Chapter8, detailed outline

The Global Implications of the Internet: Challenges and Prospects



I- Convergence theory and cultural identity

- Communication can be defined as a process of sharing information in which two or more participants reach mutual understanding.

- Cultural convergence theory suggests that the variance between groups or national cultures would become smaller over time as a result of international communication.

- The global implications of the Internet based on the short and long-term effects:
- Cultural homogenization will be retarded in the near future by the increased use of advanced Internet-based communication technologies.
- The Long-term effect of the increased communication among the peoples of the world via the Internet will be that the differences among national cultures will diminish, resulting in the formation of a single global culture.

- One outcome of this process of cultural convergence is that separate cultural identities will also disappear, replaced by a single transnational identity, albeit with considerable variation.

II- Systems approach and social networks

A- Systems: Central to the systems perspective is holism , which implies that the interdependence and interrelationships of the parts of the system determine the whole.

- The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

- Holism is better characterized by organizational structure, when an entity consisting of two or more basic parts, or people, in communication with each other in which the outcome is something more or different than the sum of the parts.

B- Social networks: Social network perspectives focus on the structure of social systems and how the elements of a social system are put together.

- From the network perspective, the social environment can be expressed as patterns or regularities in relationship among interacting units. These patters are often called structure.

III- Convergence theory and communication networks

- Convergence theory envisions the flow of information through a communication network shared by those who participate in the process.

- This information has profound effects on the members of the network, which are indicated by changes in the belief systems of the members and the structure of their network.

- When communication is unrestricted, the process leads toward reduced within-groups variance among its members.

- The communication network is completely interconnected or dense.

- In this case, differences between its members are reduced through the iterative process of information exchange.

- The convergence model of communication predicts that all participants in the world system will converge over time on the average collective pattern of thought if communication is allowed to continue unrestricted.

- Unlimited and unrestricted communication between cultures would eventually lead to a reduction in the differences between cultures and toward a greater similarity beliefs and values.

IV- A structural model of intercultural communication

- The structural model of communication is adopted to help understand the impact of the Internet on Global culture.

- It represents the process of intercultural communication.

- Historically, linkages among different cultural groups have increased resulting in globalization; the process of strengthening the worldwide social relations that link distant localities in such a way that local events are shaped by circumstances at remote places in the world (Giddens 1990).

- Transborder communication has opened cultural boundaries and began the process of cultural convergence.

- The mass media and other communication technologies, especially the Internet compress time and space becoming a catalyst for globalization.

- As a result, Mcluhan's notion of the global village is becoming a reality.

V-The network structure of the international internet

- The Internet is one channel that directly connects people of different cultural and national groups from across the globe with one another.

- Information flows via the Internet may facilitate the convergence of national cultures, leading to a universal set of beliefs that includes a change from national to global identity.

- Internet formed a dense, completely interconnected network with a single group centered about the United States.

- National culture is strongly related to a country's position in the Internet network.
The more central a country is in the network, the greater its individualism.

- Some structural barriers in the infrastructure of the Internet could restrict communication among nations.

- United States encodes significantly more messages on the Internet more than any other nation, putting it at the center of these flows.

- This suggests that if the status quo were to continue, that universal culture is in the process of forming about the culture of the United States.

VII- Implications of the structural model for national identity: current trends

- Over time, with unlimited and unrestricted information exchange among people from different cultural groups, the potential consequence of the indigenous cultures of the world into a universal culture.

- However, in the short term, international communications will more likely first lead to the development of a number of regional civilizations composed of nations who are culturally similar.

- The process of globalization can be considered homogenization and hybridization.

- Global forms interplay with local, national, and regional patterns, producing a new pattern best characterized as a hybrid.

- Several factors may contribute to the slowing of the global convergence in the short term:
-Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) has been found to be sufficient for the maintenance of long-term meaningful relationships, allowing for the preservation of cultural connections at great distances.
- Content-specific online communities allow people to maintain contact with other individuals centered on mutual interests, such as cultural and social ties, providing a conduit for relationships to be formed and maintained.
- New Internet-based communication technologies allow for an outer action effect, where the communication connections surpass the traditional interaction abilities of communication media, offering an increased level of personal connectivity that extends beyond information exchange.

- Online communities provide the opportunity for people to access the cultural resources they need to feel as if they are still part of a cultural group, yet time and travel are reduced.
- These communities represent a shift to communities organized by shared interest.

- Internet technologies provide a mechanism for meaningful relationships to grow and flourish in content-specific online communities.

VII- Implications for national identity: the future

- The United States, the source for the plurality of Internet messages, is a product of cultural convergence. Its culture will be changing in the future due to changes in demographics and the dynamic patterns of international information flows resulting for the process of globalization.

- The structure if the Internet is dynamic, changing as non-Western countries increasingly come online.

- If we consider how the growth of Internet use in China will change the pattern of language use on the Internet, then the converged culture of the world system will have increasing Chinese elements, suggesting that global civilization will be some combination of Chinese and Anglo-American culture.