Globalization, technicity and the digital divide

Globalization is the way to describe the spread and connections of production, communications and technologies around the world. This includes the like of McDonalds and Nike who have spread their influence around the globe to turn in huge revenues. The result of this globalization has been the merging of economic and cultural activity across borders. What's a nation again?
The World Bank, the European Central bank and the IMF are at the forefront of promoting this integration to the world through various means. They say they want to create a global free market for goods and services to help economies. This political project championed by the likes of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown can have the effect of damaging poorer nations such as the ones in Africa where the IMF has entered.

The benefit for a country being online is that they are more likely to prospore as they are interconnected to the outside world. More services will be available for that country to use and take advantage of. If the infrastructure of a country isn't set up to handle the internet, then businesses are unlikely to move in as they do not have the facilities to produce an effective business location or plant. We can see this in Africa where the total usage of the internet is 6.2% as opposed to the rest of the world. The company's in Africa are mainly mining things like gold or rail works which are built by the Chinese.
We can see that countries in Africa who have taken to accepting IMF loans on the pretence of it helping the nation have actually done the opposite. It would seem that the IMF has harmed growth in these nations that actually help it grow. "Twentyeight African countries had per capita GDP under $1 per day in the 1990s, and only 15 reached levels above $3 per day in 1995 dollars. Fourteen African countries               
had higher real per capita GDP in 1980 than in 2000. Meanwhile, during those two decades foreign debt rose from half the GDP to 1.2 times the GDP, and the average African country’s dependence on development assistance increased, surpassing 10% of the GDP. Since 1990, 35 African countries have spent a total of 205.5 years in IMF programs, participating on average 45% of the time. Africa has become paradigmatic for critics from both sides of the political spectrum who argue that IMF programs are harmful rather than beneficial (Easterly 2001; Stiglitz 2002)."

From the IMF track record it doesn't seem like they do a very good job of helping economic recovery. Good luck Greece! Maybe you should have taken Iceland's stance and let your currency collapse rather than taking the IMF bullet. Greece like Ireland has more or less lost it's sovereignty to the IMF. Because of the large loans the country's have took on their shoulders, they now have to impose heavy austerity measures, resulting in a shrinking of the economy, loss of jobs and lower wages. There is no money for prosperity when all of your taxes are going toward's paying off the loan or maybe loan's. No business will move to a failing economy or leave the business inside to ruin. That's why we see the west and more over the east in better economic positions. Maybe this is the curse of globalization, let some prospore and others suffer.

Politicians and governments have promised that this new world order of globalization will have to open up and free the market for trade, whilst also trying to keep the west from falling under due to the emerging economies of the East. This is supposed to bring with it, higher wages, creation of jobs whilst helping companies stay stable. All though saying this we can really see the opposite happening. Companies have been moving abroad to places in the East like china where they can get very cheap labour, it's basically slave labour, leaving the original place of manufacturing without work. A company called Foxconn in China has installed suicide nets because of the amount of people jumping off the building because of work conditions. Company's like apple, Nintendo and HP use these facilities.  

  Tony Blair struggles through a answer and basically says it doesn't matter if you don't want globalization, it's  going to happen.

We have a digital divide today between different parts of the world and with in a local level to. Depending on your geographical location in the world, you may not have access to computers as they are distributed unequally, priced to high as well as the constant rapid pace in change of technology, leaving you behind. There is also a divide between the younger generation and older generation. The younger are more likely to use computers, smartphones and tablets to access the internet to feel the benefits. At least the older generation won't get square eyes! There is also a social divide though between segments of the communities though as the rich can afford the best digital equipment you can buy, enabling them to keep up to date with the rapid change in technology as opposed to the poorer segment who gets their uncles nokia 3310.

“The general trend in both the developed and developing countries is that while the poorer people only get them as a result of the ‘trickle-down’ effect when prices of computer and Internet connection become affordable” p. 127, Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media

We can see a digital democratic divide to. The internet is a great place to organize activism such as groups like Occupy wall street and the arab spring. In democracy's (and I use that term lightly), we are allowed to do this most of the time, to band together and organize an event. Where as places such as Egypt can have their internet turned off in an instance.

“With modernity, mechanical models of physical and social life gave way to models centred on the production and maximization of life itself, including the coupling of the body and machines in new ways, in factories, schools, hospitals, and family homes“

(Escobar 2000:58)

In p. 15– Jon Dovey and Helen Kennedy, Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media

The birth of computers, smartphones and tablets and other devices has the changed the mould of society and  has changed the way a society can unite. We are now connected with each other and can share thoughts and ideas with people from all over the world. People with the same interests and who use these devices can now "maximize life" by connecting together like never before. It is because of this globalization that this has only just begun. Global movements like "occupy" were motivated by our governments decisions but also because of our habit of using technology to spread and read information.

A reflection on Digital culture

This module has made me realize that we need to analyze and look at the digital world as a culture and understand where the direction of this culture is leading us. It would seem that some areas in the digital culture may not be progressing towards a positive outcome. Before taking this unit I was aware of some of the issues that were raised but didn't really look at the whole picture and bring it together. I have come to realize that the digital world is engulfed in everything that we do even though we may not realize it. It would seem that the digital world and the real world are blurring together and will one day become a singular from so it will redefine the phrase "digital world".

