The Implications of New Media Technologies - Essay Example

The beginning of new media technologies has certainly resulted in the creation of ways for scientific revolution around the globe and it continues to revolutionize the universal, communal, and financial settings of nations applying these technologies. It is interesting to consider that urbanized nations have turned into ‘knowledge societies’ as a result of this technological revolution and the majority of developing nations are making effort to bridge the digital divide by promoting the utilization of new media technologies. The digital divide exists in developing and under-developed nations because the majority of individuals still have no access to new media technologies. This is perhaps because of the fact that new media technologies are not available in the region where they live or because they cannot meet the expense of using such facilities (Gane & Beer, 2008).

The emergence of new media technologies has affected hypothetical as well as practical suppositions regarding the part of technology in socio-economic growth. Arguments are made as to whether these new media technologies can facilitate growth, are pertinent to the region’s way of life, and goes well with the growth policy applied. The connection between technical development and socio-economic growth is usually based on details bound in western developed world experiences. New media technologies can be applied to directly control the yield, expenditure efficiency as well as competitiveness within industries - the benefit upon which developing nations can build their financial systems. Catching up on urbanized economies with respect to the use of technology and consequential economic advantages had never been that convenient (Ito et al, 2009).

If someone considers the prospects as well as the risks that are present in the perspective of globalization, new media technology can turn out to be a device of either lessening the discriminations that are already there in the world or rising it. Regardless of their vital part in supporting the application of new media technologies to growth issues, the functions, as well as inputs of foreign ventures, are hardly ever included in national policies. As global organizations, bilateral as well as “mutual donors, international firms, and non-government organizations” (James, 2009) may play significant roles in national growth plans, most oppose continuing obligations that lessen their autonomy or else connect them with domestic political plans. They usually insist on particular associations or ‘public profiles’ that differentiate their participation from other external members (James, 2009).

There is a need to identify the ‘multi-dimensionality’ of the digital divide. For instance, it could merely be the gap among individuals who have or do not have access to the Internet. This digital divide between ‘having access’ and ‘not having access’ is finishing quickly. According to a recent report by the World Bank, the digital divide between developed and developing (or under-developed) countries is narrowing rapidly. Individuals in developing nations are getting more prospects to use new media technologies at an incredibly fast pace (Napoli, 2010). Surprisingly, there is still a constant dialogue among users of technology and development professionals on the position of new media technologies as a device to smooth the process of socio-economic growth within society. However, only the accessibility of technical infrastructure cannot assure growth as well as economic gains unless these facilities are well-utilized (Jones, 2002).