How The Growth In Internet Use Has Affected Cultures Around The World - Essay Example

Topic: The growth in internet use has affected cultures around the world, leading to a westernised, homogenous world culture Introduction Globally,the Internet has largely facilitated interconnectivity among different segments of the global society. The Internet is mostly controlled, run and managed by the Western countries. As it is mainly based on English language, it has become a tool to promote the Western culture in the non-western cultures of the world. The Internet has supported the commerce relations among the business communities living in the Western and Eastern countries. A large number of analysts believe that the Internet has negatively influenced the local business established in the Eastern countries, such as China, India and Pakistan. With the use of the Internet, multi-national businesses are giving tough time to the local business in the Eastern countries. However, the reality is much more different than this argument. The local businesses in these parts of world do not face much commerce problems with the emergence of the Internet instead they are getting more benefits. Some believe that the Eastern youth culture is being negatively affected by the onslaught of the Westernization. The Eastern youth adopts the Western life styles. However, the core cultural values and beliefs in any of Eastern culture have maintained their inbuilt structure and existence in its original shape. This fact can be validated by the fact the religion of Islam, which represents a major segment of culture prevalent in the Eastern societies, is the fastest growing religion in the world. In the subsequent parts of this paper, first the notion of Westernization and the Internet have been included to provide the basic understanding about the Westernization and the use of Internet to promote the western values. Subsequent to that, a part describing the Internet and Business is mentioned to highlight the impacts of the Internet in the local and international business context. Before the conclusion, the Internet, Westernization and youth culture part has been included to differentiate between the impacts of the westernization and the actual youth culture values and norms. Thesis Statement Despite cross-cultural interactions via the use of the Internet, the Eastern cultures have maintained their inherent and original shape. The Westernization and the Internet Globalization has often been used as a substitute for (i) internationalization; (ii) universalization; (iii) liberalization; (iv) Westernization; (v) deterritorialization (Scholte 2005). He contends that the first four uses remain unsatisfactory mainly because they fail to provide anything novel about the current era. The concept of cultural invasion is based on the notion that the infiltration of Western values into the Eastern societies. The Eastern societies do not have similar culture, society, norms, values and customs to the Western societies. Many believe that the Western societies have become more liberal, secular and give more freedom to personal and social livings in comparison with the Eastern societies, which have been termed as having rigid culture, strong religious beliefs, and exercising stringent personal and social practices and actions. Soon after the emergence of globalization and the interconnectedness via the use of the Internet, the interactions between the two different cultures have gained more speed. New communications technologies in the shape of the Internet and satellite television have meant that people interact and obtain images, views, opinions, analysis, texts and so on regardless of territorial nearness (Kiely 2000). Some argue that the Internet has been exploited to infiltrate the Western values into the Eastern societies via facilitating interactions between the youth belonging to both societies of the world. There is no denial that the Internet has provided an opportunity yet it has not completely eliminated the existence and significance of values, customs, norms, traditions in the Eastern cultures. The Internet and Business Globally, the Internet has not devalued the significance of business whether that is a local or multinational business. First, one of the most significant aspects of the Internet for businesses is that companies can now take knowledge and skills from across the globe and have widen their horizon leading to enhanced breakthrough and collaboration (Lawlor 2007). This collaboration has not negatively influenced the local or regional businesses in the Eastern countries but they are providing an opportunity to enhance the chances for the greater business effectiveness and efficiency. The facility of the Internet does not come with only the access with the opportunity. Some technology critics contend that with the growing pressure of commoditization, innovation and collaboration have become invaluable and indispensible qualities that a business must own and possess; and at the same time they must be able to draw from knowledge, skills and experience from individuals by increasing the chances of creating the next aspect of breakthrough product (Friedman 2006). Moreover, some critics believe that the emergence of the Internet has eliminated the local businesses and the multi-national companies have replaced them with their products. There is no denial that the limited existence of such reality is available in the Eastern countries. If we compare this argument in the non-virtual world, a world without the existence of the Internet, such reality is not new. Numerous large and big corporations do not let their smaller competing businesses to remain in the market. They prefer to eliminate them either through buying or creating such situations in which the smaller businesses would not be able to obtain or retain their margins. In addition, the emergence of the Internet has enabled the Eastern local businesses to decrease their cost of doing business along with increasing efficiency in the functions of business. For example, the local businesses can also derive advantage from the terms such as ‘outsourcing’ and ‘off shoring’ with the use of the Internet. A common misconception about outsourcing is that it causes job losses. This notion may be true in the Western countries but there is little evidence supporting this version in the Eastern countries. For example, businesses in China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other Eastern countries do not much need outsourcing their businesses. The main reason is that the labor in the Eastern