The Age of Global Communications Technology and a Cause for Worry for the Subsequent Spread of Westernization - Essay Example

?Module Group: Module Assessment Assignment ID Number: Word Count: Plan of the paper: Thesis Introduction Main Body Conclusion (Included in text citations) The Age of Global Communications Technology and a Cause for Worry for the Subsequent Spread of Westernization Global communication technology is a very prevalent aspect of human lives in the modern period of today’s day and age. It is a factor that assists in determining the speed with which human beings are able to grow and develop on a personal as well as societal basis. The internet is one such form of global communication technology in the world today. Over the last few decades it has spread all over the world massively, wiring almost every corner of the world and helping in spreading information and resources to every nook and cranny. This paper is a reflection of how this same global communication technology, in the form of the internet, has helped to spread westernization all over the world within the span of a very short period, how this spreading of the western culture has been affecting various parts of people’s lives, namely, culture, politics, business, science and technology; and whether or not this very spread of westernization, affecting all these portions of a person’s life, is a cause for worry for the rest of the world or not. The world has become almost like a small village, with almost each and every person connected to the other. All kinds of information can be found online with the help of the internet. In the last few decades, the internet has also become a very common and affordable phenomenon taking over every person’s household; most people look for the feature of having internet on their cell phones, smart phones, personal computers, laptops, and any other aspect of their life that may have the option of being connected to the World Wide Web consortium. Information from various kinds of libraries, government agencies, NGOs, offices etc, from all around the world can be available easily on a person’s private laptop with the click of the mouse; such resources help in researching, writing as well as gaining more and more knowledge on vast topics. Sitting in one’s bedroom, a person can conduct meetings worldwide through video conferencing, play multi player games with people from around the world, social network with friends and family and do so much more. (Huntington, Samuel) The internet is thus that part of the global communication technology which does not restrict a person from knowing more about anything. The internet is also mostly free to anyone wanting to make use of it, and thus its appeal grows even more. However, the question remains, has the widespread use of this part of technology led to the spreading of western culture, and if it has, then is this westernization a cause for worry for the rest of humanity? Westernization is the adoption of western thoughts, ideas and beliefs, in terms of science, technology, industry, politics and culture. It also includes aspects like religion, philosophy and anything else that includes the adoption and usage of foreign thoughts coming from the West. It is thus the process of inculcating values and ideologies from the west into an indigenous thought process. Westernization basically comes from the acceptance and implementation of ideals from Europe and America. Since these regions have been known to dominate the world for a good period of time since the modern world took its course, they have been said to have left behind their values and way of living life in the countries and colonies they had captured back then. Most countries around the world have been under the rule of Europe for a very long time in the past. Others have been a part of American cultures and ideals before they broke free and started forming their own governments and democracies. However, despite breaking away from these parent overriding rules, they still retain a vast amount of culture from them. For example, India was ruled by the British in the olden days, and despite the British finally leaving and India achieving its independence, a lot of Indians continue to dress the way the British had taught them to, they continue to teach English as a compulsory subject in their schools, as well as follow most of the laws that were set and laid down in that period. Not only India, but a number of countries around the world follow the same pattern of thinking and living life. It is quite normal to still continue with most of these habits because of the long period of time that the natives of the country had been following them under western rule. However, today, the world is facing a different kind of attack from the West; today is the age of consumerism and following of western ideals in the modern aspect. In the modern day and age, following Western culture or falling prey to Westernization through the use of the internet means asserting their power of the rest of the world through these aspects. Sitting in any corner of the world, a person is able to buy, sell, look, interact and do almost anything else with anyone else from anywhere; sounds a little too vague, doesn’t it. The truth lays in the fact that countries like Europe and America are again soaring forward through the use of global communications technology, strictly speaking, the use of the internet, in order to get ahead and spread rule over the rest of the world just like it was in the olden days, except this time with a twist. Most people do not even realise when they fall into the hands of the western culture; leaving behind a person’s own faith and ideals in order to adopt western techniques is one of the main ways. For example, countries like China, India, Pakistan, Africa etc have a very rich and lush cultural background and past; however despite having their own roots of music and the arts, most of the