McLuhan is well-known for coining the expressions “the medium is the message” and the “global village.” According to the text in the Applied Communication Theory, McLuhan built off the ideas of his mentors and eventually came up with his own theories about how media technologies affect patterns of human thinking and human beings’ ways of relating to the world around them. 

3 Strengths of McLuhan’s Ideas

• McLuhan’s theory has been influential in inspiring new approaches to media research. His ideas about technological determinism have been a catalyst for new perspectives in media research, including the study of media ecology, media archaeology, and media materialism. 

• McLuhan’s theory has helped us understand the relationship between media and society. His ideas have been particularly useful in examining the role of media in shaping social and political power relations. 

• Mass media is constantly evolving and technology is always changing. McLuhan’s theories have had an influence on shaping media studies. He was one of the first philosophers to examine the relationship between media, culture, and society. McLuhan’s work has been especially useful in helping us understand how media technologies influence political, social, and economic power relations.

Although Marshall McLuhan’s ideas about technological determinism are influential, they also have some limitations. Here are three limitations of McLuhan’s technological determinism ideas:

3 Limitations of McLuhan’s Ideas

• McLuhan argues that technology is a key driver of social and cultural change and that history is shaped by the impact of new technologies. However, this does not account for the fact that technology is itself shaped by historical and cultural contexts. His theory does not account for the historical and cultural factors that shape the development and use of technology.
• McLuhan argues that technology is the main force shaping society and that human agency is secondary. This view is reductionist because it ignores the role of human actors in shaping technology and culture. 

• McLuhan’s theory tends to oversimplify the relationship between technology and society. According to McLuhan, technology is the primary driver of social and cultural change, and it shapes our perceptions, beliefs, and values.

I’ve found McLuhan’s observations to be useful with the interconnection between information on how it applied to mass communication. The New World Encyclopedia noted McLuhan’s views on the importance of technology for social organization helped to promote the idea that the world is one, a transnational human community, and in my opinion, that is really stinkin’ cool.