Media ecology is a field of study investigating how media, technology, and communication shape human environments and culture. The theoretical concepts were first proposed by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, who famously coined the phrase "the medium is the message," asserting that the chosen communication channel is as significant as the content it conveys. McLuhan argued that media act as extensions of human senses and are the primary cause of social change, categorizing societal growth by the rise of specific technologies.

The term "media ecology" was formally introduced by Neil Postman in 1968, who, inspired by McLuhan, further developed the theory and founded the Program in Media Ecology at New York University in 1971. Postman clarified that in this context, a medium is "a technology within which a [human] culture grows," highlighting its profound impact on human perception, understanding, and values. The discipline ultimately explores how our interaction with media affects our thinking, feelings, and behavior, much like an environment influences its inhabitants.