GLOBAL FLOWS AND SCAPES

While the concept of globalisation is not new, it has most definitely grown in importance and relevance in our contemporary society. Different generations experience multitudes of varying forms of globalisation, none more than our current generation. Globalisation depends on many key elements such as age, culture, religion, area, and socioeconomic status to name a few.

There is a wide array of definitions of globalisation, however the way in which I perceive the concept is most closely exemplified by Thompson's definition stating, "Globalisation. . . refers to the growing interconnectedness of different parts of the world, a process which gives rise to complex forms of interaction and interdependency" (1995, p. 149).

Globalisation affects all of our lives, and it is interesting to study the significant change that it has caused in my parents day to day lives, in terms of the way they are able to communicate through digital media.


The modern world at night (PHOTO: SolarWorld Blog USA)

By simply discussing their journey through different stages of communication, the effect that globalisation has had on both the devices and methods of communication is obvious. For example, my Dad has gone from advertising his Plastering business through only the Yellow Pages to using online resources to expand his client base. My Mum now regularly uses Facebook to locate and contact old friends who were otherwise unreachable, and can keep track of what they are up to. These changes were not one drastic point in time where globalisation infiltrated the entire world, but a series of more concentrated events in time and space which together shape the way we live and interact today.

Rantanen (2005, p. 8) points out that "one of the salient features of globalization in the modern world is that it takes place increasingly through media and communication." This exemplifies the way in which my parents have adapted to the new technologies and endless channels of communication that arose from globalisation. It also explains

The rise in these transnational processes and the way that globalisation is in a constant fluid state indicates that global availability of products and information will continue to increase due to the 'flows' of globalisation through media and communication.

REFERENCES:

Rantanen, T 2005, Theorising Media Globalisation’, The media and globalization, Sage, London, pp. 1–18. 

Picture:
http://www.solarworld-usa.com/blog/2011/08/tanzania-africa-part-1.aspx