Global Communications in the Global Society

The emergence of global communications and culture has both pros and cons. I do believe many of the cons may be due to where one lives in the world. Communications/ media are a very powerful tool that can be underestimated. There is a huge disparity between the global North and South when it comes to global communications. Media can have a profund influence on societies and help them become more competitive with the rest of the world. Information and the media is a very powerful tool and I believe underestimated by many. Media do and can control what people believe and think about certain issues. Information can be used against governmnest as well, by foredign governments, NGO’s or domestic political opponents. Governments, especially repressive ones, fear the fre flow of inoformaiton... (Goldstein, pg 358). Media unfortunately affects almost everyone from China to Russia and even the United States. People get the majority of their information from the media/TV, and internet .China’s government filters the internet and text messages. A recent article reported in the NY Times on Nov. 26th reported that Russian government is interfering with the media and influencing people by using it as propaganda. Al Qaida has been using al Jazeera to communicate with the United States. In the United States most media outlets are owned by huge corporations that have a stake in how and what is reported. Media has the ability to choose and decide how to report the “news.” News is very subjective and is chosen to give a shock value. Most of the stories in the United States are chosen for ratings and how to get the most reaction out of the public. Unfortunately some real news makes are often left unnoticed because they won’t get the reaction media was hoping for. Politics also plays a role in the media. News agencies make sure that they report things in the right light so they will get the story. The corporations that own the media outlets also have a stake on what is reported. If it is something to do with one of their companies the media report the story in a better light for the public. Media will decide whether they thing the story is important to the public. In many countries the government decides what is said and how the story is written. People that are not as educated believe what they hear and don’t look for other truths. In the international society some countries will alter stories and create anti western campaigns, along with blocking broadcasts or altering information. This gives people falsified information and unfortunately they don’t know the real truths.
The digital divide is the gap in the ability to access information technologies within countries. A person living in the global North is four times as likely as a person in the global South to have a land line or cell phone, and eight times as likely to use the Internet. This gap, along with the gap in access to information technologies within counties, is known as the digital divide (Goldstein, pg 356). People in the global south cannot afford computers but the internet can help transform poor villages by helping them market globally (Goldstein pg 357). The project One Laptop per Child is a great way to introduce laptops to the Global south it allows them to have access to a computer. These computers can be hand powered, and can provide education for adults and children. I believe this can be a successful program.

References
Goldstein & Pevehouse (2007). International Relations (Brief 2008-2008 edition). New York, NY: Pearson Longman

References: Goldstein & Pevehouse (2007). International Relations (Brief 2008-2008 edition). New York, NY: Pearson Longman