Rejecting how media is conventionally viewed, McLuhan defnes it as an extension of man, and points out that media technologies shape society more by their forms rather than by what they convey. He has identifed the impacts of the electric media on human society. His “global village”, re-tribalized, is often portrayed as a peaceful and harmonious community. Yet, deep down, he had a decidedly ambivalent perspective on technoculture. McLuhan explores media in a wider feld of human behavior and human thinking, restoring its original broad connotations, and setting the context for future media studies: that is, our relationship with media is a mutual one -- we shape media and, thereafter, our media also shapes us. Although the age of electric media is hypnotic and apathetic, it is also enabling us to grope toward a consciousness of the unconscious. Once we have a sense of the surrounding media environment and detect the harmful effects it has brought to our society and culture, we might be able to in?uence the development and evolution of new innovations before those effects become ubiquitous. Therefore, to label McLuhan as a technical determinist is overly simplistic.