Reading 3 - Globalisation

This week’s lecture and set reading explores the concept of globalisation. Globalisation revolves the expansion of business and growing from a small local venture into an international brand. More specifically, in the book, Media Studies Text Production Context, sociologist Anthony Giddens refers to globalisation as “intensification of world-wide social relations, which link distinct localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa” (Long & Wall (2012) p.245). However, globalisation is not just an economic occurrence and the reading and lectures explore the idea of media globalisation. Media globalisation is referred to as a “phenomena like the worldwide distribution of identical programme content or global interchangeable programme formats, and distribution of special interest information targeting a globally dispersed minority audience” (Long & Wall (2012) p.245).

A reading I have acquired for this week and this module investigates the ideas of the digital divide and what the digital divide is, this is also a topic that was briefly discussed with the lecture, however, the reading provides a more in depth analogy and discussion of the digital divide. The digital divide is referred to as “a whole series of interlocking “divides”- the gap that separate segments of society as well as whole nations into those who are able to take advantage of ICT opportunities and those who are not” (Panayiota Tsatsou (2011) Media Culture & Society, Digital Divides, 33(2), P.317). This is a topic in which the lecture covers discussing a similar concept of digital divide and differentiating a difference between the people who can access ICT and does who cant. 

In the lecture, the idea digital divide is explored regarding different continents of the world and their use of the internet and accessing information. In continents such as Africa who are poor and far less educated have 11% of their population accessing the internet as opposed to North America who are richer and far more educated have 77% population using the internet. (P.Long & T.Wall (2012) p.238 Table 7.1)

Through reading and listening into what media globalisation is, I personally believe that I can take further research into understanding how certain aspects of new media have influenced and changed peoples lives and perceptions on the world, exploring areas such as social media sites in the form of Twitter and Facebook and sites like YouTube in ways peoples lives have changed.

Reference:

P.Long & T.Wall (2012). Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. 

Panayiota Tsatsou. (2011). Digital divides. Media Culture & Society. 33 (2).