3/29/2014

Shaping Socialization
Technologies impact on interconnectivity

Philip G Evans UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE English 1102-031

Shaping Socialization

Philip Evans ENGL 1102-031 03/29/2014 Society as a whole is connected and directly affected by the interactions that take place through micro and macro level interactions. The types of interactions vary across the different spheres of interactions. These social interactions are shaped through the technology available to be able to communicate as a society. As technology grows, interaction and communication is able to occur at faster rates. This increasing ability to transfer information at higher speeds as a society has created an environment where communication on a global scale is instantaneous. Being able to transfer information from person to person across these spheres has even spawned new spheres of communication through technology. Throughout this research paper, we will explore how the increasingly connectivity through technology impacts social interactions and spheres for which they occur in. This increasing connectivity through technology could inspire a new sense of belonging for society. The technology available affects how we live our lives every day. It allows us to accomplish tasks better and more efficiently. One of the most critical areas of growth in technology is how we communicate. This communication is direct socializing between two or more people. It can take the shape of conversations, ideas, art, or anything that anyone wishes for other people to engage. We create small spheres of socialization between friends and family but we also interact with larger spheres that now can take place across the world. These larger spheres have grown to have no limit with the available technology. People have the ability to socialize and bring their ideas to any sphere they wish. These groups could be interest, casual, political, environmental or even informative groups. Through technology we are not limited to the spheres that we only directly physically contact presently. This ability to have a presence on such a large scale has changed the roles of people in how they socialize and live their lives. Awareness of this role has grown. This has affected how we perceive the world and what is happening throughout the world. It could be observed that here in the United States, socialization still occurs through direct contact but most interaction between people in social groups take place through technology. In small spheres of societys primary social groups, technology now has an overwhelming presence in social interaction in spheres. Stepping back to observe the larger global spheres, technology is almost the only way of socialization. This proves how society has shifted from primary direct socialization within social spheres to almost solely relying on technology for interaction. This new era of social interaction opens the door for new levels of interconnectivity around the world. It creates a world that once was perceived as being too large for people to connect and build spheres across it. Now society has broken down those barriers to give all participate the ability to have a global role in limitless social spheres. Technology Technology, as defined by Dictionary.com, is defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.10 This definition is useful in establishing technology as a part of our social

Shaping Socialization

environment. They are directly related to one another in that they both are independent but dependent of each other. As societys demands change, technology changes to satisfy the needs of society. As new technology is presented, it changes how society interacts. Our social interactions are directly affected by the technology present to carry out these interactions. Social spheres For purposes of this research paper, social spheres will be approached as the independent settings in which social interactions take place. As we look at these spheres, we can observe how technology has impacted the social interactions that take place within these settings. These spheres take place at many levels throughout society. They can exists through direct means of communication between two people face to face. Also, these spheres can include the mass distribution of information to a large population. The exchange of information and effect on social practices are the focus on these small and large scales. Socializing in todays society compared to yesteryears. Relative to the history of society and the existence of communication, technology with computers is a new practice. The creation of the internet and a global network of computers has given rise to a new type of communication for social interaction to take place. Communication began with only hand gestures that led to sounds being formed to speed up the idea being presented.11 Spoken language and crude pictures on walls in a single place were the only way for humans to interact and socialize. Our socializing was limited to only the people in that vicinity that could come in direct contact with their social counterpart. The only portable way of communicating an idea would be to document the information on a physical object and then physically transport that information to the desired person. Our social sphere only took place in our immediate area for the most part. Now, we have the technology to interact with another human being an entire world away and more in fractions of seconds. The technology of todays social sphere consist of communicating with almost every human being on the planet instantly. Technology has made it possible to transmit unfathomable amounts of information immediately. The technology exists to be able to transmit up to a terabyte of information in one second.9 To describe what a terabyte is, it is a non-stop video that would take two and a half months to watch. In one second, we now can transfer a lifetimes worth of information to interact with one another. Humans have gone from struggling to tell one another that they are hungry in minutes to being able to transfer more information than a person can learn in a lifetime in mere seconds. This has led to socializing changing to be much faster and over vast distances. Technology has come to have a profound influence on societys daily operation. Society provides the demand for a solution to complete tasks, especially communication and socializing. Technology has come to lead how society operates. Observers have witnessed that technology has effected almost every aspect of societys roles. It has shaped how we complete tasks and drives how interaction occurs.7 International/ Political Socializing Because of the influence of technology, the world has changed to be exponentially more connected with one another. There are no more barriers of distance. There are few barriers of the amount of socializing that can be done between societies around the world. This has created a new way in socializing and accepting information. Information carries a whole new meaning on this global scale and participates in this type of socializing have different roles. People are

