Impact of New Media Technology on a Global World - Essay Example

What is the globalisation in New media context? Discuss of the impact of new media technology on a global world. Is globalisation a reality or a myth? Name: Roll No: Class: Subject: Teacher: Date: 10th October 2009 University What is the globalisation in New media context? Discuss of the impact of new media technology on a global world. Is globalisation a reality or a myth?  Globalization can be defined as a phenomenon that circulates around the concept of the world in form of a globe. Globalization has converted the world from divided pieces into a whole globe. With the help of globalization, there is a feeling of connectedness (Steger 29). It is quite clear that with the concept of globalization, the world has shrunk. We can access to people far away from us because of this concept. There are computers, internet and websites that link people to each other and can be considered as supporting the concept of globalization. Globalization has helped to spread ideas. We can share our ideas not in one region or to people of one region but to different people of different regions. The internet has enhanced communication networking due to which, Morris and Ogan (2002) regard internet as a new communication technology and a new media in terms of globalization. Internet plays a crucial role in our day to day lives. Nobody can negate the effectiveness of internet in our lives. Internet is employed in business sectors, educational sectors, commercial sectors, governmental sectors, scientific discovery sectors and many others. The concept of globalization is also attached with the concept of internet. It is only because of internet that people are able to communicate through long distances. It will not be incorrect to say that internet has converted the world into a global village (Steger 34). The future of internet is quite bright because of its so much effectuality in our lives. It appears that in the future the role of internet will be increased. The old media or traditional media or mainstream media includes radio broadcasting, newspapers, magazine press, film industry and television broadcasting (Gorman 230). According to Gorman (2009), the transition started in 1970 with the development of technologies after which, a concept with the name of new media came to the forefront. With internet and telecommunication, people started looking towards internet as a new media as it offered many new ways to communicate in a much faster and timely manner. The internet mode of communication is much faster as compared to other traditional media. The internet technology boost was not felt with its development as media persons regarded it something related to academics and freebies (Morris and Ogan 1). However, with the passage of time, the efficacy of internet as new media is accepted all over the world. The concept of globalization also gained ground with the expansion of internet as a global media. Internet connects people all over the globe and is accessed by everyone due to which, it received a global status. The world is seen as transformed into a global village as people are allowed to communicate on a wider scale. The distances that are present between people are not felt that much as internet has made the process of accessing through communication quite easier and cheaper (Steger 37). With the help of internet communication and other telecommunication networks, the world can be seen as a place where there are no borders. According to Gorman (2009), the new media can be seen as “liberating and democratizing, empowering citizens, promoting egalitarianism and tolerance, global understanding and a global civil society” (231). Many significant aspects are associated with new media and its development. It offers freedom, democracy, citizens’ empowerment, enhanced endurance and a global set up. People are able to understand and keep similar views on the basis of their understanding due to which, they can take part in a society that is globalized. By recognizing the significance of internet as new media, we can be sure that our status in this world much more noticeable and we are free to share our ideas and opinions on a global scale. The new mass media offers freedom not to some specific group or community but to a global community. Internet allowed people not only to communicate and transfer information but also to express with different modes (Gorman 239). The concepts of virtual groups, virtual communities and virtual world also gained status with internet boost. The virtual concepts also allowed people to see the world in a global context and use internet as a global media. People from different cultures and societies started using the ways of expression that they liked such as emoticons and smiley. Along with interpersonal communication and other forms of communication, the businesses started showing attraction towards the internet because of its being employed by a massive number of people all over the world. There are many businesses that are working on global basis and their set up is global. There are websites and online businesses that provide services and products to their customers all over the world. The words like e-commerce and e-communication gained reputation with the advent of commercialization on internet in 1990s (Gorman 239). With recognition that internet is a mass global medium that has attracted a huge audience towards itself, many different kinds of advertisements were given on internet such as banner ads, sidebar ads, pop up ads and many others. According to Gorman (2009), “internet removed the limitations of time and place, enabling global interaction” (241). Internet works as an agent for globalization of the world. Morris and Ogan (2002) inform that “internet is a multifaceted mass medium, that is, it contains many different configurations of communication” (5). Communication on internet is not found only in one format but in many formats such as email messaging, blogging, electronic bulletin boards, advertisements, World Wide Web pages, chatting and so on (Morris and Ogan 6). Internet as a global mass medium takes all forms of communication into consideration such as one-to-one communication, one-to-many communication, many-to-one communication and many-to-many communication (Morris and Ogan 6). On internet, we can find many newspapers and magazines with their electronic editions so that the people accessing internet can access them online and get their required information in a timely manner. Newspapers and magazines have their own websites containing detailed news features and everything that is available on a paper format in order to reach the general public (Morris and Ogan 6). Internet is a new mass medium because it is employed by a wide number of people for gaining information, for communicating and for transfer of information. It is a new medium because it has gained status after 1990s. The internet was there in 1970s but in terms of its expansion, 1990s can be seen as predictable as it was only possible in 1990s that internet got a global status. Internet is not only accessed globally for communication, transference and attainment of information but also for entertainment purposes (Morris and Ogan 7). It is a new media because it offers its users with all the facilities that are required and which were not offered previously by any media. It is one technology that keeps the capacity of attracting people on global