Technology does not merely serve human purposes — it shapes them. The affordances of our tools influence what we do, what we notice, what we value, and how we relate to each other. The printing press did not simply spread information — it restructured religious authority, created new public spheres, and enabled both the Reformation and unprecedented propaganda. Social media does not simply connect people — it rewards outrage over nuance, performance over authenticity, and engagement over meaning. The technodeterminist overstates this: technology is not destiny. But the naïve view — that tools are neutral and outcomes depend entirely on users' choices — ignores how deeply design shapes behaviour. The honest position is somewhere between: technology is made by humans with interests, and it makes us in return.

💡 Did you know? Marshall McLuhan's famous phrase 'the medium is the message' — published in 1964 — argued that the form of communication matters more than its content. He predicted that electronic media would create a 'global village' with simultaneous worldwide communication. He died in 1980, before the internet existed.