Smartphones, the internet, nuclear, and oppression are all terms that can be used to describe the interconnection between globalization and technology. Can you see how they are related?
In the late 90s, my family and I moved away from our hometown.
We moved to a whole different province, actually. I had just hit my teen years and had to leave all of my friends, friends who I knew for many years.
But even though we were over 1000 km apart, we were still able to keep in touch, thanks to technology.
There was this app called ICQ back then (all my 90s kids know) that I used to chat with all of my faraway friends.
We also talked on the phone too.
But if it weren’t for all this new and innovative tech, we wouldn’t have been able to do this; we wouldn’t be able to easily communicate with each other.
I would have had to send handwritten letters just to see if my friend watched the latest wrestling match.
Nowadays, technology allows you to get in contact with anyone in the world.
And not just via text.
You can video chat with people with a single tap of a button.
Business leaders do this all the time when they have to conference call partners from different countries.
However, this is just one example of how globalization and technology are interconnected.
The Flaws of Globalization and Technology
So far, the relationship between technology and globalization has sounded pretty good, right?
But one of its biggest flaws is that it’s not accessible to everyone (some tech also harms the environment, but I digress).
The vast majority of Americans have access to the newest tech.
They have smartphones and laptops and the internet, and all that good stuff.
But most people living in third-world nations do not. And this is problematic.
The reason why is because if there is civil unrest, for example, the citizens won’t be able to broadcast the facts to the rest of the world. They also wouldn’t be able to organize rallies and demonstrations.
An American would only be able to get information about what’s going on there from state-run media, which most of the time is propaganda.
As a result, the citizens won’t be able to get the international help and support that they need.
An Example of how this Interconnection Is Used to Oppress
In 2011, Egyptian demonstrators used social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to organize demonstrations.
They wanted to call out the leader at the time, Hosni Mubarak, for his injustices. They fought against “poverty, corruption, and political repression” in the state.
As a result, they were able to force him out of power.
However, during that same time, in Syria, demonstrators weren’t able to use much of the same technology to their advantage.
Their government either blocked it or was using it to spy on them.
Instead, the protestors had to spread the word via word of mouth or instant messaging.
But, as you can probably tell, this way is much harder to reach masses of people.
And as a result, these demonstrations were not as successful because they didn’t have free and open access to communication technology.
Again, this is a way globalization and technology are linked. The others include:
- Energy crisis
- Nuclear accidents
- Regional disparity
Conclusion
Globalization and technology affect everyone around the world.
They allow us to communicate with people thousands of kilometres away. But it can also be used to oppress masses of people.
So what can be done to create more tech equality? How has technology allowed you to connect with others from around the globe?