What is globalisation? It is probably a term we have all heard of, maybe back in high school, however, we probably have not really thought about what it actually means. O’Shaughnessy and Stadler state that ‘Globalisation refers to an international community influenced by technological development and economic, political and military interest. It is characterised by a worldwide increase in interdependence, interactivity, interconnectedness and the virtually instantaneous exchange of information.’ (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, n.d.) In simple terms, meaning how the world is becoming more and more connected with others through interaction. 
According to Appadurai, there are 5 dimensions of global cultural flows.
- Ethnoscape – the people who make up the world, including those such as exiles, refugees, immigrants and tourists who influence the politics of, as well as between nations
- Technoscape – is about how technology is formed globally and how quickly high/low and mechanical/informational technology moves
- Mediascape – focuses on creating images
- Ideoscape – also about images, however are more political and are associated with ideologies of states
- Financescape – includes stock, currency and commodity (Appadurai, 1996)
As technology and telecommunication becomes more and more advanced and is used more frequently, it almost becomes an essential part of our daily lives. Media almost cannot be escaped because we are exposed to it so much. This idea is called media saturation, and it may be having a negative effect on individuals. Whether it be in the form of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, or TV and radio, we are exposed to it nonstop. The statistics shows this, with the average teenager wasting 7.5 hours of their day using media, the average person spending 4.7 hours watching TV every day, and how Youtube has recently risen to 2 billion views per day. It is interesting how technology is evolving, but are we too reliant on it, to function with our everyday lives? An example of this is the film “Wall-E”, which foresees a future which revolves around the constant use of media and some realising their need of actual contact in real life. (Telfer, n.d.)
This is further reinforced by Dana Klisanin who observed from a meeting that media saturation is expected to rise. But in order to live healthily in a world full of it, mindfulness and moderation are key. She suggests practicing mindfulness, where you become aware of how you use media. We need to correctly balance our use of media as well as free time, and this can be done with something as simple as going outside and being one with nature, which is said to be a good way to relax and relieve stress. (Klisanin, 2013)
Annotated bibliography:
Appadurai, A (1996) ‘Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy’, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press
The book ‘Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization’ was published by Arjun Appadurai, a Professor of Media, Culture and Communication in 1996. It is a useful source, as it discusses one of the central elements of the topic studied in the lecture, being globalisation. Within the text, Appadurai shows us what is new about globalisation and what has changed over many years. He introduces the new framework he proposed, terms with the suffix of -scape, which he combines with different prefixes (-ethno, -techno, -media, – ideao and -finance), all of which have their own meanings. One limitation of this source may be that it was published over 2 decades ago. Although it would have been useful then, for someone reading it now, it may not be as useful.
Klisanin, D 2013, Media Saturation & Your Health, viewed 5 August 2018, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/digital-altruism/201308/media-saturation-your-health>.
The author, Dana Klisanin, gathered her information from many sources including Stanford’s Calming Technology Lab, as well as from her own meeting she attended with coworkers in the Society for Media Psychology and Technology, where she reviewed research. She found from an experiment at Stanford’s Calming Technology Lab, that immersing yourself in nature can be a useful way to reduce stress. Likewise, one of the main points she took on board from the meeting, was that she concluded that media saturation is expected to rise, with augmented reality such as the Google Glass. This similar idea is reinforced by Telfer cited down below, where he points out how the animated film ‘Wall-E’ predicts a future surrounded by the use of media, with everyone ‘fixed on a screen’.
Telfer, P n.d., Media Saturation Threshold, viewed 5 August 2018, <http://www.mediatalk101.org/media-saturation-threshold/>.
The author, Phillip Telfer, uses data from many sources such as newspapers like The Telegraph and Los Angeles Times to gather statistics on the use of media mainly by teenagers. The results concluded that teenagers spend a substantial amount of their day, using different media platforms such as YouTube, TV and phones. He also uses an example of the animated film ‘Wall-E’ to depict how it foreshadows a future where everyone is using media. This source can be considered reliable as he collects his data using a number of reports. The article highlights how the idea of media saturation is taking over peoples’ lives, even from such a young age of 3-4, and teenagers, making them feel trapped and unable to break out of their cycle of reliance on technology to function in the real world.
mandycai8 