Pros And Cons Of The Global Divide

The Global Divide

People nowadays are able to interact and communicate with people from different countries all over the world because of technology. Through the use of Internet, people have become more aware of the new trends across countries, and they are easily educated because information dissemination has been made easier. This is made possible through globalization. James defines globalization as the process of interaction between people from one country to another and how they exchange goods, ideas, and culture and integrate different governments across national boundaries. As an instrument of globalization, the use of Internet resulted to interconnectedness and interdependence of the world. This technological revolution brought entire

The other two are the social divide and the democratic divide.The global divide refers to how the Internet is used in industrialization of developing societies (Webster 271). What Pippa Norris fears in the global divide is the fact that the Internet may increase disparities among countries (Webster 274). Considering that digital technologies have the ability to increase productivity and growth in the economy, countries like Sweden, Australia and the United States have the bigger chance of maintaining their edge compared to other countries in the years to come (Webster 274). Poor countries then are left behind, and though they try to join the digital world, there is a tendency that they may fail to catch up with the trends and productivity brought by it. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) argues that most of the world 's population is deprived of basic access to a telephone, computers, and other aspects of communication networks (qtd. in Webster 275). Because of the disparity in the distribution of information and communication technologies among countries, the United Nations fears that there would be problems of exclusion with regard knowledge and basic building blocks which are all necessary to develop a country 's economy (Webster 275). This is because technology is always associated with developing nations all over the world. Thus, Norris fears

Communication on a daily basis is also made easier because of e-mails and other instant messaging software and programs. People living in a certain country are able to experience the outside world. They become aware of the trends worldwide. Social media networks also mobilize and improve the society. Through the information the media provides, people’s freedom to form their own opinion is ignited. Thus, they become more participative most especially in the political decision makings. They become enlightened world citizens of their rights (Stevens). Aside from this, Internet has been used for various purposes. From the technological standpoint, Internet allows the two-way flow of information and culture of the different countries around the globe because content is distributed and received easily. With all the benefits provided by the Internet, it is important that societies have basic access to it. However, not all countries have equal access to parallel communications systems. As a result, there is the occurrence of global divide. Inequalities in information dissemination, most importantly in the aspect of developing a country’s economy continue to persist. Further, there are doubts as to how the Internet will strengthen the voice of those who cannot speak for themselves. There is also the fear that cultural imperialism will arise considering that the Internet plays a significant