Contemporary Causes of Diffusion
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| globalisation/ˌɡləʊbəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/ | The increasing connections and interdependence between countries through trade, investment, communication and other flows. |
| time-space compression/taɪm speɪs kəmˈpreʃn/ | The shrinking of effective distance as transport and communication speed up. |
| social media/ˈsəʊʃl ˈmiːdiːə/ | Digital services through which users create, share or interact with content and social networks. |
Diffusion at light speed
- Today culture spreads faster than ever through globalisation 全球化.
- The internet, media, and transport connect the whole planet.
- A trend can now circle the world in hours, not centuries.
The main force spreading culture rapidly today is...
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Modern diffusion runs on globalisation and the internet.
The world feels smaller
- Time-space compression 时空压缩 is the shrinking of felt distance between places.
- Instant messaging and cheap flights collapse relative distance.
- This speeds up contagious and hierarchical diffusion enormously.
Historical or contemporary cause?
Sort each cause of diffusion as historical or contemporary.
Time-space compression makes distant places feel closer.
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Faster transport and communication shrink felt (relative) distance.
Select all contemporary causes of diffusion.
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Internet, social media, and air travel are contemporary; caravans are historical.
Match each item to its era.
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Social media = today; empire = past; compression = smaller felt distance.
Media and social networks
- Social media 社交媒体 lets ideas jump between friends worldwide instantly.
- Streaming, apps, and advertising spread popular culture everywhere.
- But this can threaten local languages and traditions.
Networks like apps and platforms where ideas jump between friends worldwide are social ____.
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Social media spreads popular culture instantly and globally.
Faster diffusion is not automatically "progress". The same networks that spread useful ideas instantly can also spread placelessness and erode local culture. Contemporary diffusion has real costs alongside its benefits.
A dance posted on social media in one country can be copied by millions worldwide within a day — contagious diffusion at internet speed. Two hundred years ago the same idea might have taken a generation to cross an ocean.
Contemporary diffusion is driven by globalisation, the internet, and social media, plus time-space compression that shrinks felt distance. Ideas now spread in hours — hugely speeding contagious and hierarchical diffusion, but also threatening local culture.
Write from time-space compression
- A dance challenge appears on phones worldwide within a day.
- The same spread once took months by ship.
What does the one-day spread illustrate?
Faster links compress the time between places.
What idea matches a worldwide spread in one day?
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Interaction is faster even though the kilometres are unchanged.