Media Ecology

Definition

Media ecology is the study of media as environments, and how they shape and are shaped by the human communities and cultures that interact with them. It examines the complex relationships between various media technologies, communication processes, and their sociocultural impacts.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Media ecology focuses on how the characteristics and structure of media technologies shape human perception, understanding, feeling, and value.
2. The field examines how media environments impact the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of society.
3. Media ecologists are interested in the way media act as extensions of human senses and capabilities, and how they influence patterns of social interaction.
4. The concept of media ecology was developed by scholars such as Marshall McLuhan, Neil Postman, and Harold Innis, who emphasized the importance of studying media as environments.
5. Media ecology is closely related to the study of communication, culture, and technology, and has implications for fields like education, politics, and business.

Review Questions

• How does media ecology relate to the concept of 'putting the mass into media' (15.1)?
  • Media ecology examines how the mass production, distribution, and consumption of media technologies have transformed the ways in which information, culture, and social interactions are mediated. The rise of mass media has fundamentally altered the scale, reach, and impact of communication, which is a key focus of media ecology. Scholars in this field explore how the mass nature of modern media environments shapes and is shaped by the social, cultural, and political dimensions of society.
• Explain how media ecology connects to the idea of 'putting culture into media studies' (15.2).
  • Media ecology recognizes that media are not neutral channels for information transmission, but are deeply embedded within cultural contexts and processes. This field examines how media technologies both reflect and actively construct cultural values, norms, and practices. Media ecologists are interested in understanding how the affordances and constraints of various media shape the production, circulation, and interpretation of cultural texts and meanings. By situating media within broader cultural frameworks, media ecology provides a more holistic approach to the study of communication and its societal implications.
• Analyze how media ecology relates to the topic of 'community, development, and broadcast media' (15.6).
  • Media ecology is particularly relevant to the study of how broadcast media, such as radio and television, have impacted the development of local and global communities. Scholars in this field explore how the introduction and proliferation of broadcast technologies have transformed patterns of social interaction, political participation, and cultural identity. Media ecologists examine how the one-to-many nature of broadcast media has influenced the formation of communities, both physical and virtual, and how these communities in turn shape the content and use of media. Additionally, media ecology considers the role of broadcast media in processes of social, economic, and political development, particularly in the context of developing nations and underserved communities.

Related terms

Technological Determinism: The theory that technological development determines or strongly influences social change, rather than the reverse.

Cultural Studies:

An interdisciplinary field that examines the production, distribution, consumption, and interpretation of cultural texts and practices.

Mediatization: The process by which social and cultural institutions and modes of interaction are transformed by the logic of media.