Geographers study how humans interact with each other over time and distances. The term Space-Time Compression describes the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another palce. As time goes on, the world is becoming smaller and more accessible. The more accessible to place we have, the more we learn about the people, place, site, and situation of places around the world.
Innovations in transportation have allowed people to become more conncected. In the past, many people had to physically move from place to place to interact; however, transportation and telecommunications have allowed us to learn about many places.
Check out the following map that show flight connections. What are some of the patterns that you notice?
Thinking About Networks
Chains of communication are called networks. Networks allow people to interact through a common bond. Many countries and societies have different TV networks, radio networks, newspaper, and now social networking.
Human interactions can be hindered by physical geography such as oceans, deserts, mountains, etc. Typically, the farther away one group is from another, the less likely the towe group are to interact. Interaction diminishes with increasing distance and can even disappear which is called distance decay.