The Global Village

The Global Village refers to the global interconnectedness where by “time has ceased and space has vanished”(Marchessault, 2004, pp. 205). At the click of your mouse, the touch of your phone, instantly we have global interconnectedness. Renowned professor Marshall McLuhan quoted “the spoken word was the first technology by which man was able to let go of his environment in order to grasp it in a new way”(McLuhan, 1966, pp. 57). Contemporary times have developed this notion of technology and the adoption of the global village has changed the environment in which we live in forever.

Society has grasped the internet in a way in which users can determine how it is to be used in accordance with there individual preferences and partialities. As described by McLuhan, “new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village” (Jong, Schuilenburg, 2006, pp. 133). As a result of the global interconnectedness, information is being transmitted to global audiences in real time. Modern times show the effects of the time-space compression whereby living in a world means publicly tweeting, liking, posting, sharing and updating status is the everyday social norm. Music, movies, videos are downloaded, uploaded, seeded, leeched and shared from all parts of the world and in all different languages. The scope of what an individual can do from his or her bedroom is endless anywhere is the world. Forward thinking McLuhan was accurate in saying, “we become what we behold. First we build the tools, then they build us”(McLuhan, 1966, pp. 57). We all are in fact a product of our own environment and currently society is filled in a “state of information overload”(McLuhan, 1966, pp. 57)

“In this electric age we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information. Moving towards the technological extension of consciousness” (Babe, 2000, pp.277). Everyday users of the Internet are unknowingly subject to information sharing; it’s a force of modern day culture. This shapes how people think, what information is provided to them and can determine how individuals act. Ultimately the rapidly and ever-changing landscape of technology shapes society. With real time interaction and minimal restrictions on what society can achieve and do via the Internet results in endless possibilities for humanity as a whole.

References:

De Jong, A, Schuilenburg, M, “Mediapolis: Popular Culture and the City”, 2006, 010 Publisher, retrieved 26th July 2015

Babe, R, “Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers”, 2000, University of Toronto Press, retrieved 26th July 2015

Marchessault, J, “Marshall McLuhan — Volume 39 of Core Cultural Theorists series”, 2004, Sage, retrieved 26th July 2015

McLuhan, M, “Understanding Media; Extensions Man, 1966, retrieved 26th July 2015