The Concept of Media Ecology from Birth till Date: A Discourse Analysis of Articles, Books and Seminal Monographs

Authors

  • Faiza Khalid
  • Muhammad Riaz
  • Qurat Ul Ain Farooq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i1.522

Keywords:

Media Ecology, Theoretical Framework, Descriptive Analysis, Media Literacy

Abstract

This review is a synthesis and analysis of the evolution, core concepts and the future implications of media ecology on human thought and perception. It is an interdisciplinary subject that studies media as environments impacting societal frameworks, cultural practices and human perceptions. With Marshal McLuhan’s “Medium is the message” and later developments by Walter J. Ong and Neil Postman in the middle of the 20th century. This article is an effort to pay tribute to theorists, researchers, and media specialists on the media ecology. 100 peer- reviewed articles, books and seminal monographs were reviewed and analyzed to construct the solid foundations of the New Media Ecology. The main objective of this article was to create a theoretical framework for the understanding of media ecology theory. The review is based on two main nodes: media as environment and media as species. The deductive approach has been implied to carry out this detailed descriptive analysis. It's the study of how different forms of communication affect human perception, cognition, emotion, and value, as well as how our participation in media helps or hurts our chances of survival. It's challenging to research media ecology since all habitats are essentially intangible and interrelated, making evaluation difficult. This article's content is based on the researches highlighting the need for explanations of new theories and metaphors in contemporary media ecology. Using these findings, we can now begin delving into the interpretation of future metaphors, relating them to society and its mediating wishes and expectations, as well as their origins. The gaps identified in the study is have longitudinal study on media environments and media literacy of the diverse ecological settings.

References

Anderson, K. J. (2025). What is news? Exploring differences in how younger and older cohorts use news in today’s media environment. Communication Research and Practice, 11(1), 3-23.

Arriagada, A., & Ibáñez, F. (2020). “You need at least one picture daily, if not, you’re dead”: Content creators and platform evolution in the social media ecology. Social Media Society, 6(3), 2056305120944624.

Arthur, B. (2009). The nature of technology: What it is and how it evolves. New York, NY: Free Press. Basalla, G. (1988). The evolution of technology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., & Korosteleva, J. (2021). Cultural diversity and knowledge in explaining entrepreneurship in European cities. Small Business Economics, 56(2), 593–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00191-4

Bachmann, A., & Zahn, M. (2018). Film education as an assortment of practices: A media-ecological perspective. Film Education Journal.

Balasubramanian, A. (2021). Introduction to ecology. University of Mysore: Mysore, India.

Blom, J. (2020). The Dynamic Game Character: Definition, Construction, and Challenges in Character Ecology (Doctoral dissertation, IT the University of Copenhagen, Department of Digital Design).

Boyden, M., Basirat, A., & Berglund, K. (2022). Digital Conceptual History and the Emergence of a Globalized Climate Imaginary. Contributions to the History of Concepts, 17(2), 95-122.

Cali, DD. (2017). Mapping media ecology: introduction to the field. Peter Lang, New York

Carey, J., & Elton, M. C. J. (2010). When media are new: Understanding the dynamics of new media adoption and use. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. http://www.digitalculture.org/books/when-media-are-new

Castells, M. (1997). The power of identity. The information age: economy, society and culture, vol. II. Blackwell, Oxford.

Cinque, T. (2024). Emerging Digital Media Ecologies: The Concept of Medialogy. Taylor & Francis.

Clark, L. S. (2009). Theories: Mediatization and media ecology. Mediatization: Concept, Changes, Consequences. New York: Peter Lang, 85-100.

Cooper, T. (2022). McLuhan, social media and ethics. Explorations in Media Ecology, 21(4), 417–423. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme_00143_7

Crandall, H., & Cunningham, C. M. (2016). Media ecology and hashtag activism:# Kaleidoscope. Explorations in Media Ecology, 15(1), 21–32.

Cruz-Silva, J., & López-Paredes, M. (2022). Content selection trace among media platforms. In Communication and Applied Technologies: Proceedings of ICOMTA 2022 (pp. 169-178). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

De Decker, P., & Peterson, S. Beyond Virtual or Physical Environments: Building a Research Metaverse; A White Paper for NDRIO's Canadian Digital Research Needs Assessment.

Dobrin, S. (Ed.). (2011). Ecology, writing theory, and new media: Writing ecology. Routledge.

