Globalization (American) or
globalisation (British) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of
world views, products, ideas and other aspects of
culture.
Advances in
transportation and
telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the
telegraph and its posterity the
Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further
interdependence of economic and cultural activities. This post will focus more on how the Internet and other advanced communication systems have made the world a global village whereby events on one part of the globe can be experienced by others at the same time but at a different location.
Globalisation is the ongoing process that is linking people, neighborhoods, cities, regions and countries much more closely together
than they have ever been before. This has resulted in our lives being
intertwined with people in all parts of the world via the food we eat,
the clothing we wear, the music we listen to, the information we get and
the ideas we hold.
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Image depicting integration of cultures, economies and lifestyle. |
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This interconnectedness amongst humans on the planet is
sometimes also referred to as the ‘global village’ where the barriers of
national and international boundaries become less relevant and the
world, figuratively, a smaller place. The process is driven
economically by international financial flows and trade,
technologically by information technology and mass media entertainment, and very significantly, also by very
human means such as cultural exchanges, migration and international tourism. As one commentator remarked, we now live in
a networked world.
However the ongoing debate about whether globalisation is a blessing or curse has made this concept questionable. The
digital divide explains the selective nature of globalisation since not all of the society have been intergrated into the global village.