Understanding Media
Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhanby Marshall McLuhan
Shares rank 51 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for its ideas on how media shape the messages they carry, which they say remain true today. No critical comments were recorded.
People recommend it for its ideas on how media shape the messages they carry, which they say remain true today. No critical comments were recorded.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Ideas remain relevant today
“For it simultaneously explains to me; TikTok (quick consume-scroll-like-react-"create" dopamine hit cycles)”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Don't post generated/AI-edited comments. HN is for conversation between humans.” “the ideas from this book remain as true as ever”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “How elites could shape mass preferences as AI reduces persuasion costs” Shows how media shape messages
“every single medium of communication shapes the message it is trying to deliver”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “I Learned to Read Again” “For it simultaneously explains to me; TikTok (quick consume-scroll-like-react-"create" dopamine hit cycles)”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Don't post generated/AI-edited comments. HN is for conversation between humans.”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Understanding Mediaby Marshall McLuhanThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“every single medium of communication shapes the message it is trying to deliver”
“If you want to get a pretty good understanding of it, just read the first chapter from his book Understanding Media”
“every chapter delivers at least one mind-melting moment”
“For it simultaneously explains to me; TikTok (quick consume-scroll-like-react-"create" dopamine hit cycles)”
“Only much later did I read Understanding Media, Amusing Ourselves to Death, etc, and understand that”
“the ideas from this book remain as true as ever”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.