globalisation & the digital social world

• What is globalisation

  • A process which has been going on for a very long time - it is the decline in national borders & increase in interconnectedness around the world.
• Globalisation

  • Communication & transportation have developed with great efficiency, so more & more people around the world have become connected
• Globalisation

  • The economy now has a global dimension, however globalisation isn't an even process - some parts of the world remain marginalised & often face inequality
• The internet

  • The internet was created in 1983 & is one of the most significant advances in communication technology - people can communicate without being close to each other
• Awa Tribe 


  An Indigenous people of Brazil living in the Amazon rainforest. There are approximately 350 members & 100 of them have no contact with the outside world. As nomads they carry the things the need with them as they move - bows & arrows, children. pets
• Giddens, Duneier and Applebaum (Increased interest in globalisation)


  If human history were the equivalent to the 24 hour day, not much would happen in the first 23 hours. Agriculture would change at 11:56, great civilisations would appear at 11:57 and modern societies would emerge at 11:59:30 - more change has taken place in the last 30 seconds that in the entire dayThe pace at which society is changing is faster than ever previously recognised.
• Wiseman (Increased interest in globalisation)

  The term 'globalisation' can be misused and misunderstood so it needs to be used carefully in sociology.
• Cochrane & Pain (Globalisation definition)

  The emergence of a global economic & cultural system which is incorporating the people of the world into a single global society
• Cohen & Kennedy (Globalisation definition)

  A series of transformations of the world including changes in the concept of time & space, interdependent economies increasing cultural interaction & increasing shared problems
• Giddens (Globalisation definition)


  Globalisation can be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away & vice versa
• The digital revolution


  Refers to the huge and rapid advances in technology which have changed people's lives over the past 10 years. We moved from being mechanical and analogue, to digital technology and communication. It has had a huge impact on the way information is stored as all new forms of communication are created by computer technology using programming systems meaning the information can be shared all around the world.
• New media 


  Refers to new forms of communication. Comes in two categories - Extension/development of existing platforms and New forms of digital platform
• Extensions/development of existing platforms

  Newspapers - now accessible online Satellite TV - people can now access TV through satellite or cable meaning a lot more ranges of information can be shown
• New forms of digital platform

  Phones Social media Internet Laptops Smart watches
• The global village


  Increase in digital communication has decreased the need for face to face communication. Time and distance is shrinking which creates the idea that the world is shrinking so people can maintain social relationships no matter how far away they are.
• Virtual communities


  A social network of individuals who create an online community which may or may not reflect their offline lives . They can cross social and geographical boundaries.
• Virtual communities can be seen in the form of 


  Message boards Online chat rooms Social networks Virtual worlds
• Carter (Cybercity)


  Virtual community with 1,062,072 usersLongitudinal study, 3.5 yearsParticipant observation & questionnaires & offline semi-structured interviewsCybercity is just another place to meet people with similar interests people are investing as much effort in maintains relationships in cyberspaces
• Boellstroff (Second life)


  One of the largest virtual worlds, residents create communities, buy properties, meet in bars & fall in love2 years of fieldwork, living among & observing its residentsPpt observations & interviewsExplores a range of issues & construction of identity- shows how virtual behaviour & can change ideas about identity & society
• Social networks and shaping communication

  Until recently many forms of social networks have existed in a face to face form - people meeting up with each other in person has been replicated by video chats on social networks, so people don't need to be together to do this.
• Relationships people have online


  Platonic Romantic Professional Parasocial
• Globalisation, economy and the employment

  The economy has changed through globalisation - you don't have to live in the country you're employed in - could be argued that unless a person has access to the internet and digital communication they're at a disadvantage.
• Network Global Society 


  In post-industrial society, the focus is on information as a result of new forms of communication. Those with access to information create social networks which result in greater employability and hierarchal status so results in increased social capital
• Castells (Network society)


  Interpretation of the impact of digital communication drawing upon Marxist ideasWe are moving into an age defined by information, significant change has occurred as a result of the evolution of new information technologiesSociety remains capitalist the focus has shifted from a focus on energy to information
• Media convergence 


  Refers to the 'way that the range of different kinds of information can be combined and delivered in one format'. Eg, images, texts and videos can all be accessed via one website.
• Media convergence


  Refers to the 'ways in which social media platforms are able to communicate with each other to share contacts', this has led to the convergence of various cultural ideas and economic markets expanding globally. Western capitalist ideas have become dominant across all forms of media, this has led to a combination of ideas to increase profit for the wealthy.
• Boyle (Media convergence)


  Explains how the process of digitalisation allows media convergence: these types of media can be accessed through one device
• Big data


  Refers to extremely large data sets which may be analysed digitally and non-digitally to reveal patterns and trends relating to human behaviour. This data is collected through commercial bodies/companies.
• Big data 


  In the past, information was stored on paper and only available to those who had access to it. Nowadays there are digital forms of almost everything
• Features of big data

  Volume, Velocity, Variety, Variability and Complexity
• Volume 


  Information can be stored for an infinite amount of time. Data streaming from social media is another source of data where more information is being collected. In the past, data storage was an issue, but as we have digitalised, storing it has become cheaper. From this other issues have emerged such as what to do with the data when it is no longer needed.
• Velocity


  Data is streaming at an unprecedented speed and must be dealt with promptly.
• Variety


  Data comes in all types of formats -structures in numeric data, unstructured text, documents, etc
• Variability


  Data flows can be inconsistent - a trend may become highly popular for a short time. When the time reaches its peak, it can be difficult to manage - more so with unstructured data.
• Complexity


  The data today comes for multiple sources an it is still difficult to link, match and transform data across systems as connecting relationships.
• Big data


  Big in terms of storage space it uses, but also due to the vast amount of people who talk about it, and the amount of opportunities it opens for people. There are debates about whether or not market research comes under Big Data.
• Social media and globalisation

  Social media is any form of digitally based platform for making, confirming or developing social networks globally
• Cyworld 


  Launched in Korea in 1999. This was created as a result of university students testing it out by using it to communicate with each other, within 6 months it had half a billion years.
• Social media 


  Has many qualities of the postmodern world - users can increase their individualisation by personalising their information.
• Facts about social media platforms

  Tiktok has 800 million active users worldwide The average internet user has 8.6 media accounts 3.2 billion photos and 720,000 hours of video are shared per day across social media 48 % of instagram's global users are female 10 % of twitter users are responsible for 92 % of tweets