Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Facebook’s Impact on Globalisation and Consumerism

 
Image from: http://blogs.centre.edu/environment/files/2013/02/consumerism.png


According to recent statistics Facebook has approximately 1.15 billion users – that is over 1/7 of the world’s population! Due to this Facebook has become a huge participant in globalisation as at its fundamental core, globalisation is “the phenomenon of increasing interconnectedness across the globe” (Globalisation, 2007). This social media site is the leading site in connecting people around the world and due to its extremely high number of users it has become a great means for advertising to the population. Dicken (2007) states that “Technology is a fundamental enabling force in the globalizing of economic activities” (p.438).

One of Facebook’s underlying features that may not be recognised by people is how it analysing your statuses, likes and information to produce targeted advertising. This way of advertising is extremely successful as people are generally interested in the advertisements that are a part of the websites. And the advertisements can be about anything! If your relationship status says you are single, you are more likely to have dating websites come up on your screen or if you say you like a certain musician they will advertise their upcoming albums and tours on your page.
Facebook connects not only people with other people but people with products, items and other things of interest to them which contributes to globalization.

References

Dicken, P. (2007). Winning and losing: An Introduction. In Global shift: Mapping the changing    contours of the world economy (pp.437-453). London, England: Sage.

Globalisation. (2007). In Political Philosophy A-Z. Retrieved from                 http://www.credoreference.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/entry/edinburghppaz/globalisation   

Smith, C. (2013). How Many People Use the Top Social Media, Apps & Services? (September 2013). Retrieved from: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-   the-top-social-media/

Image

Globalisation (Image). Retrieved from:                 http://blogs.centre.edu/environment/files/2013/02/consumerism.png
  
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown18 September 2013 at 23:19

    So very true Mikayla! Facebook has quickly become a corporation that depends heavily on marketing products to it's users. The targeting of advertisements personally makes me feel very insecure about using the site (and I no longer have an account) because it seems too intrusive and invasive, all the while trying to market consumerism. As in this weeks reading 'The third industrial revolution', the digital age is well upon us more and more people are creating, buying and selling online. I have no doubt that target advertising will only increase in the future as more and more people go online, not only for social media sites, but for everything.

    References:
    The third industrial revolution (April 21, 2012). In The Economist.

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  2. david bourke19 September 2013 at 14:35

    Mikayla, Your blog illustrates how corporations quickly change in the new era of digital technology and commerce. As you have stated Facebook began as a means of quick and easy global communication between people however due to the popularity of the site it has now become a global giant in the advertising business. This week’s reading from the Economist (2012) states “Rolls-Royce no longer sells jet engines; it sells the hours each engine is actually thrusting an aeroplane through the sky” and is another example of the revolution in manufacturing and marketing which is having an impact on our global interactions. We are all indeed in the midst of the third industrial revolution.


    Reference:

    (April 21, 2012) The third industrial revolution in The Economist

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