younger generations that are growing into the future of the world, are only listening to and paying heed to the kind of arts, music, theatre, dance, films etc that are arising from places in the west - all because of the internet. In the future, if the younger generations do not learn to retain their cultures and roots, everything will be lost in the chaos of westernization. Merely adopting a western way of life is not the key to growing and developing, as opposed to popular theory in the world today. Most of the youth do not know their actual identity, where it lies, or what kind of culture they belong to. Different countries have different backgrounds with different people coming from a vast variety of cultures; if people forget their way of dressing, eating, cooking, rites, rituals and activities, then they will not be able to survive in the long run. They might feel at a loss after a point of time; because merely following what the west is showing is not the key to living. So many people feel confused today because of not being able to retain anything of their personal pasts. (Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson) The culture of most of the world, with the help of the internet, has become eating out at multinational food chains that have been established by countries in America and Europe, wearing clothes made by brands established in these countries, watching films made by directors from these countries, and simply inculcating the everyday activities carried out in these countries, into the others. All of this information is found over the internet, and people all over the world watch videos and read articles and feedback written by people regarding the same, and thus find it all appealing and want to incorporate the same into their own lives. The spread of globalisation also has a great deal to do with the spreading of business and industry and thus the flow of western thought into other countries. (Jan Aart Scholte) Most industries thrive because of their customers; these customers are prey to whatever is being shown and taught on the internet – most of which is coming and is a part of western thought and ideologies. Thus, multinationals are becoming so by establishing companies and manufacturing sectors within other countries, thus both bringing about growth and development as well as making more and more people follow the same. Big brands that have a lot of goodwill have been able to advertise themselves best with the help of the internet, because this is a free medium that allows for people to exchange information. Such spread of information and knowledge has led to people finding the west very attractive in terms of whatever is being sold and purchased, and people from other countries find it fascinating to be able to have such a platform within their own countries. (Philippe Legrain) The future implications of this would lead to countries not being able to establish their own companies and business enterprises within the rest of the world or their own locations due to excessive competition within the market because of globalisation and spread of westernization through the global communications technologies, and also, countries will not be able to sell products and services pertaining to their own countries. Small scale enterprises within the countries and remote locations will not be able to survive in the long run because they mostly help to promote indigenous products stemming out of the culture of a particular country. All this will be lost in the midst of transferring to western beliefs and thoughts. Politics and government is yet another aspect that forms a very important part of every country, democracy, region and state. This functions and helps the entire location and area to work by laying down certain rules and regulations. If these are also transformed into western thought, no country will be able to retain its personal way of looking over the framework of that particular area. The spread of the internet has already lead to spreading information in the field of politics, on the basis of which, governments are changing their way of thinking as per the western ideals. However, each country has different people that have different needs that need to be catered to. If politicians simply look out towards western culture and develop a thought process according to that of the west, through information being available to them via the internet, they will not be able to govern their people accordingly which will lead to a massive outburst and grievances. (Robert McChesney) Therefore, the spread of westernization through the internet has become a modern day cause for worry for most countries around the world, with respect to developed countries like America and parts of Europe. The main reason for the same is the spread of the internet via which most people are able to acquire information, and in today’s day and age, are becoming robots in the hands of the west. Thus, this spread needs to be controlled immediately in order to combat the kind of harm it is doing to the rest of the world; the reason which is leading to a loss of uniqueness in individuality in terms of business, culture and politics. References Huntinton, Samuel. 1996. The West: Unique not Universal. Foreign Affairs. Jan Aart Scholte, Globalization – A Critical Introduction, Macmillan Press Limited, London 2002 Philippe Legrain, Open World: The Truth About Globalisation, Abacus, Great Britain, 2002 Robert McChesney, The New Global Media in Held and McGrew The Global Transformations Reader, Polity Press, Cambridge 2002 Naomi Klein, Tyranny of the Brands, article New Statesman, 24 January 2000 James H Mittelman and Norani Othman, Capturing Globalisation, Routledge, London 2001 Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson, Globalisation in Question, Polity Press, Cambridge 2000 Christopher Cook, Human Dignity Needs Protection, article at www.populist.com/00.2.cook.html Read More