LANDSCAPING THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

Over the last century, efforts have been made to bring various countries together. Efforts
have been applied to enable human beings on different parts of the world to come together in all
aspects of life which includes economic, social, environmental and political. At present times,
the world has been visualized as being a global village, where the interactions of the people in
the world, has been of equivalent to the interaction in one village or locality. Almost all parts of
the world are interconnected to the rest of the world in different ways. Barriers, which initially
isolated countries, have been removed. Higher levels of integration has been achieved. This is
known as globalization.
Globalization is the process of interaction and integration where people, businesses, and
governments of different countries come into increasing contact with one another. It is the
growing interdependence of world’s societies. This process is driven by technology, international
trade, and investment and it has its impact on the environment, culture, economic development,
political systems, and the general well- being of humans.
As stated, globalization has various effects. In fact during these days and even in the
previous years, it has become a controversial issue that is widely debated in the public sphere.
One of the main areas that globalization has affected greatly is the access of communication.
Understanding whether its benefits outweigh the negative effects that it has brought on different
parts of the globe is a difficult thing to ponder on. And this paper aims to examine what went
good in having wider communication and information access.
Have you ever heard the song “It’s a Small World”? If you’ve never heard the tune, the
gist of the song is that people all over the world share similarities, and despite living in different
corners of a vast world, we are all connected. There’s so much that we share.
It’s a pretty simple way to convey a concept that has grown in popularity, and
functionality, since the song was first written by the Sherman Brothers in the early 1960s, a
period of time that also saw the prediction of a concept known as the global village. Let me
introduce you to Marshall McLuhan.
A prominent communications theorist and educator, Herbert Marshall McLuhan was born
in Canada on July 21, 1911, studying at multiple universities in his home country before
becoming a lecturer at the University of Toronto. His prediction of a global village, in the early
1960s, which first appears in his book The Gutenberg Galaxy, drew scorn from his
contemporaries at the time (Britannica.com). Nine years after his death, the introduction of the
internet in 1989 made McLuhan’s theories to be remembered by the people and showed renewed
interest in his ideas.
The global village prediction of McLuhan describe a phenomenon of the world becoming
more interconnected as the result of the propagation of media technologies throughout the world.
His belief was that the world was entering a fourth “age” he called the electronic age, where
people everywhere would be able to find and experience the same information through
technological tools. His studies on trends in technology, and how communication was affected,
helped him develop his hypotheses about the future, and how innovations such as the coming of
the internet would impact individuals, businesses and nations as a whole (study.com).
This idea of McLuhan is evident nowadays. We are currently in a new era of technology,
one that we have many names for: the internet, the web, cyberspace, information superhighway
and many more. These recent developments have concretized global communication paving the
way to innumerable means of communication. Connecting with people on the other side of the
world is now much easier than it was a few years ago. People no longer have to wait for years,
months, weeks and days to receive an information or message because e-mails, tweets and
personal messages can reach the recipient in just a matter of second. We can now access
different information regardless of distance in just a click. This is what McLuhan meant. “Time
has ceased and space has vanished.” Technologies was rapidly integrating the planetꟷ events in
one part of the world could be experienced from other parts in real time, which is what human
experience was like when we lived in small villages.
Living in the global village has offered opportunities to mankind. One of these is
providing business opportunities (Ahmed 2018). Many companies today hire employees that are
located in other countries. Using communication vehicles such as video calling make it simple
to converse with colleagues across the globe, almost making it feel as if they are in the same
room. Technology also makes it easier to connect with suppliers and customers all over the
world, and to streamline those relationship through improves ordering, shipment tracking and
so on. With this kind of communication technology, many businesses are able to take
advantage of opportunities in different countries or cities, improving the economic outlook on
a global level. It makes everyone's operations more modern and efficient, regardless where
they are located thus, increasing productivity.
Also, e-commerce become prevalent. Having internet connections, we can now see a
growing number of customers with a buy-now mind set. Online shopping and buying through
smart devices went into mainstream naturally. An array of options made consumers compare
the prices in stores around the world from the comfort of their couch. In fact, past surveys from
Safe Home Products show that, “eighty-nine percent of consumers prefer online shopping to
store shopping. This provided convenience for some because it saves time and money instead
of shopping in stores that takes up more time and effort to get something.
Furthermore, real time communication provided us with opportunities where we can
talk with our relatives or loved ones wherever they are. Instant messaging, video chats, etc. are
all available. In addition, it gave us the opportunity to build new kind of communities, virtual
ones where we can participate with others around the world and have the chance to talk, to
exchange ideas and feelings and to create objects in the virtual environment. Because modern
world sometimes produces feelings of isolation and despair, people turn to the internet for
anonymous discussions on newsgroups and confidential counselling.

