A word is a global village. Do you agree and why? (essay) - Świat jest globalną wioską. Czy zgadzasz się i dlaczego? (rozprawka)

We tend to think that less and less people are living in the country. Indeed, during the last century people preferred to move to cities rather than leave them. Lots of villages were simply abandoned since living in a city seemed to be easier and connected with more opportunities. As a result most of us inhabit towns and cities – huge concrete constructions.

We are mostly strangers to each other since it is highly unlikely to get to know so many other inhabitants. However there are people who try to convince us that living in a city we can live in a village as well. They are fond of using a term 'Global Village' which means that nowadays we may be close to each other (like in a village) although the physical distance is substantial. Is the world really a global village?

To some extent, figuratively speaking, the world is such a village. Thanks to modern devices invented during the last decades the distance truly is not as important as it used to be. Thousands of kilometres from each other we can communicate instantly and familiarize with everything that is happening somewhere else at the same moment.

Even though the expression 'Global Village' originally referred to the media it is associated mostly with the World Wide Web (WWW) now. In my opinion while considering the matter we should include everything that enables us to stay in touch with people from the whole planet. Among them there is not only the Internet but also TV and aeroplanes.

Regardless of my final answer I may agree that people living far away are closer to us than ever before. However at the same time those living nearby seem to be further than they used to be in the past. If this is a village then it must be a very peculiar one. One may conclude that in real life we function as if we were in the outer space – many light years from each other. Is there any parallel reality in which the global village exists?

Thanks to the Internet we can make friends all over the world. There are no traditional boundaries – crossing the border is not required to meet people of other nationality. As a result we can easily learn something about other cultures, beliefs and attitudes. Stereotypes can finally be weakened this way as we get to know that people everywhere are more similar to us than we ever imagined.

Increasing popularity of online communities such as Nasza Klasa or Facebook causes that we are more likely to have friends from other countries. Using Skype we might watch and talk to individuals that we have never encountered in real life.

Making friends should not be the only aspect considered though. Thanks to the Internet and TV, we can 'participate' in events happening miles away. What is more we are able to watch them live. Not a long time ago it took at least days to be familiar with things taking place in different corners of the world. Now it is enough to turn on your computer or a TV set.

However, as I have already mentioned, an impression of living so close to others can be misleading. Internet relationships cannot substitute real ones and as a matter of fact people seem to spend more time with their virtual friends nowadays than with real ones.

Therefore I am of the opinion that in fact there are two independent worlds – a virtual and a real one. I can agree that the virtual one resembles a village. The other which I find more important looks more like a desert or the outer space, though. Having so many opportunities to learn more about the rest of the world and people living far away it is advisable to remember that nothing can substitute the real presence of others.