The new media environment and its rules may not be easily noticeable, but it is very evident. Think about the last time you pulled up one of your social media feeds and felt annoyed or confused. Did you see an Instagram post that used 60 different hashtags, all of which had nothing to do with the photo? Or was it your distant aunt that composed an extensive report of how her family is doing in the comments of your profile photo? These all give evidence to the strict rules of the new media environment that dictate the specific ways the platforms are supposed to be used. You only notice the rules when they are broken.
enviro
nment
"Environments are invisible. Their ground rules, pervasive structure, and overall patterns elude easy perception”
- McLuhan -
Concept appropriated from The Medium is the Massage
"Only the most noble"
In The Medium is the Massage, McLuhan and Fiore argue that the ambiguous environment of new media causes society to adhere to performative theory using allusions and visual imagery. The authors utilize the allusion to the story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to parallel the society of the story with society today as they both embody performative theory: that people learn, perform, and ignore social roles.
Image appropriated from The Medium is the Massage