Moreover, the world becomes more accessible and equitable in general (Baxter, 2018).
Search engines, e-books, online courses and other virtual education give more people the
ability to learn about subjects that used to require a certain level of income or social
positioning. Information isn’t as restricted and it allows us the opportunity not only to receive
information but to enter into academic spaces and contribute ideas. Globalization creates a
space for ideas to transcend borders and social strata.

In spite of these benefits that globalization has provided, it also impose some problems
with how information is interpreted by a vast number of people and has provided real time
misinformation.

Now the communication is through a new language of computers and social media
speak necessary for the global village. The blog and social media are replacing the printed
word and even radio and television. The problem is the volume, variety, and multiple sources
of information demand better skills at separating the truth from fiction.

Author and medical doctor Michael Crichton identified this challenge in a 2003 address
to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco (Kuskis, 2016). When he was asked to talk about
what he considered the most important challenge facing mankind, his fundamental answer is
that, the greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from
fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind,
but in the information age it takes on a special urgency and importance. He thinks of the
information age as disinformation age.

Fake news, or disinformation, is not a new phenomenon. On a survey conducted by the

Center for International Governance Innovation, it shows that 86% of internet users have been
duped by fake news- most of to be prevalent on Facebook, but also appears on YouTube, blogs
and Twitters (Inquirer.net). And according to a recent BuzzFeed analysis , with the rise of
digital media today, fake news spreads easily and quickly. Disinformation spreads faster than
real news (Silverman, 2016).

Globalization and commercialization of fake news are serious issues. The things that
are supposed to be helping people connect and enable understanding are becoming tools for
creating chaos and influencing unjustifiably behaviours. With the help of the internet and
translation, foreign governments, state actors or a group of skilled individuals are able to
influence the affairs of another state. Through the collection of social media data and
translation, there are companies that are able to offer fake news as a global product that can be
instrumental in political campaigns and many other issues. And there’s no doubt that the
propagators of fake news are clever and crafty. They know how to muster rights and freedoms
as their defence. Also, ordinary individuals are able to create news that are misleading to the
public with the intention of gaining popularity which is evident in our country. Taking as an
example, few weeks after the Corona Virus Disease outbreak, many misleading information
regarding the status of the disease such as being an airborne even if it does not have spread
over the social media platforms which created panic and confusion.

In this connection, I believe that campus journalism, being well- grounded on ethics and
having that kind of power to galvanize public opinion and to put an end to unjust, unwise and
unlawful practices in the society has a vital role in promoting moral principles and values in
social media. Considering the fact that journalists have the powerful instrument in their hands,
we should realize the actual role of the press which is really significant in crusading against all
these misconducts and offenses sprawling in social media, in campaigning for lawful and
conscientious use of these forms of media, and in publishing useful information which could
help in eliminating these ills dominating the global villageꟷ cyberspace.

But of course, if it’s our vision to attain all these things, we should start it from ourselves.
We must be first imbibed with standards and ethics. Observing fairness and honesty in anything
that we compose, comment and pose over the internet is absolutely a very good start to consider
in championing ethics in social media. We must also be cautious of what we do in the virtual
world. Instead of insinuating hatred among members of a particular group, be respectful of
other people’s belief. Do not make ignorant prejudices against anyone just because it does not
fit your own. Also, in a world full of bashers, do not participate in cyberbullying. Moreover, in
crafting our stories and article, we should not neglect infusing positive values and good- hearted
opinions because it have a strong impact on the people who can see it. In this way, we somehow
prevent them from performing unlawful use of the social media.

Globalization has too much to offer. But we must not forget that we are also accountable
for whatever effects it may bring in our lives because we’re the one who can put control in
everything that we do. It’s not yet too late for us to keep back the previous landscape of the
global village. We can embrace the innovations brought about by globalization; however, we
should not turn our back to the long- established and time- honoured ethics that keep, not only
the cyber world, but also our actual world, in order.