The methods used to convey and preserve information have always captivated humanity ever since the early days of communication. In the book " The Medium is the Message ," Marshall McLuhan, a media theorist, indicates that a message's perception is shaped by the medium through which it is experienced (McLuhan et al., 1996). Sometimes, the medium serves as the message, especially if used to deliver the message that would otherwise be inaccessible (Hutchinson, 2017). Thus, the nature of a communication medium has a compelling effect that shapes and transforms its' users social communications and interactions. For instance, McLuhan illustrates several differences between communication done via texting and through the face-to-face acoustic space.
Some of those differences include: first, McLuhan describes face-to-face communication (fostered by acoustic space) as an organic and integral medium of communication that allows a concurrent interplay of all human senses (McLuhan et al., 1996). On the other hand, texting as a medium of communication is quite limited as it cannot facilitate tactile communications. Secondly, in " The Playboy " interview, McLuhan explains that the face-to-face communication medium is container-like since it tends to be limited by the intensification of the eye and a fixed center and margins (Rose, 2019). In contrast, texting is not limited by boundaries because texting creates its own space and process as a medium of communication.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Thirdly, unlike face-to-face communications, texting allows readers to control how they receive (the pace and order of reading a text) and transmit information. Fourth, face-to-face communication allows the reception and transmission of the information at a speed and degree that allows immediacy (McLuhan et al., 1996). Fifth, McLuhan indicates that as a medium of communication, face-to-face communication is associated with patterns and spatial relations not present in texting since texting is characterized by experiences described as simultaneous, nonlinear, and synchronous because of its networked technology (McLuhan et al., 1996). Owing to the several differences that arise between texting and Face-to-face as mediums of communication, as illustrated by McLuhan, texting tends to facilitate numerous interactions, while the face-to-face medium of communication inclines towards fostering the creation of solid social communication.
References
Hutchinson, T. (2017). The medium is the message: And the problem? International Journal of Whole Person Care , 4 (2). https://doi.org/10.26443/ijwpc.v4i2.131
McLuhan et al., (1996). The medium is the massage: An inventory of effects . Hardwired.
Rose, P. (2019). Understanding new media: Extending Marshall mcluhan, Robert K. Logan (2016). Explorations in Media Ecology , 18 (3), 320-324. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme.18.3.320_5
