Life in a Global Village and Principles on Tolerance: the Role and Value of Marshall McLuhan’s Legacy

The article discusses theoretical approaches to media and media culture introduced by the famous Canadian researcher Marshall McLuhan. The authors present modern studies examining the main principles of the well-known media researcher in the context of interrelations with such concepts as media reality, media communication, media education, globalization and tolerance. Special significance in the article is given to process analysis of creating media realism, its functioning in social settings and influence on perception, consciousness and behavior of a modern man living in the digital world whose all life aspects are inevitably connected with the media. The heritage of M. McLuhan had a significant impact on media education development. The flow of media information is constantly growing: there emerge new television channels, periodicals, Internet sites. The influence of mass media on an individual acquires an increasingly professional character: modern media affect people’s lifestyle, attitudes and values, culture of tolerance.