Globalization as the Transfer of Information and Culture - Assignment Example

Sociology A medium is a channel of communication where people send and receive information. Printed words in a newspaper for instance are the medium. Something is communicated to us through the medium. Media is the plural form for medium. Mass media refers to the channels of communication involving the transmission of information in any way, form or shape to a lot of people (Flew 14). Mass medium is generally a one-to-many communication where one entity (such as the author, film director or television program) communicates to many people at the same time in a way that is generally impersonal. Functionalist examine the media from a functional framework that stresses on everything that happens has its purpose. From the functionalist perspective, media performs a surveillance function. That is to entertain, enforce social norms, keep us informed, socialize and confer status. However, mass media could also perform a narcotizing dysfunction and hence be both counterproductive and dysfunctional to an extent that it desensitizes us of the events. When media alerts the public for instance about a pandemic, it serves its information and news function, if the public panics, then it becomes a dysfunction (Kahn & Patrick). Conflict theorists view the media to reflect and deepen the divisions in the society. This is done through gatekeeping, which regulates the content that will reach the public. The media spreads the dominant ideology that overwhelms local cultures and defines the reality. The theory stresses on the role of coercion and power in producing social order (Chen & Starotsa). Conflict theory can be used to explain the influence of the media to the youth considering who controls the media. Media can be used as tool for those in power to favour or further their interests. The poor (proletariat), according to the theory, will be continually exploited until they unite and overthrow the rich. Feminist’s theories argue that media images of the sexes communicate stereotypical, unrealistic and limiting perspectives of women. They proposed changes in the media pushed by the androcentric nature of the history and research idolized in the field. The media is powerful tool that influences how we view men and women. The theory emphasizes that women are underrepresented and thus insignificant, women are portrayed in ways that for instance indicate peril and relationships with males emphasize traditional sex roles that normalize violence against women. Structural interactionism is the process of interaction and formulation of meaning from individuals. It takes into account the meaning making of an individual or group focussing on the human action. Interactionist theory examines the media in its core level and look into how it shapes the day to day social behaviour. Interaction with the media will influence the individual. Friendship networks can emerge from common viewing habits. A postmodern perspective challenges the modernist view on progress, human improvement, truth, science, art and technology that would lead to a greater sense of fulfilment and happiness. Postmodern perspectives are seen in the contemporary art, architecture, music, fiction and film that challenge traditional forms. New mass media has characteristics that if combined, they are very different to the other forms. Online news sources have become very popular but that does not mean they are the only source of information. Many adults over the age of twenty five prefer news media outlets leaving hope for the survival of the traditional media in the fierce competition from its digital competitor. Both sources of information are not conflicting but rather complementary (Castells). Q2. Globalization refers to the transfer of information and culture from the developed countries to the undeveloped and vice versa resulting to the homogenization of the consumerist culture. Today, the mass media plays a paramount role in the enhancement of globalization, facilitating exchange of culture and flows of information between countries and continents. Globalization has contributed a lot in the expansion of the information that lies in the public and sharing of this information. This will continually impact our lives and relationships with each other in our respective countries and the whole world. International communication has never been this easy. Media platforms offer services such as video communication where one can communicate with people in different continents or be updated on the stock market using a mobile phone (Kavanaugh & Patterson). Through the World Wide Web, endless amounts of information are available and can also be shared globally. In terms of communication the mass media has indeed created a global village. Globalization is however faced with ambiguity and contradictions. It unifies and divides the world at the same time. This is seen in the emergence of influential anti-western terrorist enemy networks that contradicts the participants and friendships globalization incorporates. The technology used in transportation, information and communication to facilitate globalization can also be used to undermine and or attack it. Worldwide war on terror openly discloses the downsides of globalization. Combination of technological revolution and restructuring of capital has generated tensions between capitalism and democracy and the haves and have-nots. Sometimes, globalization forces may promote democracy and inhibit it in others. The world now faces a major spectre, transnational media corporations. This is a very recent development as until the 1980s, media systems were commonly national, and regulated domestically. Pressure to deregulate and privatize the media coincided with technological advancements in the satellite and digital technologies giving rise to transnational media giants. According to the conflict theory, the media has a direct effect on the modern culture while few people control the information dispersed. This is how the ruling class stays in control of the middle and lower classes. The media system globally is majorly controlled by a few transnational firms such as the Times Warner Company, Disney and Viacom. They use their perception