Michael Wesch says the power of today’s technology to change our relationships and culture is unprecedented
Kansas State University professor Michael Wesch starts with a simple premise, according to his bio at National Geographic: all human relationships are mediated by communication. Change the medium of communication, and you’ll change the relationship, much as the printing press transformed the world 500 years ago.
Dubbed “the explainer” by Wired magazine, Michael Wesch is a cultural anthropologist exploring the effects of new media on society and culture. After two years studying the implications of writing on a remote indigenous culture in the rain forest of Papua New Guinea, he has turned his attention to the effects of social media and digital technology on global society. His videos on culture, technology, education, and information have been viewed over 20 million times, translated in over 20 languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide.
“A friend of mine, his daughter just turned 12 and it’s this pressing issue. She wants a smartphone. He said, ‘No, you’re not getting a smartphone.’ And she said, ‘You’re ruining my life. My whole social life happens through this medium. You are making me an outcast.’ And that’s true. So, can you opt out? In many ways no.” —Michael Wesch in The Province
Wesch was in Vancouver recently to speak to Vancouver Community College faculty and staff. In a wide-ranging interview with The Province, Wesch talked about his research and said that current forms of media “shape what can be said, how it can be said, who can say it, who can hear it, whether or not these messages will survive for sometime, and how they will be accessed later.”
We speak with Michael Wesch.
RELATED | Website: michaelwesch.com | National Geographic: Michael Wesch, cultural anthropologist and media ecologist | The Vancouver Sun: Michael Wesch—How the Internet has changed us (Oct. 27, 2013) |
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Michael Wesch at TEDxNYED (March 6, 2010)
