What is the Meaning of the Medium is the Message?

“The medium is the message,” I’ve heard many times this semester. But I never really understood what it meant until I stumbled upon Mark Federman’s explanation. He explains that this famous quote infers that we as society tends to focus on the obvious and miss out on the subtle changes in our structural affairs. The “message” is the change of pace , the invention or innovation that is introduced to human affairs.  For example, the underlying message in a newscast is not the news itself, but the change in public attitudes towards crime. Also Federman explains that the “medium” is an extension of ourselves; which in turn enables us to do more than we can physically achieve. Similar to how wheels of a car is an extension of our feet; which basically we see a change in transportation occurring.  “The medium is the message” tells us that noticing the change in societal grounds indicate a presence of a new message, which is the effect of the new medium. And because we are so distracted by the content of the medium, we are blinded by the potential effects of its message.

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