Twitter has emerged as a way to share information instanta­neously and to keep up-to-date with what is happening. But how can we use Twitter to make sense of the interrelated processes of globalization and consumption?

For this activity, go to Twitter.com and find the day’s top trending topics worldwide. Explore these top trends by clicking on them and looking at the specific tweets. Do research online to get informa­tion on topics mentioned in the tweets that are unfamiliar to you.

In what ways are these topics and tweets reflective of a global­ized world? How are these topics and tweets related to goods and services that you consume? In what ways does Twitter facili­tate the flow of information and goods globally? How does this influence the decisions and choices that individuals make at the micro level? How do these trends affect your own choices?