and decide what news should be shown and how to present it (Veltri & Elgara). Neoliberalism is an economic philosophy that arose to find a middle way for the conflicting classical and collectivist planning. It’s commonly criticized as being culturally imperialistic and even called the new form of imperialism. Transnational media agencies have often caused cultural conflicts especially in the integral individualistic policies. They tend to favour the western way of thinking and behaviour. Cultural imperialism is the forced or voluntary acculturation of the subject population to a foreign culture by people from individual free will. Transnational media corporations promote cultural imperialism especially from the west to developing countries. Some people believe that imperialism is not bad since after all it spreads some concepts which should be universal like gender equality, democracy, human rights and freedom. It’s however true that developing countries imports foreign news, genre and cultural television formats and the values of the capitalist consumerism and individualism, which are not necessarily beneficial. All these changes affect the local cultures and norms promoting extinction of cultural diversity. Promotion of local content and talent in developing countries has been stressed as one of the ways to counter cultural imperialism (Cummings et al). Q6. Digital media has experienced a rapid uptake and this has impacted on the way we communicate access information, learn, work, relate and spend our leisure. People are continually becoming more digital media literate and new content created using digital media (Flew). Some social factors affect the development of digital media. Language is one of the most crucial of the factors as the information is accessed by people of diverse cultures and languages. Language is the key factor that’s considered when considering content creation. Translation services have been on the rise especially for written content to aid passage of information. This has promoted reduction in language barriers and aided in communication. Another social factor that influenced the development of internet is development of a global culture of information. Through globalization, an information culture has come up and people with similar interests have come together to create content depending on their interests. Education has also played a major role in the development of digital media as for instance web development is a universal field meaning websites can be created from all over the world and people can share ideas to make improvements and increase efficiency. Digital media has brought a lot of benefits given that it gives almost everything the traditional media brings and adds up a lot more. It’s also a lot more cost effective than conventional media. However, with the television still being the most preferred media choice, the battle between the two is not quite over. Most people still like to be able and hold media through reading newspapers and magazines. Also, not all people have access to the internet at any time hence traditional ways still remain relevant to a lot of people (Gollin). The medium theory argues that all technology is communication and is an extension of ourselves that lets us go further in time and space. These extensions reflect our human body and the functions of different organs. Also, to some degree, all media is either hot or cold. This refers to the user interactions with a medium. The vehicle to communication has a considerable amount of influence on the nature and type of communication by humans. Web 2.0 services are associated with applications that aid in two-way communication. It gives each individual the freedom to give their views, likes and dislikes and involves sharing and networking. Its helps a lot in search engine optimization and social media advertising. Customers can be actively engaged in the promotion of products. Web 2.0 has greatly contributed to the rise of virtual communities. These are social networks where people interact through a social media mostly crossing boundaries to share on mutual goals and interests. These have provided avenues for learning and providing support such as for people who own common products. Q7. Journalist objectivity is the factuality, fair-mindedness and non-partisanship that encompass journalism professionalism. When covering and reporting news, journalists should not express their feelings, prejudices and biases in their reporting (Reese & Ballinger). A neutral language is used to avoid characterizing the people or subjects in a good or bad way. However, this is not always the case in mainstream media who commonly use adjectives that depict certain feelings on a subject. Mainstream news coverage often dirges the drop in objectiveness in journalism blaming the more subjective news from the internet or ideological programming. Mainstream media has its own biases however unnoticeable they might be as they mirror the current view of the nation state. From the functionalist perspective, everything happens with its purpose. Objectiveness in journalism is important so that the media house is not seen to portray a certain message for or against issues in the country. This could desensitize the public. For instance, during elections, the mainstream media may play a very crucial role in tearing a candidate up and build on another (Walther et al). Interactionists argue that news is a social construction of reality. It’s an unmediated method of conveying information just as any other form of programming with its own agenda, requirements, style and objectives. News try to create an audience that is big enough for effective advertising. Works Cited Castells, M. The information age: Economy, society and culture. Blackwell: Oxford, 1998. Print. Chen, G.M. & Starosta, W.J. Foundations of intercultural communication. Lanham: University Press of America., 2005. Print. Cummings JN, Butler B, Kraut R. The quality of online social relationships. New York: Commun, 2002. Print. Flew, T. Understanding global media. New York: Palgrave Macmillan., 2007. Print. Gollin, A. “Critiques and celebrations of the newsmaking process: An expository review. 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