What a small world it is.
How many times have you discovered that you have a mutual friend or personal connection to a person whom you have just met? After some small chit chat with this unlikely stranger, a revelation unfolds and you discover that they have a cousin whose daughters-friends-husband was your Kindergarten teacher back in 2002! In an instant, the two of you have forged a personal connection, leaving you to respond with that all too cliche phrase “What a small world!”
Prior to the emergence of the Internet, such connections with unlikely strangers probably occurred every now and then, perhaps when two people from similar areas had a coincidental run in and started talking.
However, with the emergence of globalisation, the idea of the world being ‘small’ can be appreciated on a whole other level.
As suggested by O’Shaughnessy and Stadler (p.458) globalisation refers to an “international community influenced by technological development and economic, political, and military interests.” Its emergence has seen growth in global interactions, and is a social process characterised by a worldwide increase “in interdependence, interactivity and interconnectedness” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler p,458).
This idea can particularly be appreciated when considering how the international community participates online, interacting with various media platforms and with persons from all around the world. It seems that all one needs is a social media account and BAM they have the ability to reach or contact persons from the other side of the world.
As a consequence, globalisation has made it easier for cultural transactions to take place. The process has diminished (if not eradicated) previous barriers that would have normally restricted disparate cultures to interact and connect with one another. No longer do facts of geography or ecology prevent intercultural communication; instead, persons are provided opportunities to engage with cultures outside their personal experience like never before (Appadurai 1990).
Consider Social Media and its role in means of global communication. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr etc. all provide users with the ability to interact and forge relationships with others, and can be considered a method of communication that has increased contact between cultures. These typical social media networks thrive on users expressing their personal experiences, stories and thoughts; and can consequent in persons from diverse backgrounds, contexts and cultures to become closer together and develop shared values and interests (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler). Marshall Mcluhan appreciated this idea, identifying that this sort of interaction is the kind that is embedded within ‘the global village’. The ‘global village’ suggests that “people of the world can be brought closer together by the globalisation of communication, no matter how far apart they may actually live” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler). This ultimately lead to globalisation being admired for allowing information to be shared and discussed and for voices to be heard and appreciated unlike ever before.
As a consequence, globalisation has given the international community the means to communicate and interact to an extraordinary extent. As the community’s ability to interact with diverse groups and cultures continues to grow, it seems the world is becoming more intimate, closer AND (to reiterate my original point) smaller.
REFERENCES:
Appadurai, A 1990, ‘Cultural Dimensions of Globalisation’, Disjunctive and Difference, pg 32.
georgettebarling 