Why Marshall McLuhan Still Matters in a Hyperconnected Age

We scroll, swipe, stream, and share. But how often do we stop to ask what these media are doing to us? That’s the question Marshall McLuhan posed more than fifty years ago, and it’s more urgent today than ever.

McLuhan, often reduced to the catchy phrase “the medium is the message,” argued that the technologies we’re using aren’t neutral. They shape how we think, how we relate. Even how society organizes itself. A smartphone isn’t just a phone. It’s an extension of memory, a social network in your pocket, a new nervous system.

When we talk about “the algorithm,” workplace collaboration apps, or the rise of generative AI, we’re really talking about McLuhan’s core insight: new media reconfigure us long before we learn how to use them wisely.

So why revisit him now? Because professionals, leaders, and creators need to understand that communication isn’t just about content. Communication is about the invisible effects of the medium itself. The teams who grasp this don’t just adapt to new tools, they anticipate how those tools reshape attention, culture, even power itself.

McLuhan once wrote, “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.” In 2025, when our tools include AI, global networks, and immersive media, that shaping power is unprecedented. The question is: are we noticing it, or just letting it happen?

It’s time to dust off McLuhan. Let’s look at him as more than an academic curiosity. Let’s treat him as a practical lens for navigating the future of work and communication.