Reflexive McLuhanism
Tags: reflections, reflexivity, mcluhanism
Published: 2021-04-08 16:51:38

---
title: Reflexive McLuhanism
published: true
description: First we shape X, then X shapes us.
tags: Reflections, Reflexivity, McLuhanism
slug: reflexive-mcluhanism
canonical_url: https://www.swyx.io/reflexive-mcluhanism
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/108opfwrujxck57njih3.jpg
disclosure: These are patterns I have been observing for years, but don't really have an insightful or punchy perspective on it apart from noting this is a thing.
---

This post is my attempt at a "red pill" for those who haven't had McLuhanite ideas applied to the world they live in.

I think people don't appreciate enough how much we are a product of our environment — and how much of our environment is socially constructed. Not only that, it is constructed by a small group of builders who never really thought they'd ever get this far (such is the nature of leverage).

To paraphrase Churchill: [First we shape X, then X shapes us](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/26/shape/). If a defining characteristic of humanity is making and using tools, then a defining characteristic of society is being shaped by those same tools.

## Social Everything Optimization

We are well past debating [linguistic relativity and Sapir-Whorf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity). "Language shapes thought"? That's cute. Try *everything around us* shaping *everything we do*.

**[The Tough Tomato Principle](https://florentcrivello.com/index.php/2019/04/29/software-the-tough-tomato-principle-and-the-great-weirdening-of-the-world/)** by Florent Crivello, among many things, spotted the impact of Google Maps on names of hotels ("Good Hotel San Francisco"). How long until someone is *born* named "Best Lawyer NYC"? 

Once you see it, you see it everywhere. Game developers optimizing for Twitch spectator experience, Museums optimizing for Instagram, [Musicians optimizing for TikTok](https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/whosafraidoftiktok) and their [labels too](https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/tik-tok-hits-changing-titles-983383/). We're even [renaming human genes because Excel](https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21355674/human-genes-rename-microsoft-excel-misreading-dates).

Instagram is God's gift to colorful and niche products. Living in New York, I've personally seen the explosion of color [even in ice cream shops](https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/best-ice-cream-new-york/index.html) - I used to work in SoHo, where the Black Tap put out increasingly obnoxiously unrealistic sundaes that work great on Instagram but would be a nightmare to actually eat.

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/108opfwrujxck57njih3.jpg)

How about clothes? [Listen to Jenn Hyman](https://mastersofscale.com/jenn-hyman-the-secret-business-behind-the-business/) directly credit Instagram for women's increased desire for more variety in clothing, which helped her business, Rent the Runway.

A lot of people will deny the influence of media on their own preferences. The illusion of free will and desire for self-determination is strong. 

But you can't deny the impact of media changing the real world/economy. And people who's job it is to reach people (marketers and politicians) are depressingly attuned to how much media shapes us. Alex Danco [made a strong case](https://alexdanco.com/2019/10/17/the-audio-revolution/) that TV helped elect JFK, Radio helped  Trump. AOC isn't on Tiktok, but you can bet [she is reaching her voters](https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1279438522102013952?lang=en) in that format.

## Design is King

I used to call this "Modern McLuhanism", because it was McLuhan that asserted [the non-neutrality of media](https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100145151). 

He observed that in the 1960s. Fast forward half a century, and we now live in a world where [every company is a media company](https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1313587476015935488?lang=en) and [every person is a media company](https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/every-single-one-of-you-is-a-media-company/). The modern affliction is not simply that the choice of medium affects us, but also that we are complicit in creating the medium in the first place. 

Modern McLuhanism is *reflexive*.

**In such a world, design is king**. Thoughtful product design genuinely nudges society forward. Carelessness can tear it apart. Wilson Miner called out the implications of this for software in his classic talk, [When We Build](https://vimeo.com/34017777). 

I'd go so far as to make it required viewing, and this idea required digestion, for all builders. We who have this awesome power, correspondingly have an awesome responsibility.

> Side note: I have previously written about the duality of [Mimicry and Reflexivity](https://www.swyx.io/mimicry-reflexivity/) exploring more applications of reflexivity on its own.