The Dove Self-Esteem Fund

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund is a national resource established as a link to Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, a program aimed at changing the current, narrow definition of beauty. We believe that to make a real difference, we must take action and contribute in ways that will help women and girls celebrate their individual beauty.

The goal of the Fund is two-fold:

1. Develop tools and resources to help Canadian women and girls build stronger self-esteem.

2. Support organizations in Canada that foster a broader definition of beauty and positive self-image among women or girls.
   

I spent most of my life feeling ugly and worthless. I have always been a particularly naive and sensitive individual. Because I never felt that I lived up to the standers set by society, I have always been very self conscious and had a negative body image.

In more recent years of my life, I have tried my best to find myself and love my uniqueness for what it is. With that I have tried to make other girls, in the same situation as me, find the same thing. When I was 16 I even tried to make a documentary about this. I ended up having technical difficulties and all my footage was lost but I have always been interested in finding some sort of method to prove to women that they are beautiful no matter what society thinks.

This is why I am happy to see that society is trying to change itself with Dove's Self-Esteem Fund. Sure, it might be some sort of corporate ploy but it's a good one at that. Even if they are just trying to make money, at least they are promoting something pure and right.

My hope is that with campaigns like this one, in the future, women will see through the lies that the media sends them and realize their true beauty or as Dove would say, real beauty.

Works Cited

"The Dove Self-Esteem Fund". Dove. 2007. Available: http://dove.ca/doveselfesteemfund/

Participatory Culture: I guess the world is a strange place...

I am a relatively unproud member of the most popular social networking website of my time, 'Facebook'. There are some reason why I am fond of 'Facebook' and a thousand reasons why I'm not.

I like 'Facebook' because it makes it really easy to communicate with my friends, it's free and it's convenient. There are also fun little things that keep me entertained on it, like the 'Graffiti' application their version of messenger and some of the different games.

One of the reasons why I don't like 'Facebook' is because I am forced to use it. Because my friends rely on it to plan and invite people to outings and to report what they are doing on the weekend, if I don't use it, I'll never know whats going on with my friends and I'll never get invited to anything. My choice is to use 'Facebook', or lose my friends.

Another thing I hate about 'Facebook' is that, using the information it has collected from me without me realizing it, it can now target me with the perfect advertising it has formulated from it.

I recently changed my profile so that it does not give away any information about my political and religious views, who I'm interested in, or my relationship status, but simply based on my age and gender I still get millions of advertisements targeted at me everyday.

Things like diet plans, makeup and birth control are ones that I see quite often. I feel deeply offended when I think about all the young girls on 'Facebook' who are forced to peer at a diet plan called 'The Model Diet Plan' every day, more than once. Why doesn't 'Facebook' just put up an add that says “YOU'LL NEVER BE WHAT SOCIETY WANTS YOU TO BE, GO ON A DIET AND BUY SOME MAKEUP.” That's what I feel like they're telling me anyway.

On a similar note, I would like to talk about another social networking site that makes me want to throw up. This is an online dating service called, “Beautiful People”.

The purpose of the website is to create a dating environment where all of the members are 'beautiful', so that they can all be confident that they will be dating 'beautiful people' like themselves. If this doesn't make you sick enough, I conducted an experiment to see how you actually get accepted as a member. I submitted a picture of myself and they told me that I would be critiqued for 48 hours by members of the opposite sex on the website. If they thought I was fit to be a member, they would notify me.

So, I was going to have unknown, supposedly 'beautiful' men rate whether I was beautiful enough for their tastes and if I was not, then I would be rejected. The first thing that went through my head was, “Why would I care what someone on this website thinks of me? If they are on here they must be a superficial asshole anyway.” I then immediately deleted my profile.

I don't understand why things like this exist. Are human beings really this shallow and insecure? I guess the world is a strange place.

Works Cited

Beautiful People.com. 2001-2008. Available: http://beta.beautifulpeople.com/Splash

Facebook. 2008. Available: http://www.facebook.com

Culture Jamming Sexploitation – Would yah?

In my opinion, the perfect definition of culture jamming was described in the documentary, “Culture Jam”. In this film, an unknown character says in a voice over, “take the classic expressions of the corporate culture, add a little twist that redefines their meaning and send it back in their faces.”

