"Evolution of Media"

Wait a minute, what is a Media?

Media (Singular form: Medium) is the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver information or data. It is either associated with communication media, or the specialized mass media communication businesses such as: print media and the press, photography, advertising, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television) and publishing.

EVOLUTION

Learning Objectives

1. Identify four roles the media performs in our society.
2. Recognize events that affected the adoption of mass media.
3. Explain how different technological transitions have shaped media industries.

Metamorphosing Media

                All things do change. From the time that a person is still a baby up to that time when they have already grown a lot. As time passes by, all things improve and develop. Yet, it is either for good or for worst. What important is that how we cope with this types of changes. It is always a choice for us if we will go with the flow or we will be great swimmers that will go against the current.

                

Media is one of the basic inventions of man since the beginning of their existence in this world. It is also one of the most affected tools in this changing world. Why do I say that it was a tool? Well, for us to know the literal meaning of media, these are channel of communication by which people receive or send information. Therefore, it is our tool for reaching out those who are in far places. As humans evolve and become more intelligent, media also change. In fact, Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian professor of English and the philosopher of communication theory, divided the history of human in terms of media into four. These are tribal age, literate age, print age, and electronic age.

     "All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values."

- Herbert Marshall McLuhan

        But before we tackle the four ages of media, let us first know who Marshall McLuhan really was. His theory about the evolution of media is considered as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory. He is also the author of the book “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man” and “The Medium is the Massage”. As we can notice, his book “The Medium is the Massage” has the word massage instead of message. It was a typographical error. It was the typesetter who had made the mistake but when McLuhan saw the typo, he said “Leave it alone!” McLuhan chose the new title because he liked the idea of changing the word message into “mass-age” as a pun of that word.

There are different theories of media evolution:

             

 1. The Tribal Age (Acoustic Era)

     After knowing the brief description of McLuhan, let us now proceed with the four ages of media. First is the tribal age. It is also known as the acoustic place in history because hearing is a more valuable sense than seeing during that time. People that time mostly use their ears to sense danger and to hunt for their food. They also apply their sense of hearing to receive signals from other tribe members. And because there were no yet phonetic alphabet that era, sense of seeing is less important than hearing.

2. The Age of Literacy - Visual Era

           
              Next to tribal age is the literate age or age of literacy. In this age, sounds were now able to be turned into symbols. Hence, eyes have become more significant in receiving and sending information. Also, tribes which represent collectivism have now transformed into individualism. Individuals have now the ability to formulate their own thoughts and write it without the help of their tribe members.

3. The Print Age - Visual Era

                Still, it is not enough to just know how to express thoughts by writing, it should also spread through different place and with many readers. That is why print age has arrived. This is when it had become possible for mankind to produce a large number of copies of what they have written with their own hands. Actually, Printing Press made it possible to have a widespread of information. Print Age is also the start of the production of newspapers, books, posters, etc.

             

4. The Electronic Age - Era of Instant Communication

     Last is the electronic age. It is when electronic devices have started to grow until the present time. Some of the first inventions of man which are considered as the starting line of today’s growing electronic industry, are telegraph, radio, telephone, film projector, phonograph, television, photocopier, tape recorder, answering machine, VCR, computer, CD, cellphone, fax, video game, internet, DVD, mp3, smart phone, etc. Altogether, these are the key towards the entrance of new media in this world.

             

               Today, new media is the most used media among all people living in this planet. New Media commonly refers to content available on-demand through the Internet, accessible on any digital device, usually containing interactive user feedback and creative participation. Examples of this are social media, online newspaper, blogs, wikis, videogames.

                This is how media have evolved overtime. Yet, it is still undergoing its own metamorphosis and as long as there is curiosity among all of us, there will be always a space for change and progress.




Leader:
Effraime Medwyn M. Concepcion
Co-Leader:
Lieven DR. Gabriel
Members:
Kate Lian F. Angel
Marylhyne Santos
Angela G. Gonzales
Grace Kelly Penefiel
Laila Pauline Santiago
Jett Shelwyn Burlat
Ricardo Bernabe
Arwill Salvador
Ian Carlo Cabuhat