Eisenstein, E. (1979). The printing press as an agent of change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Forlizzi, J. (2008). The product ecology: Understanding social product use and supporting design culture. Int J Des, 2(1), 11–20.

Forsberg, G. E. (2014). Introducing Jacques Ellul to English education. Explorations in Media Ecology, 13(1), 79-88.

Frenken, K. (2006). Innovation, evolution, and complexity theory. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Gitelman, L., & Pingree, G. (Ed.). (2003). New media, 1740–1915. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hakanen, E. A. (2007). Branding the teleself: Media effects discourse and the changing self. Rowman & Littlefield.

Hayles, K. (1999). How we became posthuman: virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature and informatics. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Hildebrand, J. M. (2018). Modal media: connecting media ecology and mobilities research. Media, Culture, and Society, 40(3), 348–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717707343

Hildebrand, J. M. (2022). What is the message of the robot medium? Considering media ecology and mobilities in critical robotics research. AI & Society, 37(2), 443–453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01204-1

Hobbs, R. (2024). Media literacy in action: Questioning the media. Rowman & Littlefield.

Hodkinson, P. (2024). Media, culture and society: An introduction. Sage Publications Limited.

Innis, H. (1950). Empire and communications. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Innis, H. (1951). The bias of communication. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

Innis, HA. (1999) The bias of communication. U of Toronto Press, Toronto

Innis, HA. (2008) The bias of communication. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Kindle Edition

Irwin, S. O. (2016). Media Ecology and the Internet of Things. Explorations in Media Ecology, 15(2), 159–171. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme.15.2.159_1

Islas, O., & Bernal, J. D. (2016). Media ecology: A complex and systemic meta discipline. Philosophies, 1(3), 190-198.

Jain, S. V. (2021). Applied Ecology and Sustainable Environment. BFC Publications.

Kitnick, A. (2021). The Age of Mechanical Production. In Distant Early Warning (pp. 11-33). University of Chicago Press.

Klinger, U., & Svensson, J. (2015). The emergence of network media logic in political communication: A theoretical approach. New Media & Society, 17(8), 1241–1257. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814522952

Krupiy, T. (2021). Understanding digital discrimination: analyzing Marshall McLuhan’s work through a human rights lens. New Explorations: Studies in Culture and Communication, 2.

Laskowska, M., & Marcyński, K. (2019). Media ecology-(un) necessary research perspective in communication and Media Studies. Mediatization Studies, 3, 53–68.

Levin, I., & Mamlok, D. (2021). Culture and society in the digital age. Information, 12(2), 68.

Levinson, P. (2000). McLuhan and media ecology. Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association, 1, 17–22.

Levinson, P. (2001) Digital McLuhan. A guide to the information millennium. Routledge, New York

Lewis, R. S. (2021). Technology, media literacy, and the human subject: A posthuman approach (p. 264). Open Book Publishers.

Li, Z., Huang, Z., & Su, Y. (2023). New media environment, environmental regulation and corporate green technology innovation: Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 119.

Lindgren, S. (2021). Digital media and society. SAGE.

Logan, R. K. (2002). The five ages of communication. Explorations in Media Ecology, 1(1), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme.1.1.13_1

Logan, R. K. (2007). The biological foundation of media ecology. Explorations in Media Ecology, 6(1), 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme.6.1.19_1

Lopreato, J. (2024). Human nature and biocultural evolution. Taylor & Francis.

Lum, C. M. K. (2014). Media ecology: contexts, concepts, and currents. The handbook of media and mass communication theory, 137-153.Lum, C. M. K. (Ed.). (2006). Perspectives on culture, technology, and communication: The media ecology tradition. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

McDowell, P. (2021). Reading McLuhan reading (and not reading).

Mcleod Rogers, J. (2021). Susanne Langer, Marshall McLuhan, and media ecology: Feminist principles in humanist projects. Explorations in Media Ecology, 20(2), 131–149.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: the extensions of man. McGraw-Hill, New York

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media. New York: Mentor.

Miroshnichenko, A. (2024). Examining the impact of new media on the news media from the integrated viewpoint of media ecology and the political economy of communication. https://hdl.handle.net/10315/42531

Mumford, L. (2010). Technics and civilization. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Murtaugh, P. A. (2007). Simplicity and complexity in ecological data analysis. Ecology, 88(1), 56-62.

