Anthropology of Globalization, Essay Example

Social Media Effect on the Anthropology of Globalization

Globalization is an international connection and interdependence involving the movement of people, resources, culture, ideas, and information making the world a global village. The invention of computers, social media, and the internet have made globalization become a media buzzword due to the ability to connect thousands of people around the world in real-time. According to Duggan et al. (10), globalization should also add the ideology of moral dimension. Scholars such as Leysens consider ideologies of globalization as a disaster (Leysens 2). He considers globalization as a system the stimulate inequality and marginalisation of some developing countries. Besides, Rogers (86) observes that globalization is promoting capitalism. Capitalism increases the mechanisms of protecting the elites, wealthy, and powerful nations while exploiting poor people and nations. Globalization has enhanced the transfer of cultures from different nations and communities even without the physical migration of people. Moreover, globalization has strengthened some ethnic groups and community-based movement through international support and alliances from more powerful countries (Rogers 87).

Globalization has influenced the elimination of cultures of major communities in the world through social media. For instance, the western influence has eroded most of the cultural practices and norms in African, and Asian nations. The aspirations and lifestyle of the people in the west and European countries have generated cultural immigration, and paradoxically more people are happy after adopting new cultural values and practices (Gershon 862). Diversity on the environment is low due to protection on nature, but the difference of living mechanism is outrageous leading to the formulation of some laws controlling the use of the internet and social media towards spreading immoral cultures (Gershon 863). In some instances, globalization has led to the modification of the existing social system leading to general readjustment of peoples’ way of life unconsciously. The local social systems tend to maintain adopted cultures if they increase the depth of historical richness. Although globalization has increased cultural homogeneity, there are some motifs of heterogeneity in cultural ideologies. For instance, polytheism among the Indians and Asian communities has not been integrated into other communities even after advertisement through Facebook and other social media platforms (Gershon 869).

Globalization affects social media, the internet, cell phone, and Twitter use on everyday lives of the people I know. I have conducted interviews with different social class and ages of people on the manner their relationships have changed through the use of social media platforms, the internets and cell phone. The study aims to identify the process of forming relationships through social media, the transformation of relationships, and the termination of relationships through social media. The basis of this study is the implications of social media through the increasing use of information and communication technologies, which are currently digital (Rogers 88, Gershon 865, and Leysens 6). The study accounts for changes in communication ideology, culture and social change in political communication. Interviewees on the effect of globalization on social media were a youth, a career person, a parent, and a taxi driver.

Firstly, I interviewed Philip White, a Taxi driver. He opposes that increasing globalization on social media since it has entirely changed the cultural thinking and connections of the people (Rogers 89). He says, “Cultural differences do not densely affect relations across and within societies. The cultural difference only affects the mediation in communication to the social order or powers in which they operate. For instance, the culture of communication is more of social media fights among the taxi drivers and truck drivers working for different companies within the country and overseas (Rogers 91). Philip supports the formation of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Philip says, “We use these social media platforms to express our views in real-time to our employers, customers, and relevant government agencies. The government agencies use these social media platforms to pass relevant information to use on daily basis” (Rogers 93).

The interview with Philip took a different twist when I asked him if social media has led to the formation of relationships among taxi drivers. He says, “Social media has led to the formation of alliances among the taxi drivers who share the same ideologies. The taxi drivers express their feelings easily through Twitter and other platforms than on verbal communication on the government agencies. Very few taxi drivers get a chance to visit the government offices or attend their seminars on issues dealing with road safety and precautions, but through social media, almost taxi drivers have an equal chance of airing their views, thoughts, and suggestions (Rogers 94). A simple idea posted on Twitter may attract a substantial number of taxi drivers, who later become close friends, not only on truck driving issues but on other social and ideological matters”. I also wanted to know how social media and Twitter have transformed and terminated the relationship of the taxi drivers. Philip adds, “Hate speech is common among taxi drivers from rivalry companies; it may start by a simple statement on Twitter, which later turns to verbal fights leading to damaging of vehicles of the rivalry company. Through text messages and twitter posts, there are incidences of termination of affiliations and even exposure of hidden secrets among the taxi drivers, whom one thought they were their confidante. So as a taxi driver I embrace global change on social media since its merits surpass its demerits” (Rogers 96).

The other person I interviewed on the effect of social media on everyday lives was Sue Lopez, a university lecturer. She is a PhD holder at the college of Public Health. She is pleased with the invention of more platforms on social media for communication to the external world. Sue is a specialist in occupational and environmental health field, and she is encouraged to pursue a post-doctorate diploma and engage in global public health research due to the information she receives through Twitter and the internet. The aspect of women in power came up during the interview, and she supports the ideology that women have the capability of performing better the jobs that were thought to be male-dominated such as public health research (Leysens 3). She supports social media communication since it has made her develop friends doing global public health research from other renowned universities and research institutions, which would be difficult without migration. Sue has used this social media platform to strengthen the friendship with these renowned researchers from other health and research organization and also formed a new friendship zone among her colleagues in the university (Leysens 4).

