Visual man, paradoxically, is detached, but he always has an aim or a goal. He finds it natural to isolate a special point on the horizon where he is heading, whether in travel or in career. He is en route, striving to attain. But under the conditions of the new electric service environment—which is not visual—you cannot have distant goals to aim at because you're already there. It doesn't matter which electric medium you select—you're there when you turn it on. And what can you do about this living at the speed of light? If you can't have goals, you can play roles. This is where the "put-on" becomes a new way of life like the international motley of hair and costume worn by the young.
“Technology and the Human Dimension”: Marshall McLuhan with Louis Forsdale, in MM: The Man and His Message (1989), p 15
Year: 1989
Chapter:
Goodbye Linearity
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan