Data Flows on Global Interactions (HL IB Geography)

Global Data Flows

• Connections around the globe are:

  • Faster: faster speeds for talking, travelling, money exchange, etc

  • Deeper: connecting lives with faraway places

  • Longer: connecting links between places are further apart

• Developments in flows have made globalisation what it is today—a shrinking world

• These connections are considered network flows to places and populations through four significant developments:

  • Appearance of large transnational corporations (TNCs)

  • Growth of regional economics and trading blocs 

  • Development of modern transport networks

  • Advances in IT and communications, particularly the WWW and the internet

• The flow of digital information has become seamless, surpassing geographical boundaries and has shaped the modern era

• Digitalisation has lowered the cost of cross-border communication and transactions, allowing businesses to connect with each other and their customers around the globe

• NICs and LICs are slowly closing the gap on global connectivity

• Some of the challenges of the digital age include:

  • Companies have to adapt to pricing pressures and digital security

  • New communities are created by social media, but it also increases social pressures on users and is a method of spreading violence and extremism

  • Global data flows have benefited many countries and small businesses, allowing them to compete on the global market, although goods still have to be physically delivered

• E-commerce represents 13% of the global goods trade

• Approximately 50% of the world's traded services are digitised

• The flow of digital goods is instantaneous, e-books, apps, online games, music and streaming services are all common place

• Meta (Facebook) noted that they have around 50 million small and medium businesses on its platform

• Digital platforms allow companies to reach further than their local market

• Global flows are uneven and are spread narrowly, with Singapore, Europe and the USA at the centre of the global digital network

Transport Development

• There has been a reduction in the frictional effect of distance as greater distances can be covered in less time

  • Steam power: steam ships and trains moved goods and armies along trade routes quickly in the 1800s

  • Railways: railway networks expanded globally in the 1800s and remains important for governments globally, e.g., the High Speed 2 Railway plans to link London to Birmingham and some parts of northern England, which will reduce some journey times by a half

  • Jet aircraft: intercontinental jet aircraft made international travel easier with the arrival of the intercontinental Boeing 747 in the 1960s

  • Container shipping: has been vital to the global economy since the 1950s 

• The growth of low-cost airlines and high-speed rail networks allows larger numbers of people to travel easily from one country to another

• Larger volumes of goods are transported between countries more quickly and easily due to the improvements in transport

  • Containerisation has been one of the most significant changes that has increased the rate of globalisation—today, the largest container ships carry 24 000 containers

  • Larger, faster planes and reduced costs have also contributed to the movement of goods

Communication Infrastructure

• Digital communications through computers and mobile devices allow people to communicate with each other quickly and freely all over the world

• Technological developments such as fibre optics and satellites have enabled large volumes of data to be transmitted long distances at high speeds

• The internet enables instant communication via email, social media, and text and video messaging services

• This ready access to information and communication contributes to a shrinking world effect and is also known as time-space compression

Time-space compression