One of my favourite culture jams is one available on 'Youtube' called “Culture Jamming Sexploitation – Would Yah?”. In this two and a half minute video they go through film clips and magazines showing all different examples of the sexploitation of young girls and women and describing its effects.

The first thing we see as we are watching the video is a picture that says the words “My body is my own” it then quickly cuts to a picture of a female toddler holding a high heal shoe to her foot. It slowly closes up to her face so that the audience can see her expression. It then says the words “The American Psychological Organization Reported,” and cuts to clips of young girls dressed in skimpy clothing and caked with makeup in beauty pageants. At this time it says, “sexualization of young girls is linked to common health problems.”

The video then takes a different tone cutting to a magazine picture of what looks like a normal young girl and then zooming out to show an older woman in the background. It then says “in girls, and women.”

Take note of the difference that these simple captions make. If you were simply looking at a magazine that included these images you would get a way different idea from them. This is exactly what a culture jam is. Taking the meaning from media and giving it another to prove your point.

The video then cuts to a page in a teen magazine with a picture of a smiling girl and a few articles. The caption on this image says, “including, eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.” At this point we can see where the video is going and clearly what they are trying to say.

The video then shows us a short montage of pictures of lips, legs, clips of women dancing provocatively and clips from girls gone wild. As we go through each clip the video defines the meaning of sexualization, “sexualization is defined as occurring when a person's value comes only from his/her sexual appeal or behavior to the exclusion of other characteristics and when a person is sexually objectified e.g. made into a thing for another's sexual pleasure.”

At this point the viewer is really learning something from the video and realizing a different side to the images they see every day.

The video then cuts to a picture of an eye in a magazine with the title, “Whats inside”. They then close up on the eye and linger there to create a certain a effect and make the viewer think. They then cut back and forth to pictures of girls in magazines and back to the close up eye, really sending a message to the viewer.

It then shows images of women in American Appeal ads naked or dressed in almost nothing with the words, “Selling sex is illegal, but using it to promote economic growth is not!” It then cuts to a black screen with quote from Albert Einstein, “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people that don't do anything about it.”

We now understand that like any other culture jam, these people are advocating social change, and looking to the people in everyday society to help them fight for their cause.

The video ends with the words “Respect yourself. Resist conformity. Boycott the “sexpolitation” economy.”

I feel as though I have been a victim of this sexploitation. Looking at magazine ads has at times made me feel worthless because I didn't fit their standards. This is why I try my best to avoid advertising like this at all times and more importantly avoid putting money towards this with the purchase of magazines and the like.

In his book “Free Culture”, Lawrence Lessig really spoke to me when he said, “Common sense must revolt. It must act to free culture. Soon, if this potential is ever to be realized.” (Lessig, 271) Although he was talking about a different subject, I think this quote applies to this situation too. If we are going to change the way the world looks at women people need to realize what needs to be done and revolt, fast. We need to get together and fight for what is right and culture jamming is one huge step in the right direction.

I'll leave you with this piece advice; go home and create something, you have the power to change.

Works Cited

Adbusters; Journal of The Mental Environment. Available: http://www.adbusters.org/

"Culture Jamming Sexploitation- Would Yah?" Youtube. December 2nd, 2007. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6gjxCRuxs&feature=related

"Culture Jam- Documentary". Google Video. March 7th, 2009. Available: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1777885894535257561

Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture; The Nature and Future of Creativity. New York: Penguin Group, 2004.

Buy Nothing Day

Suddenly, we ran out of money and, to avoid collapse, we quickly pumped liquidity back into the system. But behind our financial crisis a much more ominous crisis looms: we are running out of nature… fish, forests, fresh water, minerals, soil. What are we going to do when supplies of these vital resources run low?

There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.

It will take a massive mind shift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009.

It’s now or never!

Buy Nothing Day is a day that was originally created by artist, Ted Dave in Vancouver, British Columbia in September, 1992, to advocate the problem of mass overconsumption. It began to grow to become a large event and in 1997 was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving or the weekend before Christmas which, at that time, was the biggest U.S. shopping day of the year. Outside of the U.S. it began to be celebrated on the following Saturday.

