Media Ecology
“Media ecology is the study of media as environment “(Neil,1993). Matthew mentioned that media ecology describes a kind of environmentalism: using a study of media to sustain a relatively stable notion of human culture(Matthew, 2005). And every kind of media have ecologies, and the ecologies are not only related to human but mind, nature and other relations. So i guess the reason we study about the media ecology, is to have a better understanding of how media has shaped/ influenced on human’s environment. Or my understanding will be how does this ,media environment changes our today’s society.
The Pattern That connects and The ecology of mind
Bateson’s emphases on the patterns that connects is not suit in an academic cultured based on “things”. The patterns that connects things is abstract, it is not a thing itself, but the patterns concerns the relationship between things. In another word, patterns are being used for connecting and maintaining relationships. So the patterns we looking at today within media ecology, which based on communication and meta communication are viewed as communicative patterns. When Batenson’s talked about the communicative patterns and embodiment event, it kindly mentions about Face-to-Face communication and Email to Email or text message communication. He mentions that embodiment itself was a pattern, and it patterns across difference. So I guess it tries to explain that different patterns may result the different relations and information. When I read the reading this week, I keep thinking about my own evaluation of the communicative patterns. I was sitting in the library while i was going through the readings, and replying a text message to one of my friend at the same time. I realized that i comment a “smiley face” to her without gave a actual smile on my face. So i started to question myself, do i really want to smile or it was just a way to express myself politely to my friend. Then I started to understand how different communicative patterns work together and results different information/situations. However, if my friend were front of me, she probably would read my facial expression directly and response me at the same time. So our embodiment will be different, because the communicative patterns are different.
We had a deep discussion in the tutorial about meta communication and different media environment. I remember one of my classmate mentioned about her previous boss that he always good at talking and persuading his employee by talking face to face with his body language. The young employees can’ directly say no to his face, and kindly accept the “offer” unconditionally. So she used the word “manipulating” the employees with his talking skills. I’m kindly agree with that sometimes people can express themselves better or can be understood better if they used face to face communication patterns. However, sometimes online communication patterns can be resulted to a positive situation as well. Because now days people sometimes do not need to talk face-to-face, but still maintain their relationship in some stages, or you can say it results a better relations than meet people face-to-face.
And meta-communication, is a secondary communication about how information is meant to be interpreted. For instance, the function of “emoticon”, can help us express ourselves better and the message sometimes accompanied by different meta-communication can mean something entirely different.
The importance of studying media ecology presents the different way of media usage in today’s society. And the media ecology is not only includes the media itself, but also includes the human, nature and mind. The patterns work with one and another, and it shifts if the relations changes. Or both communicator does not choose the same patterns, the relations may change better or not, but the relations has been created and involved.
References:
[study kit] Fuller, Matthew (2005) ‘Introduction: Media Ecologies’ in Media
Ecologies: Materialist Energies in Art and Technoculture Cambridge, MA; MIT
Press: 1-7 (only although the entire chapter is in the study kit)
[study kit] Bateson, Gregory (2000) ‘A Theory of Play and Fantasy’, Steps to an
Ecology of Mind Chicago: Chicago University Press: 177-183 (sections 1-11).!
[study kit]
Jenny 