The Impact of New Technology

Many key events have been the cause of a “media meltdown”. One of the biggest events that have been part of the cause is the development of the Internet. The growth of the Internet has simply been the reason for so much disruption in the media.

In the Laws of Media, written by Marshall McLuhan, he argues that tetrads are “a means of focusing awareness on hidden or unobserved qualities in our culture and technology”. McLuhan argues that the effects of every media can be viewed in four ways. McLuhan summarized his ideas about media in a concise tetrad of media effects. The tetrad is a means of examining the effects on society of any technology/medium by dividing its effects into four categories and displaying them simultaneously.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrad_of_media_effects


What does the medium enhance?
What does the medium make obsolete?
What does the medium retrieve that had been obsolesced earlier?
What does the medium flip into when pushed to extremes?

These rules apply to a medium such as the Internet. The Internet enhances thought both in retrieving information that nurtures thought and expressing thoughts to help others. It obsolesced books or publications that inform thought. This is done at a much slower rate. The Internet retrieves forms and ways from the past where people came to share thoughts and dialogue. When pushed to the extreme, the Internet goes beyond because it recalls what has been voiced.

To give another example, I recently used Skype and I have noticed that it can also be applied to the tetrad.

It enhances communication at a distance for business, commercial uses, and all types of relationships. I was able to communicate with my sister who is across the United States. It renders obsolete written orders, memos, and any other similar requests. It retrieves personal contact and direct verbal communications as the means of making decisions. It reverses in to bullying. THE PERSON WITH THE LOUDEST VOICE CAN EASILY WIN.  http://www.skype.com/en/

The development of the Internet has certainly made a big impact and will continue to do so. The growth of the Internet has been one of the main reasons for so much disruption in the media. Its effects on society along with any type of technology/medium can be identified in McLuhan's tetrad.