Mom was right? What?

Theory/Praxis

The theory of media ecology, as talked about in Neil Postman’s work, The Humanism of Media Ecology, focuses on whether a medium is beneficial to the society or not. One theory that Postman discussed within his speech was that I found to be particularly relevant when describing media phenomenons and even daily life. Innis believed that too much exposure to a particular medium that emphasized, for example time and space would lead the masses into becoming obsessed with military domination and invasion (Postman). 

I too believe that too much of a medium is not good, as there are many examples available in our society to prove such a theory correct. Even the common-sense saying, “Too much of a good thing is not good” has been implanted in our brains since... God knows when. 

I did not realize it much before, but ever since I read Postman’s article and wrote my Mass Communications essay on the mobile culture, I began to see how obsessed our society is with our media. I began to see the obsessiveness, and then I began to see the negative side-effects that were the consequences of such an obsession. From the research I did for my essay, I began to see that we all started to suffer from physical and mental stress caused by the overuse of cellphones (Mak). I have always been warned of it by my parents, but I never really saw it to such an extent until now. 

To much reading or laptop use will probably result in weakened eyes (that will require glasses) and joint pains in the wrists and fingers. Too much television may result in obesity due to lack of movement (Mak). Too much time spent playing or texting others on our personal portable devices may end up actually isolating us instead of pulling us together (Mak). 

Even on a non-media aspect, Innis’ theory is unshaken - common sense and experience tells us that too much sugar gives you a bad stomachache, and too much water will give you water poisoning (trust me, I tried drinking more water all at once, since everyone said it was healthy. It didn’t turn out so good). 

So now, instead of just brushing off my parents’ concerns of having been on the computer or telephone for too long, I reluctantly listen, because I know they are right. I have learned to take things in slowly bit by bit. After all, the cravings of goodness come only because it is not in excess. Everything seems more fun when you haven’t been doing it for the past ten hours. Besides, variety is what makes life so much more interesting!  =)

Works Cited

Mak, Vivian. “The Mobility Culture.” October 2009. 12 November 2009. Print.

Postman, Neil. “The Humanism of Media Ecology.” 2000. 12 November 2009. Web.