Globalisation and the media: wider issues

our Media Magazine archive MM47
You need to find page 31 and the Google Glass feature: a case study in Globalisation.

Read the article and answer the following questions:

1) Why was Google Glass controversial?

It was controversial because Google would be advancing in terms of technology but it wouldn't be such a good thing as it can cause privacy problems as they would be monitoring other people and  'tracking' their every move. There are potential benefits to do with Globalisation however there are also limitations that should be considered carefully.

2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?

 

The article highlights that in a sense the world becomes more accessible, and people are enriched by getting to know and understand it better. Increased choice and opportunities empower people, while access to information can enhance not only the ability to make informed decisions but even the democratic process.

3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?

Potential negatives to Globalisation are highlighted in the article and shows the possibility that smaller companies have little or no hope of staking a claim on the global market as they won’t be able to compete. This means that the previously mentioned ‘choice’ we talked about so positively is in effect provided by a limited number of companies who dominate the global market, and, in the main, only distribute the majority of the world’s wealth amongst themselves.

4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?

A techno-panic is a moral panic that centres on fears regarding specific contemporary technology or technological activity.

5) What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?

Personally, I think that the privacy debate should be continued to an extent because there are many ways we can question our privacy being invaded for example privacy. If people using Glass are effectively able to walk around and film everything that they’re looking at, how are the public to know if they’re being filmed without having given their permission? There is also the factor that Glass can record all the sound that it picks up, and will also come with facial recognition software – meaning that individuals could be picked out from a crowd of faces with ease. Dialogue around these concerns has led to the coining of the term ‘Google agent’ to embody the panic that all we say and do may soon be being recorded by headset. This can potentially be a complete invasion of our privacy which I think should be carefully thought about