Throughout his studies and brilliant career, Umberto Eco, the Italian semiotician, philosopher, and novelist, offered us endless and profound insights into the evolution of culture, media, and communication—particularly as they intersected with the digital age. Always ahead for his time, Eco examined how meaning is constructed and disseminated, always wary of the power structures behind communication. His reflections on media and the internet were both critical and forward-thinking, capturing the paradoxes of our modern information society.
For Eco, culture was not a static repository of knowledge but a dynamic system of signs, continuously interpreted and reinterpreted. As renowned expert and studious of semiotics, he distinguished between “open” and “closed” texts: open texts invited interpretation and dialogue, while closed texts attempted to limit meaning and control perception. This framework is crucial to understanding his view of media and internet content—he valued media that provoked critical thinking over those that manipulated through simplistic narratives.
Eco saw mass media as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it had the potential to democratize knowledge and stimulate public discourse. On the other, it could serve as a tool for misinformation and ideological control. He famously divided media consumers into two categories: the “apocalyptic” critics, who feared cultural decline, and the “integrated” optimists, who embraced mass culture uncritically. Eco positioned himself between the two, advocating for media literacy and semiotic awareness.
Eco’s later commentary on the internet reflected a deep concern about the erosion of expertise. In a widely cited remark, he lamented that “social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak,” noting that platforms once reserved for experts and journalists were now open to everyone, regardless of knowledge or credibility. While he acknowledged the democratizing force of the internet, Eco warned that its structure often blurred the line between informed discourse and ignorance.
Even today, Eco’s insights continue to offer a compass for navigating the complex terrain of meaning and truth and that is why his works represent a beacon in the communicative and cultural chaos in which we live.