#globe1a03

On October 28, 2021, a major social media company announced it would change its name in an effort to rebrand the company and what it represents. This company was Facebook, now currently known as Meta. The name change represents CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ideas and entire company focus on a new platform called the “metaverse”. This will be a virtual space for people to come together in virtual reality. The online realm will allow individuals to have a virtual life, including creating a virtual avatar to allow for a space for playing games and having a virtual home space to relax in. While Facebook and its other parent companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. provided a way for people to be connected, Zuckerberg argues that the metaverse will transform this already established interconnection amongst people and provide new opportunities to connect the world globally. With new connections between people and communities worldwide this will have an increasing effect on globalization and how it will be enabled by the metaverse in the future. Under the metaverse the already established space-time compression and social acceleration that encompasses globalization will provide the global world with greater interconnectivity. With VR hardware coming in the future, the metaverse will create the illusion that we are no longer in the real world but in a virtual world we are embedded in. We will be ultimately fostered by the ways we virtually interact with people in the metaverse. Virtual games, interactions or even hang outs will create shared experiences amongst people worldwide. This will further develop the global consciousness and the “GLOCAL” events we already experience, while creating more partial conditions for global citizenship. However, this will affect society greatly and the hardware expected to release will be very sophisticated and expensive. The already released Oculus Quest 2 starts at $399.99 and the price is only expected to increase as the metaverse unfolds. Therefore, the new opportunities of interconnectivity will be limited to only certain people who can afford it. This further reinforces elitism arguments that only the already affluent and privileged have the capacity to be global citizens. Elites will be the only people who benefit from this new level of interconnectivity. This further reflects existing socio-economic gaps between people in society and may continue to divide them, disregarding the core goals of global citizenship. However, this virtual space is still in the early stages of development as Zuckerberg explained it and will likely not become mainstream for another five to ten years. In this case, the connection between the metaverse and globalization is still very much in the air with many of its effects being unknown. With globalization spreading around the world and effecting the lives of people globally, ideas and arguments for globalization will only have an increasing impact. This will affect people worldwide especially if the metaverse is set to provide new distinct interconnections amongst people in our globalizing world.

Currently while writing my first blog post, I am listening to music as many people do. For me, music is a big part of my identity as it is something I frequently listen to. In a certain way, the music I listen to influences me and shapes my experiences living in society. Music varies from generation to generation, but more importantly it ranges globally. My daily playlist on Apple music is a product of globalization. I like to listen to hip-hop and pop usually from North American artists, however, K-pop and reggaeton from Korea and Latin America are also genres I love to listen to. It is evident that these music genres originate from all over the world, however this has not stopped music from having an increasing influence on people globally. If anything, music from different parts of the world have only helped in developing a unified experience with humans globally. Globalization is enabled by technology and communication. Platforms like music streaming services are available globally, thus allowing people to listen to and discover music from different global genres. This also provides a way for artists to communicate with people globally no matter where they are in the world. There is a great sense of interconnectivity here, as people are connected with music worldwide. As popularity of music increases, artists globally gain more popularity and dominate billboard music charts. We see artists like Bad Bunny and BTS cross over into the Western music industry and demonstrate that music has no borders. I personally have no idea what BTS sings about as I do not speak Korean, but I love their music, and it is very obvious that their fan base is diverse. Not only is BTS the biggest boy band in Korea, but they are also the biggest boy band in North America, commonly being nominated for music awards alongside popular Western artists. A common song that I’m sure many people remember is “Despacito”. As annoying the song may be now, it was loved and is still known worldwide. This is a result of two artists who shared Puerto Rican culture all around the world and ultimately expressed the Latin-X community globally. The song has billions of views on YouTube and has brought more recognition to the Latin genre worldwide. Latin artists like J Balvin and Karol G continue to spread Latin music which creates a global consciousness among people. Music continues to intensify connections all over the world, unifying people. People are brought together by appreciating music worldwide, proving that globalization continues to affect all elements of contemporary life.

The internet is becoming a main actor in the hybridization of culture worldwide. We have never been able to share ideas and connect across borders in this form: instant and easy. However, with this intensified worldliness comes issues with cultural appropriation. Cultural artifacts are misused and misrepresented all across the globe, all because someone saw it online and thought it was cool. This is prevalent in the discussions surrounding the appropriation of Black culture on social media.

Fact: Our lives changed about one year ago. I’d been thinking about how much COVID-19 has taken from me in the past year. With a situation like this, I’m hyper-aware of how much my experiences are not unique. And as International Women’s Day approaches, I decided to look into how COVID has impacted women around the world. 

I knew that women have been left in a precarious place due to the upheaval that came with restrictions, lockdowns, and the like. I expected some of what I saw, including statistics that noted how domestic abuse and sexual violence against women have risen due to the pandemic. On the economic side of things, women were faced with three times more hours of unpaid housework than their male counterparts on average. There have been global trends regarding the diversion of resources to reproductive health, including lack of access to contraceptives. It’s sad that another universality of this global pandemic has been the rise of gender-based violence.

The United Nations has stressed the importance of governmental policy making that addresses women’s disadvantages since April 2020. Women make up 70% of the health workforce globally, putting them at higher risk for the virus. In Canada, more than half of all COVID-related deaths have been those of women. 

The economic ‘bounce back’ that so many countries are working towards is an unattainable dream for so many women on a personal level. The way the pandemic brought a halt to our lives has repercussions that disproportionately leave women in poverty, uneducated, and unemployed. 

COVID-19 has reshaped the fight for women’s rights; NGOs have had to essentially re-evaluate their goals in light of the unforeseen events. The pandemic has had paradoxical effects: people are physically farther than ever, and yet the interconnectedness and shared consciousness of this ordeal has fostered a global sense of community and responsibility.

Public Health and Globalization go hand in hand!

In a Globalized World, public Health is making quite headlines on social media. The diversity of issues in the field needs to be understood and addressed for better handling. Accordingly, the more we have access to information and knowledge about living in a globalized era, the more we sense our surroundings, and the more is attained.

More Public Health attention than any other century before!

Sadly, such modern interconnectivity in a natural state of progress is undoubtedly bringing a diverse new challenge on the agenda. Outbreaks like Swine Flu, Ebola and Corona Virus are just a few of the flares in the 21-century due to the whole wave called Globalization.

We are all interconnected!

As observed, such topics like Public Health and Globalization grow as one. Moving forward, our attention toward the discussed matter is pivotal. We need to acquaint ourselves and have a good grasp of information on both the impact and the outcome of Globalization. Remember, Public Health is part of the whole picture.

Overwhelmed health workers speak out!

Many health practitioners worldwide speak out on various media channels about the actual situation dealing with a pandemic behind closed doors throughout the coronavirus spread. Public Health Global Crisis is natural and occurs more often than before. Such occurrences need to be taken seriously and identified a long time before a pandemic rise.

Alternatives are possible!

A healthy global consciousness and a shared learned experience can help our health system deal with a future pandemic event like coronavirus. We need supportive governments that understand Globalization for proper conditions to be created and spoken openly about. Hence, our global citizens and universal agencies can accumulate new knowledge and adapt to any future possible pandemic episodes.