The concept “the medium is the message” and the evolution of its meaning.

"The medium is the message" is a phrase originated from the 60's by the famous author Marshal McLuhan who is known for his impact in human communication. McLuhan originally meant something other than the meaning that phrase has acquired over the years...

The philosopher said "The medium is the message", referring to the fact that the medium through which we receive information affects us more than the information itself.

The media (which until then was not studied in depth) alters the way in which people relate to themselves and to society. The media, regardless of their content, have crucial impact on human life. But over time, McLuhan's concept has changed its meaning.

Today, this concept postulates in an exaggerated, emphatic way, that the medium through which a message is transmitted is fundamental to the meaning of the message. We do not perceive the message of a journalistic article in the same way if it has been published in one medium or in another of an opposite ideology. We do not predispose ourselves in the same way to a work of art if we find it hanging in a prestigious museum or if we find it in a garbage container.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, 

an artist who has lived on the street for a couple of years, uses graffiti to express his “world” by painting on supports that he finds lying on the street, he transmits his message through the medium: the street.