Media evolution and ‘epi-technic’ digital media: Media as cultural selection mechanisms

The explosive development of new digital media technologies is often described as a media evolution but hardly ever is the concept of ‘media evolution’ taken at face value. This article takes up that challenge by combining cultural evolution theories with medium theory. The article argues that biological selection mechanisms can provide an inroad into a new kind of historical and structural understanding of the relation between human culture and our technologies. In specific, human history is seen as a cultural evolution in which media technologies are the selection mechanisms.