Technologies and Globalization

I think globalization is one of the big and popular topics for people in recent years, and the development of new technologies played a great role to build a concept of “globalization.” That is because technologies enable us to have connectedness with others from all over the world and they make a easy and smooth flow of information and products. Technologies involve not only individuals, but also societies, cultures, and countries.

In Culture and Technology, it's interesting to see the question that Slack and Wise throw to the movement of globalization; how could a person know the technological development/ globalization succeeded? They write an example of India’s agricultural, educational, and development programs, and asking whether the programs culturally succeeded. When I hear the word, “development,” I usually understand it as a positive word. Every kind of development would bring benefits so that people would be satisfied and happy. But there might be a different effect besides the positive effect. The example of India’s programs makes me realized the importance of looking at the development with a more critical eye.

Slack and Wise also point out the activists of antiglobalization movements usually use technologies to illustrate their messages. Connectedness is the necessity for them and technologies accomplish the goal easily. In Afterword: why networks matter, Manuel Castells also talks about the use of technologies by networks of activists. Especially Internet is the place where the activists can form their networks, discuss about the issues, share their ideas, hold events, and advocate the opinions. Castells says that our society is worked by networks, and information and communication technologies are the contributors to the networks.

Through reading these texts, I’m surprised that how technologies are greatly relating to our society. Technologies are always around us and exist everywhere. While I’ve seen technologies as the ones that affect an individual, societies and countries are also linked to them and composed by them. I wonder if there is no technology like an internet, what kind of society is built in today’s world.