Material Culture As Media Communication

Role of Material objects in communication

Any kind of interaction can be termed as communication. Media Communication is something where the medium of communication is identifiable and well defined.

The medium of communication is dependent upon the existing culture and the elements of the culture. Depending upon the elements, Culture can be derived into two types- Material Culture and Non-material Culture.

What is Material Culture?

The culture related to the commonly used material objects, or keeping or producing any material object that has an established symbolic value in the culture, can be termed as Material Culture. Material Culture and its elements are different in different fields in terms of space and time and society. Let's discuss Material Culture and its role as Media Communication.

Elements of Material Culture

All the materials involved in the practice of culture are elements of the Material Culture. Clothing, shoes, jewelry, religious symbols, pictures, food, buildings, etc. - anything that can be felt with thethe senses- are all elements of Material Culture.

In the recent period, another thing has become one of the most vital elements of material culture, that is mobile phones - especially smartphones.

Role as Media Communication

Since the elements of material culture are inextricably linked with culture and since usage of each of them has specific meaning, the use of these materials creates communication even without verbal communication. As white cloth symbolizes mourning, new colored cloth symbolizes festive mood, married women can be identified with nose ring.

Similarly, food, buildings, wines have different purposes as media communication.

Role of Smartphone as Media Communication

Nowadays, smartphone has become a symbol of modernity. Those who use smartphones are usually identified as smarter and more modern than the others. There are so many purposes of using a smartphone- from communicating through phonecalls to usage of internet.

Internet, a medium to connect all over the world, is also an element of material culture. Through the internet, one can connect to people, one can discover new people, one can search for necessary items or information, one can do business and many more.

Studying material culture not only helps in understanding the current situation of a society and its value system, also gives a clear conception about the dependence of life and social communication on it. Besides, the social changes and changes in the notion of a society throughout the history can be understood by observing Material Culture As Media Communication