How does technology make the world bigger?

Answer 1

Surely, your question asks how technology makes the world bigger in the metaphorical sense. Physically, this good old planet hasn't changed its size recently.

So, in the metaphorical sense, technology makes the word both bigger and smaller at the same time:

Technology makes the world bigger because it enables us to experience far-away corners of the earth. We buy foods from half-way around the globe, we hear news from all over the world, we travel long distances - all that enriches our perception of the world, thus making it bigger.

A typical person living in a rural village in 1909 had very little knowledge of the world outside the village and its immediate neighborhood. This person may never have seen, or even heard of, a pineapple or the Rocky Mountains. A typical person living in the same village in 2009 will know of a much larger world, due to the technological advances made in transportation and communication.

At the same time, technology is often commented to make the world a smaller place. The advances made to transportation and communication in particular make remote parts of the world far more easily accessible now than they were a century ago. The fact that we can now easily buy pinapples or travel to the Rocky Mountains makes the world larger (by enrichment), but also smaller at the same time. Back in 1909, a journey to the Rocky Mountains or to Singapore would have been a major endevour, taking days or even weeks, while we hardly notice the (relatively) short time to travel there in person, or metaphysically via the internet.

Answer 2

Technology makes the world smaller because it connects people as if they are right next to each other. Take texting or IMing for example. Thirty years ago if you wanted to talk to your relative or friend who lives in a far away, you would have called to talk to them. Long distance calls cost a lot of money for a short time, but you can text or IM as far away as you like, without paying the price.
Technology is a big part of the world today. This has nothing to do with nationalism.