The Internet and Globalization

With the use of the internet technology there can be seen a great positive force on globalization as it tends to increase the communication processes between people living in different parts of the world and also helps to promote the political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of a country.

As there is a positive impact of internet on globalization there can be seen a negative impact of internet on globalization as well. While the interdependence and the internet technological advancement have increased in some parts of the world, this is not true in the vast majority of the South. South refers to the developing world, the less developed countries, and the third world. These are the poorer countries in contrast to the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In this case “Global” cannot be regarded as “Universal”. Although a small number of people in the South may have access to the internet and truly live in the “global village”, the large majority of the population in these countries does not have access to the internet technology. Despite the rapid globalization of the internet, the less developed countries cannot benefit as much as those of the developed countries in economic as well as in political institutions.

The globalization of internet technology in the less developed countries typically is a one way proposition: the people do not control any of the information; they only receive it. It is also true that worldwide the ability to control or generate broadcasts rests in the hands of the tiny minority. This shows that in these countries the internet technology generally does not have a neutral application. The placement of the internet technology in developing countries often causes social costs, as well as costs in the form of urbanization, employment displacement, and the “digital divide.”

There can be seen specific and particular risks in the global environment because the gain in power from the techno-economic progress is rapidly being overshadowed. Risks in this sense can be viewed as the probability of harm arising from technological and economic change. Hazards linked to industrial production, for example, can quickly spread beyond the immediate context in which they are generated. Although the current globalization system has different attributes, rules, incentives, and characteristics, but the system is as pervasive as the Cold War system.

In order to create a balance in the application of the internet technology it must adhere to the specific standards. The internet technology no matter where it is applied, can only be understood and valued in relation to the social group that creates or uses it, because every model of society and development conceives of and uses a different kind of technology, which should neither give priority to community action nor to the local necessities.

Thus the internet both has positive as well as negative effects on globalization and they play equally an important part in the financial and economic status of a specific country. The negative impact on the globalization can be reduced if an equilibrium and balance is created and developmental techniques and schemes of information technology are introduced in the less developing countries so that they may progress and pace forward in the 21st century.