Parts of the Amazon forest #AmazonRainForest in Sao Paulo Brazil is on fire,

Remember when the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire on 15 April 2019? The scenes were everywhere, from televisions and social media to newspapers and radio. The incident got so much coverage that it leaves one wondering, why is the recent fires in in Sao Paulo not getting the same amount?

Surely, the rainforest is far more important to life and existence than a cathedral. It’s baffling that a fire visible from space will get more coverage than what it’s getting. But it is not. There is little coverage, few people attempting to stop it and even fewer billionaires donating to save or restore it.

Why is this? Well, one simply needs to look at the Marxian dependency theory and the impact of social media to see why.

What is Dependency Theory?

Marxian dependency theory is a look at how developed and developing nations interact in a free market. The theory states that large market nations, such as America, depend on smaller nations outside its periphery, like Canada, for its import of goods. These smaller nations (Canada) look outwards to periphery countries like China to manufacture goods, with China looking to the smallest economic countries like Zimbabwe for the sourcing of materials.

This theory shows the flow of goods between countries with ranging economies and how they depend on one another for survival and why some countries struggle and may never leave their current situation.

Why Does Dependency Theory Matter?

Even though the original dependency theory was based on economic structures, the theory was later revised for communication as well, more specifically the flow of media. How does this work? Center countries like America and England have far greater media influence than smaller countries like Brazil or Kenya.

Large media organisations such as the BBC, CNN, Fox News and Sky News reach more people than any other organisations around the world, with local news like our own EWN having less of an impact globally. This is where the dependency theory makes sense.

Where Does Social Media Fit In This?

Social media has grown in popularity in recent years and is reaching more people each day than any other news source. Over 2.4 billion people log onto Facebook each month with Youtube following closely behind with 1.9 billion active monthly users.

With the growth of social media, it is becoming the source of news for billions around the world and is the first real threat to the existence of the dependency theory. You see, social media influencers and social media news sources can pop up from anywhere around the world, with some of the largest social media channels in third world countries.

Great for the uncovering of interesting and varying views but also the source of #FakeNews which was made popular by Donald Trump. The future of media itself relies heavily on social media development and what path it will follow, however there might not be much of a future if the world continues this destructive and careless trend.

Traditional news agents and sources such as BBC and CNN might not have picked up on the importance of this matter, but social media is certainly starting to. And if social media has its way, this will become a priority news matter for any news agency.

Fight With #EcoBrickChallenge

Join us in reducing our carbon emissions footprint and environmental impact by taking part in our #EcoBrickChallenge which is open to anyone. Simply collect all plastic waste you have and store it inside plastic bottles. These bottles are used as building bricks in various projects around the country. Find out more about #EcoBrickChallenge here.

You can also donate to any of these non-profit organisations which are operating in and around the Amazon to conserve it.