‘The Digital Age’ x ‘Globalisation’ = ‘Global Village’

The modern digital age brings about the invention of the Internet, making it possible for people to read the news, share ideas, communicate and interact with other people on the other side of the world instantaneously with little to no effort. The world in 2014 is a place that caters for people who live fast on-the-go lifestyles which is complimented by the wireless technology of this time.

Wireless technology in 2014 means that we are able to pick up our smartphones and tablets whilst on the move and with a few touches of a virtual button become emotionally connected to a world in which we physically do not belong. This virutal community allows us to live vicariously through other people and see what our family and friends are doing wherever they may be. It also gives us the abilities to find out what is going on in the world at any moment in time and share our thoughts in the public sphere.

Ten years ago, to perform the same tasks that we take for granted in this day and age meant that you had to go to a computer that was physically wired into the wall; ten years before that meant that you had to physically pick up a piece of paper with some ink on it to effectively perform the same tasks with great limitations. The case in point is that technology is constantly evolving and changing at such an exponential rate, prompting a digital revolution that has transformed the lives of nearly everyone living in developed and developing countries.

Globalisation in essence is defined as the increasingly interconnectedness of societies – it is a way of making the world a smaller place through the mediums that allow us to communicate information. Marshall McLuhan, a US media guru, once famously said that “..the media is the message.” What he ultimately meant by this was that the media is the kind of medium that shapes and controls the scale of human association and action. It is through this premise that McLuhan coined the term ‘global village’ which describes how the globe has been contracted into a virtual village through electrical technology where information can be transmitted instantaneously from one side of the world to the other.

With its ability to disseminate thoughts, ideas and opinions on such a large scale, it is no surprise that the media has embraced the Internet and technological advancements to serve its own purpose of communicating messages to the mass audience in this global village that we live in. Although varied points of indivualism can be argued through one’s ability to voice their own opinions within the virtual realm, and this can be quite useful in processes such as representative government — the reality and much larger picture is that the media is what thrives consumerism, political governance and in many ways social norms. In the grand scheme of things, the media simply shapes the way that we think and tells us what to think about. Other newfound mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram alongside traditional media (TV, newspapers and radio, etc.) work collectively to produce new cultures of communication and consumption, and therefore plant themselves solidly as a substantial part of our lives.

Reference:

McLuhan, M. Moos, M. 2014, Media Research: Technology, Art and Communication, e-book, accessed 25 July 2014, <http://deakin.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1588577>