INTERNET AND THE WORLD CULTURE

This post was written with the help of the the author: Lily Brown is a master in English philology and literature at California University. Lily is currently working as one of the best writers at the EssaysProfessor.com She also studies feminine psychology.

The advent of the Internet has come with many changes in the human life. The cultural diversities across the world have narrowed, forming a homogenous, westernized culture. The Internet has changed the way human beings conduct business, politics, maintain communication, as well as the life of the young in the society. Business has taken a new face due to electronic commerce, possibilities and ways to transfer money online, and conduct of such transactions in general. Politics is assuming a new form with new ways of mobilizing support or opposition for an issue. Young people live their lives differently in comparison to their predecessors. Communication between people from different ethnic groups has also changed through harmonization of language. These aspects of human life are turning the world into a global village with the help of the virtual reality of the Internet. It is true that the world has been a adopting a homogenous westernized culture but it is somehow different from what was initially known as a western culture. Changes in cultural practices are transforming all over the world as people from all continents appreciate cultures of others and incorporate them into their own. The term westernized culture in this context implies a culture of freedom and change. The growth of the Internet has made advances in the global culture in various ways. Has the Internet really contributed to cultural changes? Can the new culture really be termed as westernized?

Youth Culture

Reflecting the validity of the Internet on the youth culture, two Internet aspects come to mind, the Internet as a subset of a giant culture and the Internet as a distinct culture. Taking it as an independent culture, young people are considered to be independent entities in the virtual space of the Internet. In this context, the youth operate purely virtually, they speak out, search for their identity, and relate to people of their group of interest there. Taking the second aspect into consideration, young people function on the World Wide Web like in real life. Consequently, they use the Internet to maintain relationships in their real life. Their use of this technology is affected by other factors such as socioeconomic aspects, educational among others. However, to understand the effect of the Internet on the youth culture, it is imperative to analyze its two forms. Considering the effects of these two aspects, it becomes evident that young people are currently considerably dependent on the Internet. They use it widely to maintain relationship, to study, work in business, and go into politics. In addition, they are not just consumers of the available information and privileges of the Internet, . they are also producers. They are the major contributors to the blogs and they are also working aggressively to come up with new platforms for communication on the Internet. The fact that the youths are producers of the information . gives them the opportunity to freely express their ideas and points of view. In such a way, they air their minds to an infinite audience while targeting a limited one, of their friends and acquaintances, or even the whole infinite audience. Exchanging ideas, the youths are building their identity, which they could not do otherwise. In the western culture, there is freedom to express one’s point of view regardless of who agrees or disagrees. Empowering young people to build their identity is also a western approach. Therefore, these two characteristics of the Internet have given birth to the westernized culture for young people.

Additionally, the Internet has changed the behavior of the youths in the real world. The way young people interact has taken a new form as a result of the influence of virtual interaction. People have lost their touch with face to face communication and they find it cumbersome and tedious. Apart from enhancing communication through overcoming geographical barriers, the Internet has reduced interaction to an informal practice, where people find it hard to interact face to face formally. Even in cultures where direct interaction has been always treasured, the Internet has corroded this tradition, making young people behave the same way those from the West do. Furthermore, the use of the Internet has induced media multitasking in the system. Young people hardly conduct one activity at a time. Addiction to the Internet is the reason to limit excessive multitasking. People are used to being online, chatting, updating their profile on social media, searching for information, streaming, watching movies or songs on YouTube among others. As a result, young people find themselves multitasking regardless of the primary activity. On the same note, pursuing to satisfy their needs, they are creating a bedroom culture. The youths are equipping their bedrooms with computer devices that will enable them to remain online as long as they want, ensuring privacy from their family. The bedroom culture helps them avoid parental control over their activities and have a long-hour access to the Internet. The western youths are known for their thirst for freedom, which their parents easily provide. Young people from other regions of the world have joined the club; they are also now thirsty for freedom and even though their parents are not ready for such a change, they are acquiring it through the bedroom culture. Therefore, the Internet has changed the youth culture both in the virtual space and in the real world.

However, people with opposing arguments say that the youth behavior is not attributable to the growth of the Internet in anyway. From time memorial, young people have been behaving differently from their elders. Additionally, every generation shapes its behavior actively and profoundly. Hence, the difference in attitudes and approaches to life is a common thing, which was there way before the advent of the Internet. Most of the changes in the society come from a wayward conduct by a certain young generation, which results in a new culture. The need for privacy in young people is not the result of the Internet, it is a developmental aspect of all human beings. When people come from childhood to adulthood, they tend to seclude themselves from parental eyes. As a result, with or without the Internet, young people will always behave differently from their predecessors.

