I’d like you to ask yourself, how often do you learn something online? Whether it be via an online news page, or via a social media platform… Has your new and improved technological device allowed you to do so? Is this modern trend of being a “scroll head” actually informing you and your fellow peers? Surely you feel encouraged to interact and share ideas?
The power of technology, in terms of Globalization, continues to inform individuals instantaneously, forming a larger & more accessible discussion of ideas in our society. Individuals are constantly being encouraged to have their say, whether it be offensive or not. A recent debate on marriage equality in Australia has become a leading media interest, encouraging consumers to distribute their own opinions and information of the topic; a vivid example of globalization.
‘Globalization refers to an international community influenced by technology development…’ ‘Characterized by a worldwide increase in interconnectedness’, (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 458.)
In regards to our community on a global scale, Globalization is now perpetuating a congregation of ‘scapes’; Ethnoscapes, Technoscapes, Financescapes, Mediascapes and Ideoscapes. Particularly, Ideoscapes, in which the way we exchange large ideas that underpin our cultures and societies.
Social media platform Facebook, has since perpetuated the Ideoscape of marriage equality to larger scale. In the month of May, 2015, the country of Ireland held a referendum regarding same-sex marriage, resulting in the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (marriage equality)(M. Bradley). The social media platform then produced a ‘rainbowify your profile picture’ feature, and stated, “From all of us at Facebook, happy pride”. ‘In just a few hours, more than a million Facebook users changed their profile picture,’(O. Solon, 2015). Consequently, millions of ‘rainbowified’ images have been distributed globally on the media platform, raising awareness for marriage equality and producing this Ideoscape.
In this case, technology is being used as a tool to inform users about real life issues. Of my personal experience, opening up my daily news feed, I was bombarded with rainbow profile pictures in which I found asking myself ‘why is everyone into rainbow today?’. Apparently it was more obvious to some, who were previously familiar with the fact that Ireland had just legalized gay marriage and that the rainbow is a representation of gay pride.
But again, this brings me back to my initial point; Were online users learning and being informed via social media distributions? Yes. Have technology and globalisation been ‘tool’ for interconnectedness? Definitely.
– Changed your Facebook profile picture to a rainbow flag? <http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/changed-your-facebook-profile-picture-5967308>. [Accessed 22 June 2015].
– Facebook Will Rainbowify Your Profile Photo To Celebrate Marriage Equality. 2015.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/26/facebook-marriage-equality_n_7672320.html>. [Accessed 23 June 2015].
– Irish voters make history in gay marriage referendum, World news, The Guardian. 2015.<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/22/irish-voters-set-to-make-history-in-gay-marriage-referendum>. [Accessed 20 June 2015].
– O’Shaughnessy, M and Stadler, J (2008) ‘Globalisation’, Media and Society (fifth edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 458-471.
– Rainbow Faces And Marriage Equality, 2015. <https://newmatilda.com/2015/06/30/rainbow-faces-and-marriage-equality-are-great-being-ally-about-more-picking-winners>. [Accessed 22 June 2015].