Abstract
Globalization is not an isolated phenomenon, and it is not a self-happening process. The evolution of digital media has become the important catalyst to foster the globalization. The digital media has evolved as the factor that has given rise to both the positive and negative impact of the globalization. The enhanced communication among the people of the world has turned the whole world into a global village. The world today is categorized as a world of extensive connectivity along with global consciousness. Globalization and digital media have a quintessential role in influencing people positively and negatively. The globalization has become the part of peoples’ life and it is possible only by the development of the digital media and easy access to them.
Introduction
The development of new digital media has enhanced the communication between people around the world. Through the internet, the people have the freedom to express themselves via blogs, websites, or any other form of digital media. In terms of globalization, there is the significant effect of political, economic, and socio-cultural changes in one area or region of the world on various other regions or nations. The world today is categorized as a world of extensive connectivity along with global consciousness. Globalization and digital media have a quintessential role in influencing people positively and negatively. Today, the organizations are going international, and the digital media enables to transmit messages or programs to a large number of audience at a transnational level. This supports in enhancing the pace of globalization process and changes the social environment of people. Globalization is a part of daily life for people that influence their work, spare time, language, food, living style, etc. The advancement in the digital media such as satellite, the internet, etc. has increased the impact of such media on globalization process.
Discussion
Firstly, a digital media is a type of electronic media where data and information are stored in digital form. It can be of two forms i.e. a technical area of storing and transmitting data such as the hard drives or computer networking, or the end product for use such as digital audio, digital art, digital video, etc. These end products are used by the people according to their specific need. Considering the traditional digital media, the new digital media relates to the change in digital media where traditional media such as radio, television, etc. are uniting with new interactive media along with media for communication. The new digital media has been emphasized as it refers to a wide collection of changes in the form of digital media technology and is difficult to reduce to a single technical characteristic. The present digital media system relies on connecting the digital and online media along with print, analog or non-interactive form of digital media.
Additionally, the new digital media relates to cyberculture aided by computer technology, controlled by advanced software and developed with fast growing communication technology. The new digital media are characterized as being digital with features such as networkable, dense, compressible, interactive and impartial.
Some examples of new digital media could be internet, websites, digital media games, DVDs, etc. This sector has been a key interest of youngsters who are persuaded by getting information at any time or anyplace through such media by internet based terminals or mobile devices. This has facilitated them to receive information at any time without the need to wait for information to be distributed.
Some digital media have brought enhanced hype in the market such as news portals, internet blogs, online news, Facebook, YouTube, webcast and even short text messaging services. Such advancement has empowered people to become journalists, reporters, tutors, etc. at little cost and wide global outreach. A revolution like this was beyond imaginable in the past.
An example of the impact of digital media was witnessed by the Malaysian government after losing the two-thirds majority in the Parliament during 2008 elections. The government was based on traditional digital media to control information to the electorate while the opposition relied on new digital media which was a cheaper and faster medium to reach to a larger audience. It was the government who spent millions of ringgit to develop the new technologies but was basing itself on traditional models.
New digital media is a union of digital art, science, and technology which supports human expression, communication, and interaction. Traditionally, the digital media was not much different from analog media except that it was easy to transmit, create and copy. It could be stored and downloaded in media like DVD. The popularity of mobile gadget, iPods, etc. has enhanced the experience of audio or video which can be used anytime and anywhere. The new digital media is a real-time creation of new and unregulated contents.
The new digital media signals the growth of a global culture which focuses on information and accessibility of information to be a crucial factor in determining power and prosperity. It is a transnational system that goes beyond the traditional national barriers and institutions and enables people to acquire knowledge with a press of a few buttons.
Secondly, globalization refers to the process of interacting and integrating various people, companies, and governments of several nations which is driven by international trade, investment, and information technology. The process of globalization affects the culture, environment, political scenario and economic development all around the world. It is not a new process. It had been in subsistence for several years when geographically dispersed people traded with each other.
It is the process of international integration coming from the exchange of world views, products or ideas. It relates to the worldwide interchange of national as well as cultural resources. The tremendous rise of globalization can be attributed to growth in telecommunication and transportation, development of the internet, etc. which enhanced the interdependence among nations for economic as well as cultural activities. Globalization does not hinder the private interest of member states but will increase their obligation and commitment to integrate themselves towards international organizations (Schirato & Webb, 2003).
