Internet Mass Medium-Critical Issues in the Era of Technological Determinism

There is no disputing the fact that the Internet, apart from being a potent medium of mass communication, has also become a mega-medium by being a platform for the convergence of other media of mass communication. This paper examines if the Internet can be described as a mass medium. It argues that the Internet is a veritable mass medium in its own right and, has also altered and shaped the perception of and the distinction between the traditional media. Anchored on the theory of technological determinism, postulated and popularized by Marshall McLuhan, the paper concedes that although the Internet is a mass medium, its messages/information lacks the attributes of gate-keeping, an important concomitant of mass communication.