The idea of Medium Theory was first introduced by Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan, who famously declared that “the medium is the message.” His argument was that the real impact of media does not lie in the content it delivers, but rather in how the form of the medium itself changes the way we think, perceive, and organize society.
McLuhan saw media as extensions of human senses. Writing extends the eye, allowing us to record and preserve thought. Television extends both sight and hearing, enabling shared experiences across distance. Each new medium alters the scale, rhythm, and patterns of human communication. In other words, when the medium changes, our culture and social structure transform as well.
Take the smartphone as an example. It is no longer just a communication tool—it has redefined our sense of time and space. Work and social interaction are no longer confined to offices or specific hours of the day. The smartphone creates a constant “online presence,” where the boundaries between public and private life, work and rest, have blurred. This has led to new forms of anxiety, information overload, and fragmented attention—a direct result of the medium’s structure, not just its content.
Similarly, short video platforms like TikTok or Douyin have revolutionized how people consume information. Unlike traditional text-based news, short videos deliver information through fast-paced, visually stimulating clips. The emphasis shifts from rational reading to sensory engagement. This encourages a “snack culture” of knowledge—quick, catchy, and easily consumed. Again, this illustrates McLuhan’s point: it is the medium itself, not the message, that shapes how people think and behave.
Medium Theory invites us to look beyond the surface of media content and to question how the tools we use actively reshape our perception of reality. When we discuss modern technologies such as AI-generated content, virtual reality, or the metaverse, we are still addressing McLuhan’s essential insight from half a century ago: media determine how humans experience the world.
In today’s digital age, it is tempting to believe that technology is neutral—that what matters is how we use it. McLuhan would disagree. Every new medium, from the printing press to the smartphone, reconfigures society by changing how information flows and how people connect. Understanding this helps us see that the real “message” of any medium lies in its power to transform the very structure of human life.
