Free Essay

Globalization and Children

In:

Submitted By tashaabooo
Words 708
Pages 3
To what extent has globalization improved the lives of children and youth?
To say that globalization has affected the lives of children and youth around the world would be an understatement. But with the growth over the years from globalization, many pros and cons have come out of it. The forthcoming of globalization has done wonders to developed countries, but not so much for underdeveloped countries. This is why I stand on a thin line between if it has improved the lives plenty, or not quite enough.
Globalization has increased economic competition. With this producers try to provide goods and services of value at the lowest possible prices. To achieve such a goal, manufacturer’s hire youth and children. They force the youth and children to work in horrible conditions that are unsafe and threatening to their health. They take advantage of the children due to the fact that they talk themselves up, and the children and afraid to speak up for their rights. Most of these kids that are being used as cheap labor, will never have a chance to go to school to further their education and to be able to get higher paying and safer jobs. In accordance with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, it recognizes that “the child [a person under 18 years of age], for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding, …and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality, and solidarity.” If people want to follow this and give children and youth around the world a better place to grow up in, why are people forcing them into shops for money. Yes globalization has proven a great tool when it comes to trading with other countries, but what people don’t see is how their products are made.
The biggest factor that puts me on edge when it comes to improved lives of children and youth is the media. Media has done so much for us in today’s society that it’s kind of hard to say that it hasn’t improved the lives of children and youth, but many things it seems that it has worsened it. It has worsened it through the way they cover stories, to technology becoming so advanced that today’s children in developed countries are becoming lazier, and lazier and this is why we see the rate of child obesity increasing so drastically. Everything that these children could need is right at their fingertips; they don’t have to leave their bed to get what they need done. With technology advancing every day, these children and youth are becoming too dependent on their gadgets, that if their parents take them away, or they are broken, they don’t know what to do. They forget their childhood games, playing outside, and any face to face human connections seems strange to them. Now with the way media covers their stories, they get the information we as individuals would like to know, but instead of giving it to us at is happens they manipulate their story to make it seem more enticing and to lure more people in to watching and supporting their station
So to sum it up, globalization has to a small extent provided some improvement to lives of youth and children around the world, but there are too many cons to say that it has done a great deal. In developed countries it twists the mind of the children and youth by portraying news stories incorrectly, and to put it bluntly, making our kids fat due to the lack of exercise they are partaking in while sitting on their bums all day playing on tumblr, or facebook. Globalization in developing countries has only worsened their lives as well and it causes the youth and children to lose their childhoods by working their lives away in workshops to provide cheap and affordable clothes to people in places such as Canada, and the United States. In the end, I don’t believe that globalization has done much for this generation of youth and children, the only thing it has done is worsen the lives for most of these children.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

To What Extent Has Globalization Improved the Lives of Children and Youth?

...extent has globalization improved the lives of children and youth? Over the years globalization has spread and touched almost every person on the planet. It has shaped and influenced individuals and continues to do so to this day. The youth of our society is most influenced by globalization because of their interaction with the media and each other. Globalization is so influential in the world because it has the power to change people’s lives and change the way people think and interpret ideas. I think that globalization has had a positive effect on the children and youth in Canada because it has promoted positive thinking and positive actions in them. I think that globalization has influenced two main concepts in youth, firstly it has given them new and improved technology that can help them to communicate and interact with thousands of other kids around the world, and secondly, globalization has also improved education in youth which can help to widen and expand their minds. Globalization has helped children through various forms of technologies; communication technology is the major one that globalization influences. Technology has helped children to communicate and get to know children with different lifestyles, by doing this youth can learn and appreciate what they have and how they live. Globalization has allowed the younger generations to see the world more easily and be exposed to more cultures and ideas than ever before. With the influence of globalization, youth are...

Words: 639 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

To What Extent Has Globalization Improved the Lives of Children and Youth?

...To what extent has globalization improved the lives of children and youth? To say that globalization has affected the lives of children and youth around the world would be an understatement. But with the growth over the years from globalization, many pros and cons have come out of it. The forthcoming of globalization has done wonders to developed countries, but not so much for underdeveloped countries. This is why I stand on a thin line between if it has improved the lives plenty, or not quite enough. Globalization has increased economic competition. With this producers try to provide goods and services of value at the lowest possible prices. To achieve such a goal, manufacturer’s hire youth and children. They force the youth and children to work in horrible conditions that are unsafe and threatening to their health. They take advantage of the children due to the fact that they talk themselves up, and the children and afraid to speak up for their rights. Most of these kids that are being used as cheap labor, will never have a chance to go to school to further their education and to be able to get higher paying and safer jobs. In accordance with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, it recognizes that “the child [a person under 18 years of age], for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding, …and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance...

