Personal Media Theory

Abstract

This chapter takes the step from communication to media technologies. It briefly revisits Marshall McLuhan’s ideas and some other proposals in the medium theoretical tradition in order to grasp the power of media technology and to what extent it can be ‘tamed’ or domesticated. I address both the discomforting aspects of dealing with virtual (simulated) realities and on the other hand, the convenience they offer to our sociality. It also charts the debate on the relationship between the online and offline in everyday life, and illustrates with the very recent development of augmented media/situated simulations.