Shaping Socialization

now able to respond to information with a global presence in mind whereas before it was responding within a smaller social sphere.3 Our actions have an immediate effect on the social climate of the world. This enhances political and figures of power around the world. For example, a leader elected to a country no longer has the social authority to simply preside over a society of people. They now carry the responsibility to immediately represent that society on a global scale in interacting with the world. This new role of social interaction politically carries much more social pressure. Taking political figures out of the international sphere, the world is able to share events and respond to them quickly, weighing in on all information with a global presence. Society gains a new sense of individual on this scale.3 They are not merely an individual among the people they physically interact with. They are an individual among the entire worlds population in a significantly larger social sphere. Media/ News through Technology One of the primary avenues society is changed is by the events that take place that help shape them. It is part of history that we as the human race attempt to learn from tragedies and mistakes. By technology shaping most of society to have a more global presence, these tragedies and mistakes are shared as a collective society. What was our small social spheres history now becomes a larger global social history. These events and information are transferred through what many describe as media and the news. These spread current events and important happenings from around the world to almost every person. This is a powerful tool to spread information and influence smaller social spheres around the world. Western culture has taken strong advantage of this. Western culture can be seen in almost every part of the world through technology. Many societies find themselves embracing or unknowingly allowing technology shape their culture towards a western style of society. This can be observed through various brands, fashion and socially accepted practices.4 Encountering Cultures through Technology Not only is media able to spread cultural and social influence but people as well. People are able to directly influence on another through social interaction via todays technology. Observers of this social interactions that there are many aspects of this interaction. Even though the world has developed all of this technology, not every has access to the same technology.7 This creates a difference of approach to interaction through technology. Many cultures around the world are lacking in education of the use of technology. Cultures that are more developed in their education of the use of technology socialize faster and transfer information faster than those that dont. This makes the social disassociation of the two types of social spheres create an exponentially growing gap. The global social sphere of the worlds leaders have realized this and have begun to implement welfare programs to make technology available to everyone in the world. It is a noble movement to maintain an equal global society. Technology in schools In every modern culture that utilizes technology, a primary source of socialization is a school system in which that society educates their young to be a productive participant in that society. School also provides one of the most crucial times in which social interaction abilities are formed.12 When a person is a young baby, their primary source of human interaction is with their family. Once they reach the stage in their lives where they are ready to begin their education, most begin attending school with other children. School is one of the first places that a child is

