation, but the change in inter-personal dynamics that the innovation brings with it” that is the issue. In a world that we can now access hundreds of thousands of bits of information in milliseconds, we can certainly see a shift in media influence. Today we can actually watch events as they unfold, whether they are events for a greater good or events of horrific acts of terrorism, technology has enabled society to be omnipresent. Melody Thompson (2011) refers to Jaron Lanier in discussing how technology shapes our relationship to itself. She notes that Lanier believes technology imposes on us its own viewpoint and that shapes our decisions. In a world where we live with a 24 hour news cycle and news stations that can skew their reporting to send the message they want their viewers to hear, it is quite prophetic when Lanier states “it

The 21st Century is unlike any other century. Our lives tend to depend on technology. Technology makes our lives easier while it can also be a hazard to us. Technology causes us to be less social. Both articles “Our Cell Phones, ourselves”, by Christine Rosen and “Taking the Offensive Against Cell Phones”, by Lisa Guernsey are centered on the relationship between humans and technology.

Over the past 20 years, technology has advanced in an almost indescribable way and it is continuing to do so. It has a vast influence on our society and having some type of technological device is becoming a necessity for some people. Cell phones are one of these devices “with everyone from elementary school kids to senior citizens owning at least one. ”(Laura Jerpi)

With 87 percent of American adults owning a cell phone (Jerpi, 2013), it becomes obvious that cell phones have become a staple device in today’s society. Although cell phones offer convenience, they arguably come with negative affects. Cell Phones have become one of the fastest emerging technologies (Campbell, 2006). With 87 percent of American adults and teenagers owning a cell phone (Jerpi, 2013), it becomes obvious that cell phones have become a staple device in today’s society. Since the release of the first cell phone, they have immensely evolved and some would say, have become an essential to everyday life. Although cell phones offer convenience, they arguably come with negative and impactful effects on our social

Although Ursula Franklin and Langdon Winner both classify technology in different ways, they bring up many similar points regarding the intersection of power and technology in our everyday life. Franklin’s theory of technology as practice categorizes technology as either prescriptive or holistic in The Real World of Technology, which correlates well with Winner’s idea of technology being created with either authoritarian or democratic motives in The Whale and the Reactor. After reading both arguments, a clear correlation can be made between holistic/democratic technologies and prescriptive/authoritarian technologies as a way to describe power in our society. Franklin uses the term “technology” to define ways of doing something.

Technology has advanced over the years, causing our lifestyle to change drastically and head down a new path. With these advances in technology, the cell phone appeared and has evolved throughout time. The cell phone has become a necessity to many. All ages use this mobile device for either personal or business use. Higgins states that the amount of cell phones active has increased from “one billion in 2000 to 6 billion.” Although cell phones play an important role in the lives of many, the negative possibilities could cause destruction to our society.

Thesis: The usage of cell phones in modern day society has caused quite the problem for citizens in this generation by being a major distraction, causing addictions, and has sadly became the main resource of communication.

Have you ever wondered what would the world resemble in the event that we didn 't have any cell phones? Why is it that we get out of our comfort zone when we do not have access to our phones? Nowadays, cell phones have such a noteworthy effect on our day to day lives, and we owe it to the advancement of technology. In this research paper, we will take a closer look at this phenomenon by examining the evolution of cell phone devices, and it’s effects on society.

Mobile phones have become the most popular platform of communication in many developing countries, such as India and Korea. As of today, cell phone ownership is more common than landlines in these two emerging countries. There is a huge difference in the role that cell phones play in these two developing countries, yet there are many similarities as well. Overall, mobile phones have made a large impact on both India and Korea in ways such as regulations, beneficial developments, and even addiction.