scale. With internet, the concept of connectedness also comes into consideration (Hafez and Skinner 9). One can access the information in a direct manner and can also access to information monitored or published internationally. The direct access includes internet, satellite, international television and radio broadcasting and media import/export (Hafez and Skinner 9). The access to information can be through journalism through television, radio, internet, newspapers and so on (Hafez and Skinner 9). According to Hafez and Skinner (2007), the globalization offered because of internet is regarded as advantageous as well as disadvantageous by different people (2). For many people, internet and globalization are only linked to capitalism and economic stability of certain countries. It only takes into account those countries and nations that are already developed and ready to expand more. However, there are also people who regard globalization as creating a cultural unity (Hafez and Skinner 2). People are able to know about the cultures of other people. The world is considered as connected. If there are global problems, there are solutions globally. The concept of globalization is not fully implemented as internet has not reached to all people all over the world. There are some nations that are still left behind in terms of acquisition of internet technology. Therefore, it can be said that the concept of globalization is not fully real but it is a myth. It will come to reality fully when it will spread all over the world. The cultures that exist in the world get a chance to communicate cross culturally or inter cultures due to which, they are able to find similar values in both cultures, which can be unified as a global culture (Hafez and Skinner 8). Because of internet media and globalization, it is supposed that with the help of internet media, the world is linked globally and there can be discussions on the same topics by different media (Hafez and Skinner 12). According to Hafez and Skinner (2007), “connectivity may ultimately occur within global communication not only between producers and consumers in various nation-states and cultural areas—that is internationally and interculturally—but also via a transnational (or cultural) media system” (12). It means that connectedness on the basis of the concept of globalization does not depend on the relationship of producers and consumers but also on mass media, which can be proved as effective in terms of multiculturalism. Within the concept of globalization, the media and media businesses will have to play a global part in order to create a linked world (Hafez and Skinner 12). Sometimes, the concept of globalization is associated to Westernisation or Western Expansion because of its start from Western countries. Through globalization, it is expected that all the nations of the world will adopt a Western culture as global culture (Hafez and Skinner 14). Many critics have accepted this opinion but many debate against it. Western culture is a dominant culture because of the financial stability of many European countries. Because of much economic security and steadiness, the countries are facing ignorable problems concerning finance. They are able to share their values with people of other nations as global values. This notion cannot be considered as fully right but there are some hints of righteousness in them. When we think of becoming globalized or global, the first thing that comes to our mind is our discourse. English that is a Western language is regarded a global language in which, we can communicate on internet without any problem (Steger 75). With further development of internet, it is seen that it allows surfing and information retrieval in many other languages along with English but no one can deny the fact that the dominant language of internet is English. Hafez and Skinner (2007) also report about the views of critics as considering globalization as Westernization. In new media context, globalization can be defined as a phenomenon that is unifying and allows people to interact without any limitation of time or place. Globalization is linked with the concept of global village. The concept of globalization is not fully applicable on our world and it can be considered more as a myth because all the world’s countries are not able to participate in internet development and advancement concerning globalization. Through internet, the communication, information retrieval, information acquirement, entertainment, global access to consumers and producers and much more has become easier. Internet can be called as a global media because it is accessed by a large population all over the world. We cannot say that everyone in every part of the world uses internet but it will be sure that with the passage of time, people have witnessed an internet boost due to which, a wide world population is attracted towards it (Steger 42). Internet technology was ignored in its beginning by media persons but with its continuous success, its efficacy in terms of mass media was accepted and people related to old or traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television and radio started to come towards internet and employed it for their own expansion and success (Morris and Ogan 2002). According to Morris and Ogan (2002), internet is a new media and people have to accept it to move with technology and progress of the world. The new media technology has affected the world globally because of its global impact on global population. Internet as a new media has attracted a wider audience incomparable with any traditional or mainstream media. Through internet, information related to any part of the world can be retrieved. The news agencies can be accessed online and any information can be obtained in a faster manner (Gorman 257). The websites are accessible twenty four hours a day due to which, there is no time restriction and people living in different time scales can gain information without any time limitation. Globalization is a global concept that cannot be rejected or ignored by people around the world. At this juncture, it is a myth but it is accepted by a greater population of the world due to which, it has gained fame. Internet and globalization are closely related as it is internet technology that has allowed people to interact with one another globally and to create a global world that can be accessed by everyone across the globe. The myth of globalization will be fully true when all the countries of the world will share global values. It is not possible wholly because of cultural differences, language dissimilarities and unequal grounds for different countries. Internet is the new media through which, people can interact globally and can reach others because of communication without any time or place restriction. According to the concept of globalization, the world has shrunk and people are able to reach each other quite easily with the help of internet technology (Steger 41). Internet has emerged as a new global mass media because it is the platform that has gathered the world population on one place. Works Cited Gorman, Lyn. The Rise of New Media. Chichester, UK; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Hafez, Kai and Skinner, Alex. The Myth of Media Globalization. Cambridge: Polity, 2007. Morris, Merrill and Ogan, Christine. The Internet as Mass Medium. London: Sage, 2002. Steger, Manfred. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Read More