I also asked Sue to tell me her experience as a woman when it comes to transforming, and terminating friendships formed verbally and through social media. Sue responds by saying that, social media has transformed her mode of research, thinking, and communication especially among research colleagues and technical staff in the university. She uses twitter handles, message text, and Facebook instead of conventional email addresses when addressing her colleagues. She finds that most of her colleagues are on social media platforms whenever they don’t have pressing research activities in their respective work stations. Sue says, “It becomes easy to communicate through the social media platforms since the response is immediate, unlike conventional emails whereby most people do not open daily. It is painful to terminate some of the relationships formed through social media especially if they were beneficial to the growth of my teaching and research career (Leysens 7). For instance, I had a male scientist I met through his twitter handle. He is involved in epidemiological and health statistics research. He had a wonderful idea on integrating his field of research with my idea of occupation health research. We exchanged ideas and developed on a proposal that required funding from National Health Service (NHS). After three years of constant communication when the research was about to begin, I had to terminate the communication. I realized he aimed at swindling my research ideas and resources to get all the credit of our research. Although I gained a lot from his friendship, I had to terminate the friendship. Some of the gains of his friendship are related to him are we published three articles and developed two standard operating procedures on occupational health research.

In my study, I also interviewed a parent, Peter Smith, who is mid 40’s years old. Peter is very disappointed with the invention of the internet and social media platform. He says, “These social media applications have ruined my two children. I can’t even communicate to them since they acquire most of the information from the internet.” These millennial are so much to the internet world, which makes them forget the real-world experiences (Duggan et al. 12).” He adds, “My children have formed a friendship with virtual people, whom they claim to be their confidante. My first born boy rarely comes home daily, and he has no other home because he is unemployed. He uses colloquial language in most of his conversion, which he says that he got the habit from his friends. I am annoyed and disappointed as a parent because we don’t have control of our children. We are living like aliens in the house, because everybody is busy with their phones yet we are a family” (Duggan et al. 21).

I thought that Peter had deviated from my research objectives, but I later noticed he is using a different approach in answering my questions. Peter told me he does not use social media platforms in forming relationships, but he has observed that his children using social platforms daily (Duggan et al. 25). “I am a good dad, and I monitor the social life of my children at a very close range even without them noticing it.” I had to ask Peter if he has observed some transformation in his children through the relationships the children develop through social media, and how do they terminate these relationships. “The relationships through social media has transformed my children since they cannot sit down at one place and have a meaningful conversation without them looking at their phones (Duggan et al. 29). They have borrowed unethical cultural practices from their virtual friends, which I eliminate them daily. I initiate the majority of the breakups of their social media friends. I talk to them especially every Friday evening on the importance of choosing true, honest, and sincere friends. The conversation has made them change although not to my expectation” (Duggan et al. 31).

I also interviewed a youth, Janet Hannon, 21 years old, on the use of social media and its communication platforms in forming relationships. Janet says, “Facebook has enabled me to get genuine and important friends in my life. I have managed through senior school and university by carefully selecting my social media friends” (Gershon 867). I needed to know how she managed to select true friends in a pool of over ten thousand possible friends. Janet says, “Before selecting or accepting a friend, I first check their bio-data, vision statement, and their ambitions (Gershon 871). Any person lacking that information on their Facebook, I reject them”. I also needed to establish how these Facebook friends have influenced and transformed her life (Gershon 882). Janet says, “I can access places that I never thought I could reach. I do part-time jobs which I get through my social media friends. I no longer stay with my parents because my social media friends have helped me earn income. I terminate the relationship once it becomes toxic, for example, if my social friends engage in unscrupulous deals of getting quick money” (Gershon 892).

In conclusion, social media, the internet, cell phone, Facebook and twitter has an effect on our everyday lives. This is according to the interviews I conducted, whereby social media has enhanced openness among the people of different cultures hence promoting exchange of ideas, thoughts, and resources. Some aspects of social media are positive attributes, while others are negative attributes. Social media platforms such as Twitter are suitable for communication and forming friendships, and through careful selection, these friends can transform a person positively. Some friends are a nuisance, and one should not feel offended to cut them off from one’s social cycle.

Works Cited

Duggan, Maeve, Amanda Lenhart, Cliff Lampe, and Nicole B. Ellison. “Parents and social media.” Pew Research Center, 2015, pp. 1-37.

Gershon, Ilana. “Un-friend my Heart: Facebook, Promiscuity, and Heartbreak in a Neoliberal Age.” Anthropological Quarterly, vol 84, no. 4, 2011, pp.  865-894.

Leysens, Jean-Louis, Daniel B. le Roux, and Douglas A. Parry. “Can I Have Your Attention, Please?: An Empirical Investigation Of Media Multitasking During University Lectures.” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists. ACM, 2016. pp. 1-10.

Rogers, Brishen. “The social costs of Uber.” University of Chicago L. Rev. Dialogue, vol. 82, pp. 85-103.

Interview conducted with Philip White, age 27 years old, March 9^th, 2019

Interview conducted with Peter Smith, age 44 years old, March 16^th, 2019

Interview conducted with Sue Lopez, age 35 years old, March 23^rd, 2019

Interview conducted with Janet Hannot, age 21 years old, March 30^th, 2019