Electronics’ core meaning is enlarged social scale and centralizing power, not entertainment
Evidence
What Innis saw most clearly was that the main meaning of electronics was not in the provision of entertainment and information through radio and tele- vision. He recognized that the speed and distance of electronic communication enlarged the possible scale of social organization and greatly enhanced the possibilities of centralization and imperialism in matters of culture and politics. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 556
Categorization
- XREF: Reverses the commonsense framing of media as entertainment; extends Innis’s space-bias concept. — connects to: Communication technology serves group monopolies of knowledge, not community — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 599; Modern communications technology has fundamentally reshaped human consciousness and social relations; Communication technologies are celebrated for transforming society, not transmitting faster — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 729 (+4 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 556
Broader Connections
- Communication technology serves group monopolies of knowledge, not community
#corroborates(0.75) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 599 - Media are neither state-controlled nor autonomous but oriented within power structures
#corroborates(0.72) - Modern communications technology has fundamentally reshaped human consciousness and social relations
#expands(0.65) - Communication technologies are celebrated for transforming society, not transmitting faster
#corroborates(0.60) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 729 - Communication technology shapes culture through interests, symbols, and community
#complicates(0.55) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 622