Abstract
From the perspective of media ecology, this paper explores the question of responsibility for the effects that media have on society. To explain these media effects, two approaches are singled out. (1) The instrumental approach assumes that a medium works as a tool used by a user for a purpose. (2) The environmental approach focuses on the capacity of a medium to become an environmental force that reshapes both the habitat and the inhabitants. The instrumental approach to media, when taken too broadly and without an understanding of its limits, leads to conspiracy theories and inadequate social and political assessments. The more advanced and sophisticated environmental approach allows for an adequate understanding of media evolution and its effects but does not comply with the traditional legal notions of guilt and responsibility for actions, as there is no jurisdictional human or institutional agency when environmental forces are in play. After charting the distinction between the instrumental and environmental views of media, the paper focused on how the instrumental effects of media turn into environmental effects. The purpose of the paper is to develop and offer a media ecological apparatus for possible further juridical discussions regarding the regulation of the networking society.
Highlights
The Trap of the Instrumental Approach to Media EffectsIt is admitted in the news media and among the political elites and experts that the internet has become a tool of the alt-right movement and other forces aimed at destroying Western democracy
The more advanced and sophisticated environmental approach allows for an adequate understanding of media evolution and its effects but does not comply with the traditional legal notions of guilt and responsibility for actions, as there is no jurisdictional human or institutional agency when environmental forces are in play
By distinguishing the instrumental and environmental views of media effects, this paper aimed to develop a media ecological apparatus that could potentially be helpful for juridical discussions on media regulation
Summary
It is admitted in the news media and among the political elites and experts that the internet has become a tool of the alt-right movement and other forces aimed at destroying Western democracy. An analysis similar to the one described above shows the prevalent inclination of experts and the public to recognize as media effects only those that are, the instrumental effects of media This view is as induced as it is confused by assigning effects to the intents of the user. The sixth section probes into the difference between the instrumental and environmental views of media effects for possible application in defining the responsibility of the user, producer, and supplier of a medium. This is the border zone, where media ecology hands its findings and revelations to jurisprudence for possible further investigation and application
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