Buy nothing day has now gained great popularity and is celebrated in over 65 nations some of which includes, the U.S., U.K., Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.

This year, Buy Nothing Day will be held on November 28^th in North America and 29^th in all other countries and is being advertised vigorously on many websites such as Adbusters.org and Treehuggingfamily.com.

The main two things that But Nothing Day is trying to advocate is that consumerism is leading to great environmental damage and that shopping from large corporations has negative affects on developing countries.

How the environment and developing countries come into play when it comes to overconsumption is like this; the supermarkets import most of their products from developing countries. This transport causes incredible pollution. Also, all of these products have extreme amounts of packaging. This packaging ends up in landfills or on the ground causing damage to wildlife and other types of environmental destruction. Most large corporations have their products made in developing countries where the workers are paid very little and treated poorly.

I agree entirely with this campaign. I try to do most of my shopping at independent shops but I know I have bought way to many Starbucks to try to justify myself. I will definitely be participating on the international Buy Nothing Day.

You would think that this is a campaign that most people agree with but in my research I found someone who thinks otherwise. Jenn Farrel wrote an article on 'Thetyee.ca' called, “Why I shop on buy nothing day: This kind of activism is the problem, not the solution”.

In this article she proclaims, “Buy Nothing Day's biggest proponents must be the well educated and well fed, who can certainly afford to take a day off from their conspicuous consumption. While it's laudable to want to do something about the problem, I question the potential influence of a bunch of people standing in front of a suburban Wal-Mart and harassing some mother of three who just wants to get in there and buy some darned detergent. Don't lecture her about over-consumption and globalization -- she just wants to get a load of the baby's sleepers through the wash while supper's cooking.”

While Jenn has a point, I still stand by the fact that the mother of three that she's talking about could have bought her detergent the day before and it is in her interest to support Buy Nothing Day for these activists are only trying to assure that the future is bright for her three children.

Works Cited

"Buy Nothing Day; Frequently Asked Questions" Buynothingday.co.uk. 2000-2008. Available: http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/?page_id=2

"Buy Nothing Day". Adbusters. Available: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Jennifer. "November 2008 Green Challenge: Buy Nothing Day". Tree Hugging Family. November 1st, 2008. Available: http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/november-2008-green-challenge-buy-nothing-day/

Farrel, Jenn. "Why I Shop On Buy Nothing Day; This Kind of Activism is the Problem, Not the Solution". The Tyee. November 24th, 2008. Available: http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/11/24/BND/

Net Neutrality

About a year ago a friend of mine told me not to go to the “Virgin Festival” on Toronto Island. He told me that if I went I would be supporting one of our generations biggest evils, being the loss of net neutrality. Of course I ignored him because I was too busy thinking about Explosions in the Sky, but I am now realizing just how right he was. Now, in University it is a topic being discussed in a number of my classes and I'm sure that it will continue to be discussed as I move forward.

Network neutrality or net neutrality is a term used to describe our Internet freedom. This is our freedom to navigate any website we want at the same speed and convenience no matter if it is corporately or independently owned. It also prevents our Internet providers from having any control over the speed and convenience of the Internet.

The issue is that the Internet providers, that we have trusted all of our Internet using years, are now trying to formulate a new and completely different Internet. One where we are not free to surf without discrimination but one where we will have to pay and the more we pay the more we will get.

Telephone and Cable companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner, want to control the speed of each website based on who is paying them more, as 'Gatekeepers' they make these decisions and if you refuse to pay, your website will no longer load.

The biggest concern here is that the only websites that will be able to afford these fees are the corporately owned ones. There will no longer be any independently owned websites, no more freedom of speech, no more open communication. The future of the Internet would be lost and the present Internet we know and love will be nonexistent.

This may sound like a conspiracy theory but there is clear evidence supporting it. The advocates at, popular net neutrality website, 'Savetheinternet.com' say, “The CEOs of all the largest telecom companies have made clear their intent to build a tiered Internet with faster service for the select few companies willing or able to pay the exorbitant tolls.”

