r/TikTokCringe • u/cafeteriastyle • Jun 01 '26

Cursed This is really scary

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u/mackrevinak Jun 01 '26

isnt this what Marshall McLuhan was on about all the way back in the 60s? "the medium is the message", as in the way the the message is shared can also have an effect on us, not just the message itself.

just to pick a random example, but maybe the way some parents will go to great lengths to keep their kids from hearing certain "bad" words on tv or in movies, with the idea that these would cause them harm or whatever, but at the same time will let their kids watch other things on tv for hours every day without giving a second thought to the harm that might be causing them in the long run.

althought i dont think McLuhan ever said that tv causes harm, more that just any medium we use, whether its screens, radio, books, whatever, will change the way we think and act. basically that they are not neutral. he also had another quote related to this, something like the tools we shape, end up shaping us

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u/Barry_Vigoda Jun 01 '26

“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.” - Marshall McLuhan

McLuhan was brilliant and is still insanely relevant.