Shaping Socialization

able to socialize on a larger scale outside their family. These are during crucial learning stages of their development and have a significant effect on their interaction abilities. The integration of technology here serves many purposes. Not only does technology change how society interacts with one another while gaining education but it also enhances the rate at which this education can be transferred to students. This technology varies across different social spheres around the world. Different levels of technology are available to different societies. Students in more developed areas have a higher knowledge of the most effective technology than students in lesser developed areas.1 Technology has also influenced social roles of the participants in the education systems across the world. Teachers have adapted to the implementation of technology in their teachings. The interactions between educators and students has shifted from direct teaching to a monitor of an environment and allowing technology to carry most of the load of education.2 Students then have a higher responsibility to absorb the information. Technology has created a whole new social sphere in the education system of the modern world. Our Societys Role (United States)/ effect on our view, view on us. The United States has major influence around the world. It is a major source of technology and ideas that are spread quickly around the globe. This global roles greatly effects how our society views the world and how the world views the United States. The United States influence can be seen all over the world establishing that much of the world has adopted a culture the same or similar to what exists in the US. The world has much mixed views of the United States as a major contributor of social influence. With technology having the ability to exchange information and create interaction instantly on a global scale events and media about the United States is spread quickly. Much of the world views the United States as a leader. This creates a high standard and when negative events impact the social sphere of the US, the global social sphere is quick to draw conclusions of negativity.5 The uniqueness of the United States role causes it to have such an influence on shaping social spheres around the world on large and small scales. It has many negative opinions around the world but also has brought much prosperity to the world through its influence. There have been many major contributions of technology, economic prosperity and creation of social happiness and togetherness around the world from the United States role.6 As with the figures of power, the US will have great amounts of criticism and scrutiny. New sense of belonging The world is more connected than ever before through technology. Society is able to transfer information and knowledge faster than any other time in history. This makes it able for every person on the planet to be connected. Everyone has the opportunity to socialize with anyone from any region of the world. Our species has reached a new level of connectivity through technology. Social barriers could theoretically be removed completely. Other than a simple lack of interest to expand outside of our own immediate social spheres, we could branch out to any social sphere around the world. In nature, it is a fact that any species that exist can only interact with and learn from the others they are able to interact with. Nature has only provided all species with the ability to communicate through immediate physical presence. With the technology we have created, we now can interact across the planet and even beyond into space. This ability hosts such great potential to grow and improve our quality of life as a whole. We should not only take the

Shaping Socialization

experiences and knowledge gained by the few immediate people that came before us that can directly pass this information to us. We should take the experiences and knowledge from the entire world to pass on. Across the world people have many social spheres large and small. Small social spheres are merely people on a local level and where they fit in and feel most comfortable. I would like to take the time to look at larger social spheres particularly on a worldwide level. The world is very large and even driving a few miles down a highway, one would observe changes in social spheres among the people they encounter. Most of the time though, one would notice that they do belong to a larger social sphere of similar language and similar nationality. In the United States, no matter where you go, we could assume you might run across a few American flags posted from porches or raised in front yards. We all share in that social sphere. This could be seen worldwide with all of the different nations that make up our planet. There will always be a strong shared social sphere of nationality anywhere in the world. With the introduction of amazing advancements in technology in the last thirty years, we are all interconnected around the world. Think about how passionately people are about their nationality. When you ask a person from New York or Texas how they feel about being an American, how do they react? The same could be observed from someone from Brazil or Egypt. I feel that through major reform and creative thinking, we can start to remove some of the global scale social barriers to move towards a one world nationalism way of thinking instead of a local country style feeling of nationalism. Technology has already changed the way people interact socially by changing the roles they have. Through technology, people have a voice now on a larger scale to be heard around the world. Instead of having their voices heard in small social spheres that they come in direct contact with, they have a voice with the global community. We have already begun an unconscious movement socially towards this idea in many ways. This idea could be best spread by beginning to educate at a young age about the benefits of technology and a unified world through it. Most of the world is in need of their education system being overhauled and brought to appropriate social standards. Why not lean towards a more global standard emphasizing on technology and its uses? Through the exchange program many nations worldwide physically remove students and place them in different countries to give them experience of another culture. Would it be out of the realm of possibility to interact with other countries through technology? Instead of waiting till a student shows an interest in a experiencing another culture, education could facilitate mandatory classes that are taught half by one nation and the other half by their nation. All assignments could be worked on as one group by the students. Imagine a level of understanding of what an interconnected global world would mean to the future societies. This could pave the way for a new way of thinking by people when assessing their role in the world. Many in the UN are already attempting to make the newest technology available to countries that do not have the same technological resources as others. To put it in a comparison of the United States, we have states that are not as financially well off or up to standards but as a country we attempt to help one another due to nationalism most feel that was discussed earlier. A similar idea is already being applied globally. If people were educated about being more