Words: 340 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Globalization and Child Labour

...Globalization and Child Labour Globalization is a topic that is very debatable; there are many advocates as well as opposition groups and globalization always carries with it the dilemma of whether it is good or bad for the all the countries taking part in this integration; regardless of this dilemma, globalization is happening right now and it is unstoppable, it has its benefits as well as its problems and one of the problems, although there is no empirical evidence, is that globalization raises child labour. Economic globalization unifies the economies of the world by reducing international trade barriers such as export fees, import quotas, tariffs through free trade agreements like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), as well as foreign investment, among others. However, this integration between developed and developing countries has increased the demand for labour in third world countries in sectors such as agriculture, food processing, textiles and this demand has increased the wages of their workers; which has prompted the need for cheap labour in other words child labour. In this paper I will examine the arguments on how globalization raises child labour as well as how globalization can actually be used to reduce child labour. Globalization can affect developing countries through the labour market by increasing trades, export sales, and foreign investment, all these factors have an impact on employment and salaries [2]; globalization increases the uneducated...

Words: 1880 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

The Role of Mass Media on the Cultural Identity Formation of the Youth in the Globalization Era

...Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The globalization of culture – the effect upon culture of the “increasing connection of the world and its people” – is perhaps nowhere more visible than in the changing nature of the relationship between the world’s youth and their sense of identity (Solomon & Scuderi 2002:13). It has become commonplace to think of the world’s youth as that part of the community who are most receptive, or, alternatively, susceptible to, foreign cultural practices. If childhood means acceptance, and adulthood means conservatism, youth means rebelliousness. Youth are seen as the part of society that is most likely to engage in a process of Cultural borrowing that is disruptive of the reproduction of traditional cultural practices, from modes of dress to language, aesthetics and ideologies. From Japanese punk to Australian hip hop, youth subcultures are seen as being implicitly rebellious, born as much from a desire to reject the generation that went before them, as from an identification with what they have become. Exactly how accurate this widespread impression may be is difficult to assess. What is certain, however, is that the age of globalization, more than any other age before it, is an age that has both exerted great effects upon, and been greatly affected by, young people. Adolescents undergo the process of identity formation as one of their foremost development challenges. This paper addresses what role the mass media play in this...

Words: 7013 - Pages: 29

Free Essay

Child Labor and Free Trade

...Globalization and child labor are the two perimeters that are often linked together. Since globalization opens up new jobs in poor countries, as the foreign competitors strive to minimize their costs of production, many argue that this creates countless opportunities for the exploitation of children. Harsh working conditions, subjection to near-slavery, and even physically abusive treatment are some of the taglines that have made globalization into even a more controversial issue. However, as a byproduct of poverty, child labor has been long-standing and not exclusively caused by globalization. Faced with newly available jobs, the decision whether children will enter the workforce or acquire education is solely made by their parents. Hence, the reality is that the preferences of parents are the main determinants of the outcome. According to Jagdish Bhagwati, the author of In Defense of Globalization, “poor parents, no less than rich parents, generally want the best for their children” (Bhagwati, 69). The claim that follows is that these types of parents will most likely put their children back in school rather than send them to work. As new jobs provide higher salaries, parents can feed the entire family and sustain normal living without the help of their children. Extra income that they now earn compensates for the earnings from the children’s work. Parents who highly value the goodwill of their children will also prefer education because their children will enjoy numerous...

Words: 942 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Identity Confusion

...In The Psychology of Globalization (2002) , Jeffery Arnett says that “As local cultures change in response to globalization, most people manage to adapt to the changes and develop a bicultural or hybrid identity that provides the basis for living in their local culture and also participating in the global culture. However, for some people, adapting to the rapid changes taking place in their cultures is more difficult. The images, values, and opportunities they perceive as being part of the global culture undermine their belief in the value of local cultural practices. At the same time, the ways of the global culture seem out of reach to them, too foreign to everything they know from their direct experience. Rather than becoming bicultural, they may experience themselves as excluded from both their local culture and the global culture, truly belonging to neither”. According to Arnett’s statement there are some countries or regions in the world where the local people are having difficulties in adopting the changes that are taking place. in his article The Psychology of Globalization he speaks about different terms such as “Culture shedding” which is when people are bound to drop some of their cultures whether it their own choice or not because globalization is dominating the world and there is nothing they can do about it, another term he speaks of is “Marginalization” which is when a person does not want to keep their old cultures any more but they also reject the new cultures...