One of the most fascinating topics I covered for me was Robotics and development issues, cyberwarfare and cyborgs. I previously had some small knowledge about how robots were being used in war and the digital devices being used for humans but I didn't realize until studying the topic just how big the scale was in which robotic systems are taking over war and our body's. In the last 50 years robots have accelerated massively, taking over the battlefield, domestic chores, automotive, assembly and food packaging and production. I still think this is a massive problem because no one seems to care that these systems, all though great for productivity and execution, are dwindling job opportunities for people looking for work. For example, we always see in the news that car manufactures are laying people off because they don't want to pay them as it's cheaper for them to use robots to do the same job. These people then have no job and then get sucked into the  benefit system with no escape. It's not like the government will help, they aren't exactly looking after the economy as they should and building jobs. A government full of multi-millionaires seems to be out of touch with the common folk.

I think this is one of the most important areas to look at when studying digital culture. We need to find a solution so that the digital industry does not take away jobs from the average joe. I think we need to be also wary of how much we embrace digital culture, we need to detach and see the world for what it is otherwise we may end up like one of Kevin Warwick's heartless cyborgs, living a lonely existence.  

In conclusion I would like to say that digital culture is a key module for me whilst studying Journalism. I did not realize before starting this course how important this topic would be but I was pleasantly surprised that it covered many of my interests. In the future, many things we have discussed will be at the forefront of debate in which we will have to decide how to move forward with technology.

The Digitization Of Your Money

The internet has transformed the way we use our money. The digitalization of money has given us, credit cards, debit cards, systems like paypal, e-money and worst of all, a contribution to an increase of debt. Of course some of the things that have come out of this digitalization have been a good thing but on the other hand there are downsides as usual like killing the way people pay with cheques which is being stopped in 2018.

Most people these days will walk around shops today without any money in their pocket or withdraw only the amount of money they will need to purchase the item they desire. It's great for card users because you are not limited by the specific amount of money in your pocket. They are also a great benefit as they have less chance of losing loose money and it also means if you get your wallet stolen, the thief will be able to steal a small amount of cash unless they know how to use debit/credit cards to acquire the information they need to withdraw the money.  Many pose the question, do we spend more with plastic rather than if we had the money in our hand? Personally, I know that I spend more money with my card as I get older. I don't really think about the funds I have in the bank and if I will have enough money to pay that next big bill. Small amounts of money are easier for us to spend than large ones. The larger bill is an after thought.

Art Markman, Ph.D, cognitive scientist at the University of Texas says
"Richard Feinberg explored the link between credit cards and spending in a 1986 article in the Journal of Consumer Research. He varied whether people could see credit card logos while they were making purchases or leaving restaurant tips. People left higher tips and indicated that they would be willing to spend more for products when they could see a credit card logo at the time than if they could not.

In addition, people may pay less attention to prices when they are paying by credit card than when they are paying by cash. For example, the article by Prelec and Simester cites an unpublished study by Dilip Soman suggesting that people are less likely to remember the amount they spent on a purchase when they pay with a credit card than when they pay with cash".


Credit/Debit cards have also transformed the way we shop in the way that we buy and sell things. The internet has enabled anyone to buy anything online from anywhere in the world if you have a card, well you could mail a cheque but that isn't so popular. This has opened up the world to the average consumer who may of had to travel to great lengths to acquire the item they desire before hand. As well as this, company's like Ebay and Amazon which wouldn't actually exist if wasn't for online transactions so it had created a market which was not present before hand. This has increased our debt largely though.
"The typical family debt, excluding mortgages, has increased by 48% to £7,944, equating to just under a third of average annual household take-home income, Aviva's Family Finances report said".
Even though we have been hit with austerity cuts this hasn't slowed down our thirst for the luxury's we want and the figures show it. Although the main contributor making us get into to debt is the soaring prices of services, food and oil making many turn to credit cards with high interests.

The digitalization of money has also created new ways to use money. On the web we now have e-money(electric money) which some company's take advantage of to sell and buy their services. Sites like Ebay do not use normal currency to transfer money between the buyer and seller but use a service called paypal. It eliminates the danger of your details from your cards been stolen as the paypal account has credits in which equal the money you put into it.

"PayPal is a safer, faster, more secure way to pay online – your financial details are never shared. We remember everything for you, safeguarding your bank, credit or debit card details.
You can use PayPal to pay for items on eBay, or at any of the thousands of retailers that accept PayPal".

Online shopping though great, also opens the door for opportunists who seek to steal your credit/debit card. Some hackers create phishing sites which are sites which look like the legitimate site you wanted to visit. For example you may want to visit your bank online and click on  an email your receive, unbeknown to you it a fake site waiting for you to enter your card details. So the invention of the credit card has opened up new ways for people to steal your money. They also make them for sites like paypal so that isn't really safe either. This is not to say though that email providers are not stepping up to protect you. They now have phishing detectors which will notify you of any scams. Total fraud losses on UK debit and credit cards fell by 28% between 2008 and 2009 to £440.3 million says the BBC.