countries is comparatively less expensive to the labor available in the Western countries where the local labor is more educated and advanced than the Eastern labor. Under such circumstances, the use of the Internet in the Eastern Countries has not brought any negative impacts on the local businesses and companies. Interestingly, a number of companies belonging to the Western countries have shifted their factories, mills, expertise and corporate offices in the Eastern countries because of the cheaper labor, lower health care cost, and lower taxes as well. Nowadays, some Western critics on the topic blame the Eastern countries for stealing their jobs. In this regard, they target and castigate the Republic of China for its cheap labor policy and conducive business environment. As a result, the local businesses in the Eastern countries do not see the Internet as a threat but a lucrative business opportunity. The Internet, Westernization and Youth Culture Undoubtedly, the Internet promotes and advocates western life-styles. The websites portray numerous aspects of western life and society whereby a considerable number of websites depict positive aspects of the western-life style. In which, freedom of speech and individual personal, social, economic, religious and legal rights are also highlighted. The Internet enables dominant cultures to influence and homogenize cultures existing in the less developed parts of the world particularly in the Eastern countries. And, this influence temporarily corrupts youth mind, their living style, moral and ethical standards as well. The negative impacts of the Western cultures are being felt by the youth living in the Eastern parts in the shape of Holly Wood movies filled with sex, vulgarity, violence and so on. And, there are a number of authors who contend that the Internet is westernizing the Eastern youth culture by infusing the western lifestyle in their routine and normal structure. As a result, to some extent, the Eastern societies are losing their inbuilt cultures, norms, values and customs. However, Larson (2002) argues that change in life style does not mean change in core beliefs and values. He quotes an example in which he personally met with an Indian youth wearing Chicago Bulls T-Shirts whom he talked and the youth did not know who Michael Jordan was; Larson (2002) further contends that the youth was more interested in the lives of stars of the Bombay than the Holly wood stars. Moreover, Booth (n.d) also points out that the religion of Islam and its core values are not going to change in the near future instead it has become the fastest growing religion in the world religions. And, the recent data on the spread of the religion of Islam provides that Islam is one of those religions that is being largely read, countered, studied and accepted as well. Research highlights that Muslim, Hindu, Confucian, Buddhist values and beliefs remain intact with the notion of ‘modernization’; globalization does not represent Westernization (Inglehart & Baker 2000). There must be a clear distinction between the modernization and Westernization. Thompson (2003) contends that the point of difference between the modernization and westernization comes from the emancipation of women. And, Lewis (2002) also authenticating the view of Thompson suggests the westerners tend naturally to assume that the emancipation of women is an aspect of liberalization. However, still in the East, the local cultures and norms are considerably strong and youth culture has not been able to abolish them. Numerous researchers do not agree with the notion that the modernization means Westernization but they argue that modernization has its own conceptions and manifestations. And, there are numerous societies in the East which do not disagree with the perception that the modernization possesses no threat to their religious-cum-cultural values and beliefs; they do not endanger the existence of the inbuilt socio-economic norms in the Eastern societies. And, some go beyond this perception by suggesting the modernization is a natural process of change that is unavoidable and must be followed within the limits of the cultural norms, practices, customs and beliefs. Conclusion There is no denial that the Internet has brought the impacts of the Western cultures to the Eastern societies. There are a number of aspects highlighting the superficial impacts of the Western culture on the Eastern life style. The Internet has not created the hegemony of the multi-national businesses representing the Western business in the Eastern countries such as China, India and Pakistan. The facility of the Internet enables the local businesses to flourish their business more rapidly and quickly. The ground reality does not suggest the local businesses in the East is losing their market share and the foreign businesses are dominating them instead the ground reality highlights that the local businesses are growing and getting more lucrative business opportunities. The youth culture is somewhat affected by the Western life style and values but the core values and beliefs in the Eastern cultures are very much there and strong enough to defend their existence. References Booth, M. (n.d). Arab adolescents facing the future: Enduring ideals and pressures for change. In B. Brown, R. Larson, & T. S. Saraswathi (Eds.), the world’s youth: Adolescence in eight regions of the globe, Cambridge University Press, New York Friedman, T.L. 2006. The World is Flat: a Brief History of the 21st Century, Farrar, Stratus & Giroux, New York. Inglehart, R., & Baker, W2000, Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values, American Sociological Review, 65, 19–51 Kiely, R. 2000. Globalization: From domination to resistance, Third World Quarterly, 21:6, 1059-1070 Larson, R.W. 2002. ‘Globalization, Societal Change, and New Technologies: What They Mean for the Future of Adolescence’, Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(1), pp.1-30. Lawlor, B.R. 2007. The Age of Globalization: Impact of Information Technology on Global Business Strategies, The Honors Program Senior Capstone Project, Available at: < http://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=honors_cis> Viewed on 13 March, 2012. Lewis, B. 2002. What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response, Oxford University Press, New York. Scholte, J.A. 2005. Globalization: A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan, New York Thompson, M. J. (ed.) 2003. Islam and the West: critical perspectives on modernity, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Maryland. Read More