Words: 924 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Globalization

...GLOBALIZATION Globalization is a series of social, economical, technological, cultural, and political changes that promote interdependence and growth. Globalization raises the standard of living in developing countries, spreads technological knowledge, and increases political liberation. (Harris 5-23) The main cause of globalization is influence from other, more developed, countries. Globalization is a historical process that results from human innovation and technological progress. The social effects of globalization are clearly illustrated in Peru. Once a third-world country filled with poverty and oppression, Peru is now transitioning into a developed nation. In Peru, globalization has raised the human development index, empowered women, and created a stronger country. (Leon 90-91)  One of the benefits of globalization on a social level is an increased Human Development Index. The Human Development Index is a measurement of a country's social, political, and economical growth in comparison to other countries in the world. The Human Development Index rates each country with a score between 0 and 1, with 1 being the most advanced, globalized country. Factors that are involved in determining a country's HDI are gross domestic production per capita, life expectancy at birth, adult literary, and the number of persons enrolled in educational institutions. In 1975, Peru's Human Development Index was a 0.643. By 2003, the Human Development Index had risen more than one tenth to 0...

Words: 1174 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Economic Globalization

...Globalization is a series of social, economical, technological, cultural, and political changes that promote interdependence and growth. Globalization raises the standard of living in developing countries, spreads technological knowledge, and increases political liberation. (Harris 5-23) The main cause of globalization is influence from other, more developed, countries. Globalization is a historical process that results from human innovation and technological progress. The social effects of globalization are clearly illustrated in Peru. Once a third-world country filled with poverty and oppression, Peru is now transitioning into a developed nation. In Peru, globalization has raised the human development index, empowered women, and created a stronger country. (Leon 90-91) One of the benefits of globalization on a social level is an increased Human Development Index. The Human Development Index is a measurement of a country's social, political, and economical growth in comparison to other countries in the world. The Human Development Index rates each country with a score between 0 and 1, with 1 being the most advanced, globalized country. Factors that are involved in determining a country's HDI are gross domestic production per capita, life expectancy at birth, adult literary, and the number of persons enrolled in educational institutions. In 1975, Peru's Human Development Index was a 0.643. By 2003, the Human Development Index had risen more than one tenth to 0.762. The substantial...

Words: 547 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Glt1 Task 1 Globalization

...Many changes have occurred in non-developed countries and societies since World War II. Many of these changes are due to globalization. Globalization is the development of integration and interaction among societies and cultures of different nations, a method motivated by international trade and investment and assisted by information technology (Globalization101, 2014, para. 1). Western countries and societies have invaded non-western areas with their beliefs and ways of doing things. This has dramatically changed how non-western societies do business, communicate, dress, eat and conduct life. The following three examples will demonstrate how globalization has impacted contemporary non-western societies and cultures. The first example will reveal how India’s wardrobe has been westernized. The second example will demonstrate how the introduction of McDonald’s to Japan has changed the way they approach meals. The third example will show how the media drove the Chinese government to allow international adoption. Example 1 The media and marketplace has caused India’s traditional wardrobe of men and women wearing dress to be quickly left behind and replaced with westernized clothing. The traditional Indian attire is becoming obsolete in both boys and girls and being replaced with (blue jean) trousers via market and cable network (Singh, 2013). Before globalization had an impact on India’s choice of clothing, their traditional wardrobe included fabric in the form of a dress or pants...

Words: 1324 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Globalization

...Globalization essentially is the growth of an industry to a world wide scale. Globalization is seen in several varying ways. Many tend to believe that expanding the political, economic, and cultural spectrums of the world will essentially lead the masses in to an enlightened future. However, there are many counter arguments that portray globalization as a greedy power hungry mechanism used to exploit poor and undeveloped countries. The effects of globalization are both long term and lethal and should be counteracted immediately. Globalization is often seen as a way to expand cultural diversity. Over the years globalization has become a sort of window in to other cultures by exchanging languages, food, and other traditions. By expanding the cultural spectrum, Phillipe Legrain, declares, “It spreads diversity, strengthening all cultures…” (Globalization Benefits World Cultures 34). Movies, music, and art from other cultures are now present in other societies that would have otherwise been ignorant to such customs. Hollywood for example is a global industry with many foreign actors, directors, writers, and studios. On the downside however, many unhealthy cultural exchanges are taking place as well, for example food companies like McDonalds and KFC are leading the world into a new and obese era. (La Bella 53-65) Another, positive aspect of globalization is the amount of flowing capital into developing countries. Expanding foreign investments are in turn stimulating the economies...

Words: 1307 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Globalization

...Globalization is a series of social, economical, technological, cultural, and political changes that promote interdependence and growth. Globalization raises the standard of living in developing countries, spreads technological knowledge, and increases political liberation. (Harris 5-23) The main cause of globalization is influence from other, more developed, countries. Globalization is a historical process that results from human innovation and technological progress. The social effects of globalization are clearly illustrated in Peru. Once a third-world country filled with poverty and oppression, Peru is now transitioning into a developed nation. In Peru, globalization has raised the human development index, empowered women, and created a stronger country. (Leon 90-91) One of the benefits of globalization on a social level is an increased Human Development Index. The Human Development Index is a measurement of a country's social, political, and economical growth in comparison to other countries in the world. The Human Development Index rates each country with a score between 0 and 1, with 1 being the most advanced, globalized country. Factors that are involved in determining a country's HDI are gross domestic production per capita, life expectancy at birth, adult literary, and the number of persons enrolled in educational institutions. In 1975, Peru's Human Development Index was a 0.643. By 2003, the Human Development Index had risen more than one tenth to 0.762. The substantial...

