Blog Post # 5: Globalization and Cell phones?

Cell phone Subscribers as of 1990

             Oh, glorious cell phones. Could we have ever extended global outreach to so many without the help of such complex technology? As of 1990 cell phones were only a big deal in a few areas like the U.S., Japan, and Europe (as seen in the map above). However, in the next twelve years cell phone sales would shoot through the roof because of the ever growing cell phone industries in China, Southeast Asia, South America, and India (as seen in the image below). Now one might ask what this has to do with globalization, and quite simply put the cell phone expansion has almost everything to do with the rapid growth of globalization in the past twelve years.

            Globalization, as defined by overlord Helmer, is the increased interconnectedness between people especially when it comes to the three “C”’s capital, communication, and culture. Before capital and culture can be melded and integrated there has to be a line of communication open for both parties. In decades before the letter and the corded telephone was the preferred method of communication between two people separated by vast amounts of land or sea. Now, with the booming of the cell phone industry in LDC’s companies and normal folk alike can communicate instantly with friends, business associates, and loved ones in an instant. This leads to an increase in trade of both products and cultural trends by those involved in the cell phone pandemic. Which prompts me to say: thank God for cell phones!

Cell phone subscribers as of 2002