--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The media have substituted themselves for…" description: "\"The media have substituted themselves for the older world.\" — Marshall McLuhan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png" --- # The media have substituted themselves for the older world. ![“The media have substituted themselves for the older world.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png) > “The media have substituted themselves for the older world.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Media replace traditional cultural structures, reshaping how societies communicate and think. **In simple terms:** Media become new cultural foundations. Key Takeaway Adapt to evolving communication tools and their societal impact. Themes media culture technology Mood analytical critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - news consumption - social media - education - political discourse Key Concepts sociology communication theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape your worldview? - What habits preserve depth in a media‑saturated life? A Different Perspective Rapid change can erode critical thinking skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Media Substituted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-substituted-609452/) [Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older/) [Older World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-world-609450/) [Substituted Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substituted-older-609453/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The media have substituted themselves for the older world. Even if we should wish to recover that older world we can do it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-media-have-substituted-themselves-for-the-older-world-even-if-we/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [As I've gotten older and the world has gotten far more complicated .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/as-i-ve-gotten-older-and-the-world-has-gotten-far-more-complicated/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [“The older I get the less the world makes sense.” “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/the-older-i-get-the-less-the-world-makes-sense-i/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [As we get older, our world gets smaller and we start to doubt and question. We are really suspicious of difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-piccinini/as-we-get-older-our-world-gets-smaller-and-we-start-to-doubt-and/) [Patricia Piccinini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-piccinini/) > [Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicatied Of dead and living, Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/home-is-where-one-starts-from-as-we-grow-older-the-world-becomes/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“…For many years now, that way of living has been scorned, and over the last 40 or 50 years it has nearly disappeared. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/for-many-years-now-that-way-of-living-has-been-scorned-and-over-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [As we grow older, the world grows colder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-grow-older-the-world-grows-colder/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to think that when I got older, the world would make so much more sense. But you know what? The older I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-used-to-think-that-when-i-got-older-the-world-would-make-so-much/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [As we grow older, the world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated of dead and living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/as-we-grow-older-the-world-becomes-stranger-the-pattern-more/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“What you learn as you get older is that the world is old, and has been old for a long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/what-you-learn-as-you-get-older-is-that-the-world-is-old-and-has-been/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [The rythms of typing favour short, concise sentences, sentences with oral form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-rythms-of-typing-favour-short-concise-sentences-sentences-with/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Journalism quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Television, radio, social media. 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I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [One lesson to learn is that the press and the broadcasters are not neutral. And it seems we have to learn it each time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/one-lesson-to-learn-is-that-the-press-and-the-broadcasters-are-not/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. 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Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [People think they're getting objective information, but they're not. They're getting news wrapped up in opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/people-think-they-re-getting-objective-information-but-they-re-not/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) [Browse all 8,189 Journalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The media have substituted themselves for the older world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-media-have-substituted-themselves-for-the-older-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Journalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-media-have-substituted-themselves-for-the-older-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/marshall-mcluhan-641_journalism_the-media-have-substituted-themselves-fo_1942897.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The media have substituted themselves for the older world.” — Marshall McLuhan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The media have substituted themselves for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-media-have-substituted-themselves-for-the-older-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-media-have-substituted-themselves-for-the-older-world/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```