Navarro, J. L., & Tudge, J. R. (2023). Technologizing Bronfenbrenner: neo-ecological theory. Current Psychology, 42(22), 19338-19354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02738-3

Nichols, T. P., & LeBlanc, R. J. (2021). Media education and the limits of “literacy”: Ecological orientations to performative platforms. Curriculum Inquiry, 51(4), 389–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2020.1865104

Nystrom, C. (1973). Towards a science of media ecology: The formulation of integrated conceptual paradigms for studying human communication systems [Doctoral Dissertation]. New York University

Ong, WJ. (2012). Interfaces of the word. Studies in the evolution of consciousness and culture. Cornell University Press, London, Kindle Edition

Paul, J., Ueno, A., Dennis, C., Alamanos, E., Curtis, L., Foroudi, P., Kacprzak, A., Kunz, W. H., Liu, J., Marvi, R., Nair, S. L. S., Ozdemir, O., Pantano, E., Papadopoulos, T., Petit, O., Tyagi, S., & Wirtz, J. (2024). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary perspective and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 48(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.13015

Poddubnaya, N., Kulikova, T., Ardeev, A., & Alekseeva, P. (2020, November). Formation of digital literacy of students by means of virtual and augmented reality technologies. In CEUR Workshop Proceedings (Vol. 2861, pp. 309-317).

Postman, N. (1982). The disappearance of childhood. Random House, New York

Postman, N. (2000). The humanism of media ecology. Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association, 1, 10–16.

Rachmad, Y. E. (2022). Communication Adaptation Theory. OSFHOME. https://osf.io/svapk/

Ross, S. M. (2009). Postman, media ecology, and education: From Teaching as a Subversive Activity through Amusing Ourselves to Death to Technopoly. The Review of Communication, 9(2), 146–156.

Ruotsalainen, J., & Heinonen, S. (2015). Media ecology and the future ecosystemic society. European Journal of Futures Research, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40309-015-0068-7

Saviotti, P. P. (1996). Technological evolution, variety, and the economy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Schroeder, H. W. (2021). Ecology of the heart: Understanding how people experience natural environments. In Natural Resource Management (pp. 13-27). Routledge.

Scolari, C. A. (2012). Media ecology: Exploring the metaphor to expand the theory. Communication Theory, 22(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2012.01404.

Scolari, C. A. (2012). Media ecology: Exploring the metaphor to expand the theory. Communication Theory: CT: A Journal of the International Communication Association, 22(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2012.01404.x

Scolari, C. A. (2013). Media evolution: Emergence, dominance, survival, and extinction in the media ecology. International Journal of Communication, 7.

Scolari, C. A. (2023). On the evolution of media: Understanding media change. Routledge.

Shao, P. R. (2008). On construction, Planning, and Management of Media Ecology System. Journal of Zhejiang Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 33(2), 1–9.

Sternberg, J. (2002). The yin and yang of media ecology. In 3rd Annual Media Ecology Association Convention, Marymount Manhattan College, New York.

Strate, L. (2004). A media ecology review. Communication Research Trends, 23(2), 3–48.

Strate, L. (2008). Studying media as media: McLuhan and the media ecology approach. MediaTropes eJournal, 1, 127–142.

Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities. Polity, Cambridge

Volkmer, I. (1999). News in the global sphere: A study of CNN and its impact on global communication. Indiana University Press.

West, R. L., Turner, L. H., & Zhao, G. (2010). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (Vol. 2). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Wolf-Monteiro, B. (2017). Consuming Justice: Exploring Tensions between Environmental Justice and Technology Consumption through Media Coverage of Electronic Waste, 2002-2013 (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).

Zabell, E. (2022). Breaking the Spell: Investigating Screen-Based Media for Gospel-Driven Outreach (Doctoral dissertation, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary).

Zhao, X., Lampe, C., & Ellison, N. B. (2016, May). The social media ecology: User perceptions, strategies and challenges. In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 89-100).

Ziman, J. (Ed.). (2000). Technological innovation as an evolutionary process. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Zuckerman, E. (2023). Why study media ecosystems?. In Understanding Movement Parties Through their Communication (pp. 169-187). Routledge.

Downloads

Published

2025-03-30

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

The Concept of Media Ecology from Birth till Date: A Discourse Analysis of Articles, Books and Seminal Monographs. (2025). Journal of Social Sciences Review, 5(1), 578-587. https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i1.522