'Savetheinternet.com' stresses that it is up to the little people to fight for net neutrality and demand their Internet freedom. They suggest many strategies of doing so like, spreading the word using blogs and websites, calling a government official and asking them to support net neutrality and signing the 'Savetheinternet.com' petition.

Now that I am informed I will surely follow this advice. I can't even imagine life without the Internet.

Works Cited

"Net Neutrality". Youtube. April 21st, 2006. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9jHOn0EW8U

"Frequently Asked Questions". Savetheinternet.com. Available: http://www.savetheinternet.com/=faq

Media Hegemonies/Mapping Who Owns What

On 'Answers.com', the word 'hegemony' is defined as, “The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.” When we talk about media hegemonies we are referring to just that. The media owners that have predominant influence over the now and future of the media.

Today we see large corporations that own most of the media here in North America as well as the rest of the world. Some of the largest and most recognizable of these include, News Corporation, AT&T/Liberty Media, General Electric, Disney, Sony, Viacom, Time Warner and Seagram, plus Bertelsmann, the Germany-based conglomerate.

Each of these media rulers owns a number of well known media firms, companies and organizations and have done many things to change the media for eternity. For example, lets look at Time Warner, the largest of all.

When Time Warner described as 'old' media, banned together with 'new' media, AOL, in 2000, this changed the media drastically because it made all other 'old' media corporations feel as though if they didn't sign with Internet companies their methods would, in the future, become obsolete. Three years later Time Warner dropped AOL, but it still stands as a huge checkpoint in media history.

Some of the various companies that Time Warner owns are, CNN, Warner Brother's Studio, AOL Instant Messaging and Sport's Illustrated so, one way or another, we have all come in contact with them.

Not only do companies like Time Warner run almost all of the media in North America, but they also own little portions of each other's companies. This is called “cross media ownership”.

Cross media ownership is a unique strategy that is used within large corporations to ensure success and profitability by preventing competition between corporations.

At this rate the corporations will only become stronger and stronger owning more and more of the media. Maybe they'll even come together to form one all powerful corporation and then “take over the world” as The Brain would say. Wait a second... wasn't he a character from Warner Brother's “Animaniacs”?

Works Cited

"Hegemony". Answers.com. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/hegemony

McChesney, Robert W. "The New Global Media". The Nation. November 11th, 1999. Available: http://www.thenation.com/doc/19991129/mcchesney/3

"Who Owns What? Part Two". Youtube. November 5th, 2008. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLoraYMYQNw

The Importance of Indymedia

On Indymedia.org, Indymedia is defined as “a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth.” Right now there are more than one hundred and fifty Independent Media Centers (IMCs) that are all free to create their own goals and prospects, control their own funding and make their own decisions as a unique organization.

The Indymedia organization started when a group of long time independent journalists got together in Seattle, to report on protests of the World Trade Organization. They posted their articles on the first founded Indymedia website and soon after created their own Independent Media Center. The idea began to spread and more and more communities wished to open their own IMC and they have been popping up all over the world ever since.

The Indymedia has many goals but the three that stand out the most are their desire to print truthful and accurate news, their vision of a world with as much independent media as possible, and their wish that all citizens realize that they have control over their life and environment and that they have the freedom to impact it.

Indymedia is important because it allows the public to speak their minds and show their community what is important to them. You get a different point of view on stories and they are easier to relate to because they are written my actual citizens.

Because corporate media is so flawed due to bias public relations firms and so on, you can no longer trust the information you see on television, read in the newspaper and hear on the radio. “Public relations firms are them-selves corporations which exist to serve the propaganda interests of their clients,” states Stauber and Ramton in their book, “Toxic Sludge is Good For You”. With Indymedia, you don't have to worry about corrupt corporate policy so it is easier to have trust in what you are reading.

I am truly greatful to the Indymedia organization because they give real people control over a small but very important aspect of the media and in a way grant us a certain craved freedom.

Works Cited

"Indymedia's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)", Indymedia Documentation Project. July 12, 2007. Available: http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/FrequentlyAskedQuestionEn

Stauber, John and Rampton, Sheldon. Toxic Sludge Is Good For You; Lies, Damn Lies and The Public Relations Industry. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995.

