I found the title the medium is the MASSAGE to be quite fascinating and enlightening. It's amusing, yet carries a dark grain of truth behind its whimsical exterior. In a way, the medium does "massage" our minds, relaxing it and easing it into this pliable and manipulable "thing." Technology helps us in many ways, simplifying and cutting down processes. Yet, that is our ultimate downfall for if and when it does come to a certain point in time where technological advances become so great that humans need not lift a finger to do anything. We will have relinquished the last remaining strand of control we have left in our lives, by relaxing into the welcoming fingers of advancement. I'm not saying that the progress of technology should be ceased. I wholeheartedly believe that it should be embraced, but I do not think that we should allow it to become our lives, where a day without, say, a cellphone or laptop is tantamount to the apocalypse. It should be more of an accompaniment... something to aid in our processes, but not necessarily take full reign and complete those said processes for us. Otherwise, similar to what happens to muscles after a massage, our minds will become soft and, perhaps, a bit too relaxed. We will no longer have the ability to think for ourselves or use our cognition for anything in that matter. Technology will use us, instead of us using it.
One quote really stuck with me, even long after finishing the book. "All media are extensions of some human faculty-- psychic or physical." Media, though physically restricts us, allows our human senses to reach places unreachable without it. This attribute of media acts as a double-edged sword. True, through such technology we are able to interact and network with different people near and far, allowing us to interact with different cultures and mindsets along with exchanging ideas. Yet, we are still grounded to our computers, to our television sets, or iPods. There is a barrier between the two parties. Slowly, face to face interaction will become obsolete. Why bother going out of the way to speak to someone in person when there is Skype or Facebook? It would be much simpler to just interact with him or her through those media. There will be less awkwardness, for we can always say "oh i gtg, ttyl" when we run out of things to say or the conversation becomes uncomfortable for us. The means of escaping that form of confrontation becomes so much easier on the conscience. One tends to feel less guilty when rejecting someone or something when they're not face to face. There is a computer screen or cellphone protecting him or her from the guilt, rendering one from being able to apply moral weight to a situation. The closer we are mentally, the farther we are physically.
All in all, I think media itself should be viewed neutrally. By itself it is harmless. What is capable of inflicting harm is the effect media produces.
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