The drastic changes in international level policies, agreements, and technological advancement have increased transnational trade, investment opportunities and migration rate which suggests a new era for economic development around the world. It has been observed that world trade increased by twenty times in 1950, and foreign investment doubled from $468 billion to $827 billion from 1997 to 1999. Comparing with earlier globalizations, the current globalization is faster, cheaper and deeper in nature. The current trend of globalization resulted from policies that opened economies domestically and internationally. There are several countries in the world adopting free market economy which enhanced their domestic potential and formed new opportunities for trade and investment. The governments have also encouraged cross-border trades through reduced barriers to commerce and formed international agreements to foster investments. A key feature of globalization today is an international industrial and financial business structure.
There are more than 250 countries on the planet. Each country has its own culture, education, policy, etc. The world is becoming a global village where distance and isolation among people are being decreased by electronic and digital media. Due to the internet, the physical distance barrier among people does not have any effect on the communication among people which had led to openness in the web. People can easily interact and share common interests in online communities. It develops a unified global community.
Globalization is categorized based on the economic, political, cultural and technological ground. Economic globalization relates to the economic interdependence among different nation across the world via cross-border mobility of raw materials, goods, services, technology, and capital. It includes globalization of production, markets, technologies, etc. There are reduced barriers to trade, low tariffs, increase quotas, etc. There can also be social globalization to the interchange of ideas, language and culture across the world. Technological globalization has provided an efficient tool for grabbing economic opportunities with informed analyzing of economic trends, transferring of assets, collaborating with partners. Political globalization relates to political activities beyond the state affairs i.e. in organizations such as European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, etc. The political activities also work beyond national borders through NGOs and global movements. Cultural globalization occurs with the transfer of ideas, values and language beyond the national border. This creates a new type of social relationship outside the border. It creates shared norms and knowledge among people who make collective identities and connections among various population and culture.
There is a direct relation between the increasing pace of globalization and the enhancement of digital technology and internet. The development and transmission of information and communication technologies have been a key aspect of increasing globalization. The internet is the network of networks which enables global communication for building a network and economic ties (McDonald, 2002). It creates an incentive for continuous improvement of communication which reduces cost and enhances ease of communication. This brings opportunities to connect with people all over the world.
There has been a drastic impact of new digital technology on globalization. From the economic perspective, Adam Smith had initially stated in his work “The Wealth of Nations” regarding the benefits of the free market economy to the society (Al-Ghazzi, 2013). The globalization and digitalization have further defined the part of the globe which holds the economic power. According to an article by business journalist Preetam Kaushik, the globalization along with digitalization is reshaping the developing world. Western nations are trading with Asian countries for a long time. However, the new digital economy focuses on countries like India, China, and the Philippines for outsourcing major units of giant firms in order to do menial tasks for the developed countries. The companies in the developed world are entirely focusing on innovation and expansion. But, the developing world is also benefitting from such transfer of work due to the growth in consumptions and overall growth in the economies.
A World Bank study has provided evidence that the increase in telecommunication networks such as the internet or mobile services will lead to great economic growth in low and middle-income countries. The developing world has enhanced its opportunities due to the growth in telecommunications such as broadband Internet penetration. In the case of China, it has been promoting broadband services to the urban population. It has been accounted that two-third of China’s population have not joined online media yet. It has a great growing potential which already accounts for 30% of the online retail business.
The new digital media also affects the international business scenario. The platform provided by the social media such as Skype, Facebook, etc. has enabled free and globalized personal communication system. It has formed new communities among people across the globe. There are wide opportunities for a simple micro business to turn into a multinational enterprise with the help of online commerce. Even in a single day, trillions of dollars’ worth of commodities and financial instruments are bought and sold throughout the world with the help of online platforms (Rantanen, 2005).
For instance, 1200 to 2400 Dress World is an online shop which imports good from India and Pakistan and operates its business towards Bangladeshi customers. Due to the emergence of new digital media, small businesses are able to work internationally.
In case the internet is to shut down, it would take down the global financial markets along with banks, large commercial ventures, etc. These institutions have a high dependence on online networking which helps them to run their business smoothly and manage their supply chain. The multinational companies perform several of their functions through the internet which has enabled them to go beyond their traditional operation in search for diversified market opportunities.
An example of IBM, it employs more than 400,000 employees. But out of them, only 105,000 are living in the USA. Its global procurement operations are based in China, and its data processing and accounting functions are in India, Brazil, and the Philippines. However, the developing economies are not centered merely on low-cost labor and manufacturing rather they have established their own multinationals to capture the global market. A joint venture of South Africa and United Kingdom Vodacom had grown to be a wireless operator that works in more than 70 countries.
