Culture and Globalization

                 In chapter 3, we took a look at culture.  Culture is defined by the author as “the ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life”.  As we move into the future with new technologies that connect us together, new commonalities are forming between people who would normally share no cultural connection.  These new open forums for the exchange of ideas and material objects across the entire globe have in many ways guided culture in a global direction.  You may now start to identify just as well with someone on the other side of the world as you do with those in your own home town.

Corporations are selling their products in all corners of the globe, nations are coming together in alliances such as NATO and in governmental functions such as in the European Union, and the internet is connecting the world to each other.  People are enjoying (or not so much enjoying) food from McDonald's on every continent.  The financial insecurities in Greece are creating consequences faced across the entire Eurozone, which affect trade to the US.  The conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Afghanistan are eliciting responses from countries with which they share no borders.  Facebook is now connecting over 1 billion users.  Cat videos are rampant in every language.  All this connection to one another is giving the people of earth more ability to interact and exchange ideas and traditions.  The same television and internet sensations can be enjoyed in real time by people on opposite sides of the earth from each other.  People are getting to share in the same experiences which in turn will guide them to make similar value judgments.

While globalization of culture if far from a complete reality, the fact that people can now be politically, economically, and socially interweaved with others at such great distances will help to erode down many of the differences among us.  No culture in the world communicated using hashtags or emoticons 20 years ago, but now these symbols have become a common sight anywhere with an internet connection.  Thousands of shared videos give us connections to nations we may know nothing about, but watching them might give clues to simple ideas such as their humor or fashion without a need for a common language.  Many such videos were used to give the world insight into the many nuances of the Arab Spring through a direct link to what the people who experienced it saw, giving much more human detail than the daily news is capable of.  These changes in connection give more intimacy and relevance to the information we receive, giving more insight into the morale realm that others far away from us inhabit.  Whether or not such change is accepted or resisted, nations are accelerating towards each other at an increasing rate thanks to technology.  While this may never lead to an absolute single culture on the globe, it is necessary for all cultures to learn to respect each other.  Because when all the billions of people on the globe are connected at the hip with each other, getting along may be your only means of survival.

Facebook Stats:

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/\

Greece affects the eurozone:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31556754