Essay on Sociological Imagination and Media

Mass media has changed the social landscape since its origins; with growing technological advancements and the digital revolution, the way in which we communicate as well as interact with society as individuals has been largely shaped by the media we consume. As globalization has interconnected our society economically, culturally, and socially; the media has also been shaped by the processes of globalization. With the advancement of technology came the accessibility of such media through the globalization process, which in turn has brought about great change and influence on society. As of now, with the emergence of digital convergence, it is easier than ever to access news, social platforms, online banking, and more which would not have been possible before the digital revolution and processes of globalization. The essay will structure itself thematically. There will be a consideration and analysis of whether we are living in a 'global village' that shares global culture and issues, how social movements have been amplified by the new media, and how this has changed our understanding of the global media and its relations to the 'sociological imagination'.

Firstly, to measure how the global media has contributed to the 'sociological imagination' and globalization, it is important to understand and reach a definition of those concepts. Developments in technology have led to a digital convergence whereby on one device many types of content can be reached such as audio-visual and a higher amount of interactionally can be seen on all platforms including the news and social media platforms. Before the digital revolution and the ability of media that travel across transnational borders almost instantly, media outlets had a one-way system of communication. What is meant by this is that media co-operations were largely centralized, regulated, and mostly nationalized. They provided the duty of communication by speaking to the world rather than having the interactionally that we can now as a result of these technological advancements. The global media is in simple terms, mass communication on a global scale that allows people from across the globe to gain access to the same information. As (Flew, 2008) finds 'In the twenty-first century, we find that social media, carried through digital networks and the global Internet are enabling a highly diverse array of individual, groups, organizations and movements to produce and globally distribute media content. This presents new challenges to show how we understand the media.' To elaborate, the global media has allowed individuals from all over the globe regardless of characteristics such as social class, race, sexuality, and so on to become media distributors and producers and this presents new challenges in how we define the new media as well as measure the effect of the global media on social issues.

The Sociological imagination is a term coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills, the author describes the sociological imagination as enabling 'us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society.' (C Wright Mills, 1959). The sociological imagination allows the individual to be aware of the concept that many of the problems faced within society have social roots. It enables the individual to connect and understand that concept in the context to wider society. Exploring the definitions of the two concepts of global media and the 'sociological imagination demonstrates that social issues can now be seen as a result of the global media and globalization through a global lens. An example of this would be how the global media has changed social protest in the twenty-first century.

Social protest has been present in history for centuries even without modern-day technology, however, with technological advancements and the revolution of analog forms of media to digitalized forms of media - concepts of social issues are accelerated and discussed on a global level beyond their transnational borders. Philosopher Marshall McLuhan developed the concept of a 'global village' to explore the idea that as a result of advancements in technology, the world would become connected and share a 'global village' that allows individuals to share a global culture. Therefore, the argument stands that we can now share social issues as a global force. McLuhan describes that 'As we begin to react in depth to the social life and problems of our global village, we become reactionaries' (McLuhan, 1964). Evidence suggests that as a result of the new media and processes of globalization, societies from across the world can share social issues. An example to draw upon is the increase in discussion for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Protests broke out after a video of George Floyd, an African American man, was killed by police brutality. The video was recorded and posted on social media by an onlooker, and it spread globally as the discussion of the social issue of police brutality towards African Americans. This is a direct link to how as a result of the global media, more specifically social media, social protest from all around the globe was formed. In fact, research showed that social media had a huge role in sparking the discussions of social media and changing their opinions on certain social problems - 'Roughly a quarter (23%) of adult social media users in the United States - and 17% of adults overall - say they have changed their views about a political or social issue because of something they saw on social media in the past year.' (Perrin, 2020). Overall, it is clear to see that the global media in some senses has led to the transparency of societal issues, it has arguably given individuals the freedom as their own media distributors and creators to shed light on issues that may be avoided by more centralised and controlled media platforms.

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However, some argue that we do not live in a 'global village' as McLuhan suggested, especially not with one shared culture. Smith (1991 as quoted in Flew, 2018) argues that 'If by 'culture' is meant a collective mode of life, or a repertoire of beliefs, styles, values, and symbols then we can only speak of cultures, never just culture. the idea of a 'global culture' is a practical impossibility.' Whilst the idea of a 'global village' can be seen, on the basis that as a result of technological advancements and the interconnectedness of the world through the processes of globalization, there has been an increase of culture being shared through the global media. It can also be argued that there is not just one shared culture, but many cultures are shared as 'villages' rather than a 'single village'.

Additionally, some have concerns over the effects of cultural globalization on societies as a result of growing global media. There is a relationship between co-operations and the global media; one in which means there is a higher concentration of conglomerates dominating the mass media. Large competitive conglomerates such as Walt Disney, News Corp, Sony, and more are among those who dominate the industry.

As the process of globalization of the media is connected to global corporate expansion, cooperation can grow in influence in a global media market. Only a handful of corporations produce the majority of the mass media. Technology has been accelerating globalization and globalized media as it allows fast communication and enables a wider reach into mass markets. Multi-national media companies use vertical integration and the benefits of globalization to capitalize on a global marketplace rather than a local marketplace for their media products. This supports the work of (McChesney, 2001) who stated 'economic and cultural globalization arguably would be impossible without a global commercial media system to promote global markets and to encourage consumer values.' The argument therefore stands that, being as many of these co-operations have their roots in the West and more specifically America, a process of dominant American 'ideologies' or 'culture' such as the value of consumerism is being inflicted onto developing countries. Cultural customs from around the globe such as food, music, dance, and more are being shared via new media, however, there are still American customs such as fast-food chains like McDonald's that can be seen all around the globe. It is then questionable that to some extent globalization has in some ways created a 'global culture'. There are fears that this will lead to the fragmentation of traditional cultures.

In conclusion, the process in which globalization has transformed the global media as well as how the global media has helped accentuate the process of globalization have changed the way in which we communicate and use our 'sociological imagination. The forms of global media such as social media platforms have helped to give voices to all socio-groups within our societies across the globe- accelerating and discussing on a global scale societal issues and fighting against injustices such as the use of social media in the BLM movement. Some are skeptical of the effects of the globalized media arguing that it has fragmented local cultures through the domination of Western media outlets that control much of the global media. Overall, the conclusion can be made that the global media can contribute to society for some in an effective and helpful way, whereas in others, it can cause corruption and fragmentation.