Media ecology ethics: Dwelling on the horizons

The shifting sands of ethics have implications for communication, namely how humans communicate ideas, how the technologies they use shape and enable the sharing of ideas, how the current information environment stifles or empowers ideas, etc. In the postmodern era, there is no one all-encompassing communication ethic, but myriad ethics in the plural sense. To move the conversation beyond situational ethics, this essay follows a relational approach, more precisely, an ecological approach. An ecological approach applies the interdisciplinary background of media ecology and the foundational tenet that the medium is the message to give an account of ethics, what Strate labelled media ecology ethics . Media ecology has been defined as the study of media as environments. This definition and much of media ecology’s practice make it a pragmatic tool for studying many facets of communication, including ethics, which implies a sense of place. This sense is often lost due to technological innovation and media. Technologies and media erode individual choice and context, both of which are important in studying ethics. Media ecology ethics, as envisioned by Strate and expressed in this article, become a way of balancing and restoring a sense of place. Applying media ecology ethics as a response to the changes in modern media and the decentring of the postmodern moment is a call to scholars and laypersons alike. Human history is a testament to uncertainty and change. Media ecology ethics emphasizes the need to question, adapt and ultimately persevere amidst the changes in horizons.