Music and Me

Music is a media that has made it's way into every part of my existence. It is with me everywhere I go. It becomes part of every situation. It is part of me.
In the morning I wake up to my radio alarm, usually set to “Classic Rock, Q 107!” I get up and , depending on the day, I exercise in my room, or I go to the gym. If I'm in my room my laptop is on Itunes playing my favourite workout music. If I'm at the gym, my Ipod is cranked up. I shower, slip on my Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and head to work. When I get there we turn on the stereo and play the CDs that we burned ourselves, broadcasting the music that makes us who we are down the halls of the school. Even in class, music is usually involved. As the day winds down I retreat to my dorm room and play my guitar. When I'm done I turn on Itunes as I chat on MSN messenger, search through facebook and eventually retire to my bed. Nine hours later I'm awakened by my radio and the cycle continues.
Is this a good thing? In some ways yes, in others no. Music is definitely enjoyable; singing, dancing, hearing someones expressive words, expressing your own feelings though it. These are all wonderful things.
The only downside of music, in my life, is that it is very distracting. I find that because I am so occupied by music and other forms of media that I lose track of what is really important, like all the readings I didn't do last week. If instead of listening to my Ipod at the gym I read, I would have finished them, or instead of playing my guitar I started my term paper, I would be ahead.
Despite that reason, I am totally convinced that music is a positive force in my life. And hey, sometimes it's nice to be distracted!

'The Axe Effect' Analysis

This “Axe Effect” commercial, aimed at young males, has a motive to sell men's deodorant.
From watching the ad, you can see that there are beautiful, exotic women running, swimming and climbing passionately towards a young man dousing himself in Axe deodorant. This is obviously a clever campaign to draw young males to the product because, lets face it, I can't find one that wouldn't wear deodorant that attracts so many beautiful, bikini sporting, women.
We all know that this is totally irrational and there is no way to scientifically create a deodorant that would actually fulfill this fantasy, but it is a both a humorous and clever idea.
It is interesting to think that this level of inappropriateness is fully acceptable on our television channels today, when just a few years ago this would be censored immediately.
And, another question I would ask is, "Where are all the normal looking women?" This is another ad that displays a fictitious body image like many ads that use male fantasy as there angle. It also makes me think, "If this is what the normal young male is looking for, then what chance do I have?"

Works Cited

“What Else Do I Need To Know To Analyze An Add?”, History Matters, March 31, 2006, Available: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads/question5.htm

(The ad can be viewed on the video bar at the side of this page)

The Importance of Media Literacy

Media literacy is a characteristic that is very important to have in the mediated world of today. To be media literate is to be able to analyze the media that you are using and to be capable of identifying it's motive, purpose, idea etc.
There are many reasons why it is important to be media literate. One of these reasons is simply, so that you know not to believe everything you see, read and listen to. Much of what we see on the news and read in news papers is formulated by government and organization public relations representatives and may not always be the truth. If we are media literate we can easily see what is true and what should be questioned.
In the same way, advertisers tell you what is 'in' and what you 'need' for school or to be successful. Not all of these things are necessary. Understanding the motives of commercial advertising helps us to identify what is, so that we aren't just buying everything they tell us to.
Being media literate in our day and age is just as important as being print literate. In order to get many jobs and into many school programs, it is necessary to have a background and understanding of computers, the Internet and many other technologies. This is why it is becoming so common for teachers to put more of an emphasis on technology in the classroom.
Because we are now existing in an almost completely mediated environment it is essential that we understand media so that we can learn from and enjoy it to it's fullest potential.

Works Cited

Kipping, Pat. Masterman, Len. Tyner Kathleen. Blake, Dan. Baron, Maureen. (well-known media educators), “Why Teach Media Literacy?”, Media Awareness Network, 2008, Available: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/why_teach_media_liter.cfm

An Undefinable Term

I am taking a course called Mass Communication. This makes it very important for me to know what 'mass media' is. I decided that I want to document how much I learn from writing this post by stating my definition of 'mass media' before and after I do my research.

BEFORE:

As far as I know, 'mass media' is any form of media viewed, read, listened to, warn, or just used by the masses, ie the world, communicating ideas. This could be things like radio, compact disks, the World Wide Web or even clothing.

