From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
Limitations of Global Communication
Historically people have communicated globally thorough geographic proximity, military conquest, political alliances and economic change, however for thousands of years communities had little need for long distance communication because they lived close to one another. (Greig, 2000) Today communication is no longer restricted to a geographical place, with communication technologies connecting parts of the world together into an electronic web. (Frederick, 1993) However, according to Frederick, the continual expansion and influence of the global society faces two essential problems:
Firstly the control of global information and communication by transnational corporations
- Government monopolies still control a huge share of the world’s air waves and telecommunication flows. (Turner & Cunningham, 2002) Another limitation is the control of information and communication by a handful of immense corporations. (Wiseman, 1998) The primary reason this happens is that fully integrated corporate control of media production and distribution reaps vast profits and creates huge corporate empires, such as those belonging to Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch.
Secondly the increasing disparities between the world’s info-rich and info-poor populations.
- Between the rich and poor there are immense disparities in virtually every medium. The third world is penetrated by western media however they have little access of to forms of communication on a global scale. (Bhgavan, 1990). The percentages below are a representative of the disparities in the world of global communication. (Frederick, 1993)
• An estimated 95% of all computers are in developed countries
• Developing countries have ¾ of the world’s population, they can manage only 30% of the world’s newspaper output
• About 65% of the worlds population experiences an acute book shortage
• Readers of the New York Times consume more newsprint each Sunday than the average African does in a year
• The only third world country to meet UNESCO’s basic media standards for per capita numbers of newspapers, radio and cinema is Cuba.
• Only 17 countries in the world have gross national product larger than total US advertising expenditures.
• The USA and the commonwealth of independent states, with only 15% of the world’s population, use more than 50% of geostationary orbit
Not only is access to the internet a problem, but censorship also contributes to limitations of communication. One example of this is in China where technology is keeping internet users from viewing what the government label undesirable content. (Headline Series, 2004)
This occurs by the government blocking search engines like ‘
Google’ and ‘
Alta Vista’ and diverting users to less effective Chinese sites (Headline Series, 2004).
Belinda Dickson 16:26, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
References
- Bhagavan, M R.(1990) The Technological Transformation of the Third World:Strategies and Prospects, London:Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 0862328128
- Frederick, Howard ‘computer networks and the emergence of global civil society’ in Harasim,, Linda M (Ed) (1993) Global networks: computers and international communication. The MIT Press London. ISBN 0262082225
- Greig (2000). Globalisation. In Jureidini & Poole "Sociology: Australian Connections (2nd Ed)" Sydney:Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1865081507
- Headline Series (2004) "Reshaping World Communications" in Headline SeriesIssue 325: New York. pp 11-12.
- Turner & Cunningham ‘The media and communications in Australia today’ in turner & Cunningham (eds) (2002) The media and communications in Australia. Allen & Unwin: Australia. ISBN 1865086746
- Wiseman, J.(1998) Global Nation?:Australia and the Politics of Globalisation, United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press pp. 70-85 ISBN 0521592275