Business Culture

The Internet has brought about the westernized culture to the whole world and influenced the way business runs. In the West, business mostly operates via the Internet and it is presently changing speedily as people strive to decrease their waiting time in banks and at cashpoints. What used to be manual paper work in banks, has started to take place online, where money transfer is a matter of a few clicks on a computer device. People no longer visit banks unless it is unavoidably necessary. It is not only the banking sector that has changed, purchasing and selling have also taken a new form. Customers shop online and get their goods through parcel delivery means, where the buyer and the seller do not have any physical encounter. Apart from business transaction, business market has also gone digital. Companies advertise their businesses and products online, either through their Web 2.0 sites or through search engines. With the help of various platforms, companies are ensuring that the world knows of their existence, extensively using online marketing. Besides, business has also taken an informal face. Companies use social media platforms to keep in touch with their customers in chat rooms, Facebook and other sites. This way, businesses get to know feedback of the customers regarding their products, understand whether customers are satisfied or not, fathom customer needs and preferences, and find out what new they can introduce to the market. In addition, businesses keep their clients informed about new products they are launching to the market, about price changes, promotions, new business branches, and any other operational changes. Moreover, businesses also use GPS android services, which enable customers to locate themselves using their android devices. For instance, when customers travel around an area and need certain commodities, they can find the nearest place to get those commodities through the GPS service. Thus, business has become simpler and cheaper with the Internet. This business culture, which started in the West, has now spread worldwide, forming the westernized business culture.

Nonetheless, opposing arguments point out that it is not the Internet that has given birth to a new business culture; it is rather the dynamic nature of customers. Business people respond to consumer behavior, advancing the way they conduct and advertise business, among others. The sole determiner of the business culture is a consumer demand. Business people adopt new ways of business operations, all in an attempt to meet consumer needs. The fact that business is conducted online is not only the result of the availability of the Internet, but also of the change in consumer behavior.

Political Culture

The advent of the Internet has also seen a change in politics worldwide. The World Wide Web has provided platforms for politicians and other interest groups to mobilize people for support or opposition to different stands. In 2011, Egypt was in chaos as demonstrators mobilized each other through social media. Such an activity forced the government to break the Internet connections in an attempt to control the situation. The opposition were communicating on the Internet, airing their stand and encouraging others to agree with and support their argument. Moreover, demonstrations were planned online and people mobilized to participate, which made it difficult to control them. In many other places in the world, political activist have succeeded with the help of the Internet. There were campaigns in Los Angeles against the consent for a mega casino, which was conducted online. Those opposing the mega casino business appealed for residents online to oppose the consent to it. This campaign was successful and the activists managed to compel the council to drop the idea. During the online campaign many people aired their opinions against the mega casino and the local council had to comply with the stand of the residents. During Massachusetts election of Scott Brown, a mobile app named Walking edge, helped to identify the locations of undecided voters. That way, they could easily reach them and persuade to vote for Brown. These are just few examples among many others that demonstrate how politics have evolved as a result of the Internet.

However, some people state that the Internet has not produced new political culture. Even before the Internet, mobilization moved like bushfire. For example, university strikes used to begin in one institution and within a week or a few days universities across the United States were involved. Such mobilization did not require the Internet; it needed only comrade power spirit. The advantages that politicians acquire through the Internet can be gained otherwise with the same time. Therefore, in politics, the Internet entertains users but does not form a special culture. Furthermore, there are many people in politics who are not in the “political culture” of the Internet.

Notably, the argument that the growth of the Internet has brought a homogenous westernized culture is not unanimous. Some people argue that the current world culture is not westernized. All cultures have lost their original clamor and have mixed with in a lot of borrowed values from all over the world. Therefore, there is no longer the western culture. It is also misleading to think that the Internet popularize the western way of life. People from the West are adopting lifestyles from the South and East Asia and vice versa.

The world culture cannot be westernized. Additionally, it is homogenous but not in all aspects. Only some elements of human life are tending towards homogeneity while others remain the same.

In conclusion, the Internet has facilitated the creation of a new world culture, which can be called a westernized homogenous culture. All people in the world now adhere to the same way of behavior in business, politics, and youth conduct. There is no longer a distinction between the East, West, or Africa in these spheres of human life. Every race is striving to ensure that its gets major benefits in the digital world. The Internet has changed the conduct of young people, influencing the life of the elders. People are able to process and disseminate volumes of information on the Internet freely, thus making it open to millions. What initially could take days to achieve, such as mobilizing millions or thousands for a demonstration, has become a matter of a few clicks on a computer device. Politics has become viral just as business. People get to know the progress in political issues and business news easily and promptly. Every aspect of human life is changing with the virtual space, creating a new homogenous culture worldwide.