Media ecology is a field of study that looks at how technologies – including bio-technologies – relate perceptual systems to the world and, indeed, shape and are shaped by the perceptions, experiences and behaviors of those systems. The term was popularized by Neil Postman, who emphasized that media ecology involves the study of the role and impact of different forms of media in their interaction with human culture, technology and communication.
When integrating this concept with the study of mosses and their environment, it is essential to broaden the definition of media beyond traditional human-centered communication systems (mass media) and, more generally, any technology instrumentalized for human ends. In this new context, the physical and biological parameters surrounding mosses – such as sunlight, soil, water, humidity, temperature and other plants and organisms – can be considered integral parts of the media environment of the mosses that perceive them. Taken together, these elements constitute the associated environment that structures the co-constitutive relationship between the mosses and them.
For example, mosses influence water retention and soil composition, which in turn affects the ability of other species, including the mosses themselves, to thrive in this environment. Media ecology encourages us to view these interactions as involving the exchange of information (e.g. moisture levels, nutrient availability) where the environment and the mosses react and adapt to each other.
In addition, integrating such a techno-phenomenological perspective enables us to explore how mosses perceive and respond to their environment. This approach can reveal how sensory inputs from the environment can trigger physiological changes in mosses, in the same way that human responses are shaped by media exposure. In this sense, a media ecology approach aligns with the desire to better understand the “world” of mosses, i.e. their Umwelt.