Words: 1892 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Globalization

...The deadly consequences behind Globalization Globalization refers to world marketing for production of goods and services. It could simply be defined as trading around the world. Globalization is considered as the path for economics growth. However people in third world countries are not benefit from globalization and they are the victims of foreign corporations. Globalization does more bad then good because it causes serious issues such as poverty and inequality. People in third world countries are suffering of the huge debts and the enforcement of SAP’s. Children’s health is affected by the removal of food subsidies and food scarcity due to the promotion of exporting goods. Globalization caused third world countries to become heavily in debt. The article, Debt: The New Colonialism states that third world countries have borrowed $2.5 trillion of loans from Northern countries and the World Bank for development. They hope to become modernized and industrialized therefore they spent most of the money on large scale projects and military spending. However these loans did not make their countries better off. People in third world countries received no benefits from the loans because unfortunately, they are the one paying the debts. A UNICEF report states, “Hundreds of thousands of the developing world’s children have given their lives to pay their countries’ debt, and many millions more are still paying the interest with their malnourished minds and bodies”. Third world...

Words: 842 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Globalisation

...Globalization essentially is the growth of an industry to a world wide scale. Globalization is seen in several varying ways. Many tend to believe that expanding the political, economic, and cultural spectrums of the world will essentially lead the masses in to an enlightened future. However, there are many counter arguments that portray globalization as a greedy power hungry mechanism used to exploit poor and undeveloped countries. The effects of globalization are both long term and lethal and should be counteracted immediately. Globalization is often seen as a way to expand cultural diversity. Over the years globalization has become a sort of window in to other cultures by exchanging languages, food, and other traditions. By expanding the cultural spectrum, Phillipe Legrain, declares, “It spreads diversity, strengthening all cultures…” (Globalization Benefits World Cultures 34). Movies, music, and art from other cultures are now present in other societies that would have otherwise been ignorant to such customs. Hollywood for example is a global industry with many foreign actors, directors, writers, and studios. On the downside however, many unhealthy cultural exchanges are taking place as well, for example food companies like McDonalds and KFC are leading the world into a new and obese era. (La Bella 53-65) Another, positive aspect of globalization is the amount of flowing capital into developing countries. Expanding foreign investments are in turn stimulating the economies...

Words: 1307 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Globalisation

...Globalization Name: Institutional affiliations: This paper focuses on highlighting how the processes of globalization have changed the experiences of growing up and being educated in for the adolescent children aged 12 to 15 in Australia. Globalization is the process by which organizations and businesses establish international relations through the exchange of world business views and ideas, culture and products with other nations of the world. These businesses and organizations then start to operate and trade on an international scale. Globalization can be attributed to advances in the industrial sector, changes in the transportation and telecommunication systems, infrastructural changes, and the rise in the internet culture and development. The interplay of these forces in politics, religion and economies influence the economic trends of each country. Some of the social effects of globalization to the world economy include: poverty reduction due to increase in the wages and employment rate in the participative developing countries, improved healthcare provision due to the registered decline in the maternal and infant mortality rates, the provision of better educational standards, in line with the global millennium developmental goals. However globalization has also been viewed as a key in increasing the unemployment rates in the third world countries due to massive sacking of workers, high poverty rates and low income generation among the working...

Words: 3707 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Globalization and Developing Countries

...Globalization and Developing Countries Globalization is the massive control of the world’s economy by big businesses. With the growth of globalization comes the changing of developing countries’ economies, and destruction of environments and cultures. So why than are we still allowing corporations to hurt them? There must be a stricter limit on corporate activity in developing countries to protect their economies, environments and cultures. How far does globalization go back? Some people argue that globalization can be traced back to the Turks control of the Silk Road or the discovery of the Americas. (Ornek, Globalization and Cultural Identity) Others claim that it began at the end of the 19th century with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. (Ornek, Globalization and Cultural Identity) There is no certain start point for globalization but two modern technologies have helped globalization become more noticeable, communication and transportation. (Ornek, Globalization and Cultural Identity) Regardless of when globalization began, it is an ever-expanding process. Economics is one of the most heavily affected by globalization. As corporations expand and build factories in other countries they not only harm the economy of the host country but also of the home country. These companies are practicing outsourcing, meaning that they are taking jobs from people in home countries and giving them to those in host countries. This helps raise the unemployment percentage in home...

Words: 1184 - Pages: 5