AFTER:

'Mass media' is any type of medium that can transmit mass communication. This used to be defined as eight things; books, newspapers, radio, movies, television, magazines, recordings and The Internet. Now, because there is always new digital communication emerging we can no longer define 'mass media' as easily. In fact, it has become so difficult to define 'mass media' that it doesn't have one clear definition. For example, there are debates on whether or not some cell phones should be considered 'mass media'. On one hand a cell phone is a form of 'mass media' because it can connect to the Internet, but because it's original purpose is to connect two people it is unclear.

In reading this it is clear that I had different ideas about what exactly 'mass media' is before I did my research than after. What I realize now is that there is no real definition for 'mass media' so my initial definition could be entirely correct. I still see 'mass media' as a medium with which the world can communicate ideas to each other, so that part of my definition didn't change. The one thing I've learned for sure is that it is impossible to define something that is always expanding and changing. We might as well call it an undefinable term.

Works Cited

Lane, Beth, “What is Mass Media?”, Suite101.com, June 29, 2007, Available: http://medialiteracy.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_mass_media_

Mainsteam Music's Effect on Pop Culture

In reading my blog for the next few months you will come to a distinct realization of my passion for music.
Music has had huge effects and has helped develop millions of cultures all over the world. For example, look at mainstream music's effect on popular culture.
Some of the music we hear today gives an unrealistic view of wealth and body image, as you would see in most Rap and Hip-Hop music videos. Mainstream Rap and Hip-Hot is also commonly associated with crime, drugs, alcoholism and promiscuity.
Another negative aspect of mainstream music is that, like any other industry, it is a business so a lot of music is trying to sell things rather than it just being artistic expression.
Along with the negative effects there are many positives. It is definitely a positive to see that, commonly today, there are many artists that are supporting their music independently, promoting a healthy body image and even supporting charities and other organizations.
In the end, it's up to the artist to choose whether their music is going to have a negative or positive impact on their culture.

Works Cited

Young, Stephen, “Mainstream Music: Effect on Popular Culture”, Musicouch.com, December 24^th, 2007, Available: http://www.musicouch.com/Musicouching/Mainstream-Music-Effect-on-Popular-Culture.71957/1

The Beginning

Today is the day. I have officially become a blogger. I feel free to discuss my wildest thoughts and feelings with the world. I feel exhilarated knowing that I am one step closer to becoming a journalist.
Setting up this blog was actually fairly difficult. I'm using “Blogger”, obviously, which is an 'idiot proof' blogging website, as my photography teacher would say, but I had a great deal of trouble starting mine. Sure, it was easy to put in all my information and click enter, pick one of their templates and start writing, but the key was that I wanted to make my blog unique.
The first thing I struggled with was naming my blog. I spent two weeks straight tossing and turning in my sleep trying to come up with something. I thought of idea after idea. 'An Adventure in Discovering Media', 'Media, “Is It In You?” Oh Ya It Is', both of which I liked, but I didn't love.
I then thought about what I had learned in the past two weeks of class. One thing stuck out in particular. Every one of my teachers had at least mentioned a fellow named Marshall McLuhan. I read a large article called “The Playboy Article” that made McLuhan's theories vaguely clear to me.
Nights came an went until that one particular night when I read the article and as I was trying to sleep it came to me. “Step Into The Unknown”. It was perfect. The concept is a little hard to explain but I will attempt the best I can.
Marshall McLuhan came up with a concept known as 'Narcissus Narcosis'. He explained this using a metaphor. People are in their own environment, like fish in water. If you add something to the water the fish do not notice, like human beings don't notice as new technologies and in turn new forms of media are added to their environment. Or, as he would say it, “a syndrome whereby man remains as unaware of the psychic and social effects of his new technology as a fish of the water it swims in. As a result, precisely at the point where a new media-induced environment becomes all pervasive and transmogrifies our sensory balance, it also becomes invisible.”
So, I challenge all of you to read my blog, and 'Step Into The Unknown' by discovering the new media that is being added to your environment every day.

Works Cited:

“The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan”, Playboy Magazine, March 1969, Available: http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~gisle/links/mcluhan/pb.html