When thinking about the topic of the global
media landscape, it gets me wondering about ‘McLuhan’s idea of a “global
village,” where people of the world would be brought closer together as they
made their voices heard.’(Croteau et al, 2012, pg325) There is much debate about this notion
and whether or not the rise of electronic media has made us more global and
therefore created a global village.
There are many aspects of media that you
could say bring us together globally. With the Olympics going on at the moment,
we are able to watch events as they happen live in England, on our televisions
in Australia, as many other countries are able to do too. We are also connected
globally, as mentioned in previous blog posts, with the Internet. These are all
positive aspects of electronic media that connect us and make the idea of the “global
village” more of a reality.
But with these positives, there are also negatives.
As an Australian, I am lucky to be able to have access to these new electronic
media forms. At this moment I am able to sit on my laptop, which is connected
to the Internet, with my phone next to me. I can also hear the television that
is on in the next room. Many western societies take for granted the easy access
they have to technology. Non-western societies don’t have as easy access to
these types of technologies. If some societies aren’t able to use the Internet
or watch events such as the Olympics, are we truly globally connected, or is it
only the Westernised countries that are?
Croteau D, Hoynes W, Milan
S, 2012, Media/Society, SAGE,
California
I definitely agree with you on the many factors that bring us together globally. Television and the Internet play an important role in letting us understand what is going on in other countries and as you mention these are indeed positive attributes.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question, I personally believe that only Westernised countries are globally connected. Obviously the non western countries are still part of globalisation, but only in a very small way. As you state most of the non western societies do not have access to various technology which in a way excludes them from parts of globalisation.
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ReplyDeleteThis post covers the concept of globalisation and argue the concept in both positive and negative sides. The author argued that the technological advancement helped to connect human beings and make 'global village' more of a reality, and meanwhile argued that the technological advancement doesn't favour all the countries but only the western societies. However, there is a lack of evidence showing that non-western societies do not share the equal access to the technology. Instead, the unfair situation should be argued as developed or developing countries, but not western or non-western societies.
ReplyDeleteThe ongoing debate on the global village has so many perspectives that I think it’s important to highlight both the negative and positive sides, which is what you have done. There is definitely a strong link between technology and global exposure and the ability to be part of this global village and having your voice heard. You provided an interesting post, raising some good points. I think you post would have benefited from some more scholarly links or perhaps some visuals to enhance the viewing experience but the content is sound and coherent and you have spoken about a current issue in an original way. Well done!
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