Interculturality and media: from the extension of the senses to the acceleration of cultural exchanges

The main objective of this article is to understand the relationship between the use of communication media, especially digital media, and intercultural processes in Late Modernity. Based on an exploratory literature review, this reflection relates Marshall McLuhan’s theory of media to intercultural communication to argue that the expansion of human perception, caused by technological evolution, accelerates exchanges between different cultures. It discusses how this increased flow of information can overcome a multicultural model of homogenization, criticized for its imbalance, and promote an interculturality based on hybridization and fairer exchange. The research results indicate that digital media have the potential to promote a more balanced interculturality by democratizing the transmission and reception of information, unlike mass media, which favor homogenization. However, this potential faces significant challenges, such as the commercial and narcissistic use of digital platforms, which transform cultural relations into consumer relations. Therefore, whether digital media will actually be able to promote a heterogeneous global culture is an open question and depends on time and further research.

Keywords:
Interculturality; Media; Late modernity