In “The Medium is the Message” by Mcluhan, he discusses how the medium can possibly shape our understanding of the content. The medium itself becomes the message, but not the content. This phenomenon reminds me of how social media shortens people’s attention span. Just imagine there’s a book in front of you, which contains words and illustrations. At the meanwhile, there’s a post on Instagram which contains exactly the same content. Will you perceive the information exactly the same? No. Absolutely no. In the book, you will read the words and just skim the illustrations. The details in the words will make a great impression on you. While on Instagram you would examine the picture first. And if the picture doesn’t interest you, you won’t even look at the paragraphs that are written below this. You would just scroll over and won’t even swipe to the left to see the next pictures.
Social media does make a difference in our attention spans. We are so likely to be distracted nowadays that it becomes a privilege to actually sit down and do some work without interruptions or mind-drifting. We will become anxious if we hear the notification sound but not be able to pick up our phone and look at the screen. We will feel uncomfortable if we cannot check our phone regularly. Our minds will drift away in a lecture without visual aids. The medium plays such a big role in delivering the content. Or, just as what Mcluhan says, the medium itself is the message.