Shaping Socialization

interconnected globally and having a sense of global nationalism then the world might be able to accomplish larger scale ideas. Another key way to focus on shifting to a more unified world society through technology would be to change the way politics currently are. More specifically, put emphasis and power in the hands of the representatives sent to the United Nations. They are a perfect example of how we as a society are already moving to a more global scale socially. All nations share in that they have issues that plague their countries. The United States is no better. Instead of attempting to learn and fix these issues on our own, the US could look to other nations that have faced them before and have implemented an effective system that works. This is the whole concept of history and even science, building off ideas and experiences from the past. The United States is young by comparison. It begs to ask, why the US wouldnt want to know how Europe solved issues because Europe has been established for over a thousand years. This could be an opportunity for the world to work together and accomplish a greater task for the worlds population. The benefits of shifting to a more global nationalism social sphere by everyone would serve to fix many of the worlds major social problems that plague it everywhere. Socially, the world would be more unified and accepting of one another instead of holding on to feeling negative towards one another simply because they are different. For example, some may find the practices of someone from India awkward simply because they are not familiar with the culture. More exposure to their practices would allow for someone to be more accepting and open to their common practices not shared by most. This would open a large door for diversity all over the world. The more diverse a group of people and their ideas are, the better solutions can be found due to the different perspectives that can be applied to a problem. Having this sense of acceptance would change the way the world would approach one another. All of this could bring about a new enlightenment towards how we treat each other. It could pave the way for a new level of peace and non-violence around the world. There are plenty of disagreements even in the United States. Again, because of our interconnectedness, we are familiar with one another and settle them through debate and compromise. One would not observe Idaho bombing or sanctioning Nevada because of a disagreement about Mormonism. That would be a ridiculous situation to most but this is what takes place globally. The world would be able to pull together and focus on the greatest good. Technology has enabled us to reach the far ends of the planet in fractions of a second. This has taken place over hundreds of years but has made unfathomable leaps in innovation over the last thirty years. Yet, society is still holding onto and operating in a system established thousands of years ago. The question could be asked, are we going to maintain a primitive selfish society that only considers our immediate roles in our small social spheres? Or are we going to embrace this gift of technology that continues to grow and our new global roles in the larger global social sphere? We do not have the ability to change the world immediately. We do have the ability to consciously make the decision to make strides in changing the way things are done politically and socially on a worldwide scale and in education for children.

Shaping Socialization

Bibliography (1) Cesar, Kumpulainen. Sense Publishers, "Social Interactions in Multicultural Settings." Last modified 2009. Accessed February 28, 2014. https://www.sensepublishers.com/catalogs/bookseries/other-books/social-interactions-inmulticultural-settings/ (2) Warren, Lee. AECT, "The Impact of Technology and Theory on Instructional Design Since 2000." Last modified January 03, 2014. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_8 (3) Singh, Simmons. International Studies Association, "Information Technologies, Metapower, and Transformations in Global Politics." Last modified April 10, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/misr.12025/citedby. (4) Yozza, . Study Mode, "How have recent Technology advances changed society." Last modified August 2009. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://www.studymode.com/essays/How-Have-Recent-Technological-AdvancesChanged-226004.html. (5) Unknown, . "How does the World see the USA." Bear Canada.com (blog), Uknown , . http://www.bearcanada.com/fae/usa/howweseeyou.html (accessed February 28, 2014). (6) Moore, . You Gov, "Infographic: China positive view of the US." Last modified November 25, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2014. https://today.yougov.com/news/2013/11/25/infographics-chinese/. (7) Levy, . Language Learning and Technology, "CULTURE, CULTURE LEARNING AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES: TOWARDS A PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK ." Last modified June 2007. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://llt.msu.edu/vol11num2/levy/default.html. (8) UNCTAD, "Harnessing science and technology to spur development." Last modified June 6, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=526&Sitemap_x0020_T axonomy=Commission on Science and Technology for Development; (9) Sin, . Digital Trends, "Hollow fibe-optic cables make 10 tera byte per second possible." Last modified April 01, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2014. http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/hallow-fiber-optic-cable-10-terabyte-persecond-internet/. (10) Dictionary.com. "technology." Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/technology (accessed March 28, 2014).

Shaping Socialization

(11) Harrub, Brad, Bert Thompson, and Dave Miller. "The Origin of Language and Communication." The Origin of Language and Communication. http://www.trueorigin.org/language01.asp (accessed March 28, 2014). (12) Macionis, John J. Sociology, Pearson Education, 2012. Print. (accessed March 28, 2014)