The digital media has enabled companies to operate faster through quick decision making and drawing consumer solutions. The companies are able to grab instant information and provide promotional offers through email, social networking websites, etc. The businesses can reach more consumers than they previously could. A simple promotional offer or discount can lead to several likes and following in Facebook, which leads to increased sales with a click of a button. It also refers to the other way around process where consumers show their dissatisfaction through negative comments on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. The digital media is taken as a platform to complain which can be seen by other people as well.
These new digital media technologies could be an asset for any business. It provides a competitive advantage to the businesses globally. Globalization does not center only on exchange of goods and services but also on ideas and solutions which make the world a global village (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 1999).
A prominent example of merging the digital media and the globalization could be seen in HealthNet. It is a networked information service which provides support to health-care workers in more than 30 countries. It was initially used by doctors in Central Africa to communicate information in 1995 regarding the outbreak of Ebola. It is now used by malaria researchers in Ghana to communicate with health care units in London School of Tropical Medicine (Slater, 2013).
The drastic impact witnessed due to the emergence of digital media was on culture and social relationships. As a result of cultural globalization, there is an increment in cross-cultural contacts. The uniqueness of one community is now available in every corner of the world. For instance, Sushi and Coca-Cola are found all around the world. Globalization and digital media have enabled the music of a local region to reach to the global market for new ideas and sound. Globalization expanded the scope of new genres such as World fusion, Global fusion, Ethnic fusion, etc. For example, the international breakthrough of PSY’s Gangnam style was huge and stayed on top of the chart for six months.
The new digital media help people to access several new ways to access news, entertainment, and interaction. It provides a new way of expression, new ideologies, and new forms of destructive activities.
The new digital media has also affected social relations directly by breaking the need for physical relation to building social relationships. Today, social relationships are created through virtual communities which eliminate geographical boundaries. Even in virtual communities, people engage in intellectual discussions, exchange ideas and arguments, engage in idle talk, fall in love, etc. The growing trend of social networking such as Facebook and MySpace, emails, chat rooms, etc. are bringing a new and fast medium of communication. There are other forms of digital communication such as search engines, newsgroups, etc. which bring all kind of people together irrespective of their age, sex or cultural background (Hutton & Fosdick, 2011).
Furthermore, the impact can also be seen in international tourism. Globalization has made tourism a popular activity during free time. As reported by WHO, there are up to 500, 000 people on a flight at any given time. The new digital media like cell phones, Tablet with GPS system, has developed tourism even further. People are more intrigued to know different cultures not only during their leisure but also to expand their businesses, to look for market perspective, etc.
The new digital media enables the localization. This helps for consumers to search for locally available goods and services. The use of mobile applications helps to sort nearby restaurants, to get a taxi, to locate a shopping mall, banks, gas station, etc. There was a high audience engagement found if the Facebook pages of brands such as Nike, Starbucks, etc. were more localized.
There is also a significant impact on political and social activism with the growth of new digital media. With the rise of new digital media which allows free flow of information, there were cases of leaders being overthrown from power due to civil unrest in countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa. The Arab Spring Protest of 2011 was followed by three million tweets, many YouTube content, and thousands of blog posts (Matei, 2004).
In several Eastern countries, there is resistance to open free flow of information among citizens and businesses. Such countries are criticized for being short-sighted and can lead to decrease their national economic growth. In the Western world, digital technology has alerted business and political leaders by making sensitive governmental and personal information available to the public.
Conclusion
The new digital technologies brought a new shift in the control of information, experience and resources. People share all types of information from a food critic, movie reviews, and photos to terrorist attacks and natural calamities. There is a universally interconnected network of various forms of communication which hinders the distinction between personal and mass communication.
However, there are negative impacts of new digital media on globalization as well. The freedom of expressions such as tweets, photos, and raunchy emails has led to political scandals. There is a powerful entity formed called WikiLeaks to humiliate government and complicate relationship among nations. It is a non-profit organization which publishes information on private, secret and classified media from anonymous sources, and whistleblowers. It has impacted the relationship between several nations by publicizing confidential information.
There has also been a rise in illicit international trade. The black market and smuggling activities are working at an international level. The crimes are more organized and coordinated through digital technology. There has been a significant rise in the drug trade, smuggling, and trafficking. The digital media has enhanced the difficulty to catch the criminals behind such illegal activities.
References
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