Media Ecology

Media ecology responds to the increasing mechanization of the human environment and establishes an expanded concept of media. It takes into account the fact that people are surrounded not only by other people, static objects, or natural phenomena. Instead, information technologies - especially moving images - increasingly shape our environment. Media ecology studies this media environment and its influences on people and societies.

Media convey information. But they also influence the form in which the content is passed on. The medium thus has an influence on our perception of the information. Communication scientist Marshall McLuhan introduced this thesis in 1964 under the slogan The medium is the message. According to McLuhan’s theory, the medium that conveys a message is just as important as the content of the message itself.

In the field of aesthetic research, media ecology is concerned not only with the way media help shape the perception of our environment, but also with how a work of art - as a medium - conveys feelings, concerns, and values.