Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage expresses sentiments about human interaction with media that are illustrated in some of the online activism campaigns we examined. McLuhan claims that “all media are extensions of some human faculty—psychic or physical” (McLuhan, 26). People’s engagement with activism online is an extension of their own psyches, as they publicly express their beliefs by supporting causes they have deemed important. Instead of solely acting in the ‘real world’ to support certain movements, the internet can act as an extension of people’s thoughts, beliefs, art, stories, etc., that can reach countless people. Jason Russell, the director of the KONY 2012 video used the internet as an extension of himself which revealed his beliefs regarding the way in which the public should view notorious warlords and murderers. Russell believed that the public, regardless of various political beliefs, could be united under common anger at Josephy Kony. He also expressed his belief that notorious criminals should be given attention in order to encourage political leaders to seek justice. McLuhan’s theory that the media is an extension of ourselves is illustrated in movements where people are able to create a distinct type of change that transcends our physical extensions of the self at work, with friends and at home.
TYPES OF MEDIA
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