The Cultural Theory - Essay Example

?The Cultural Theory: How the Specifics of Social Network relate to that of the ‘Not So’ Collective Associations There is no doubt in the fact that with the passage of time the number of developments taking place in our society is increasing like the fire which spreads by itself. The reasons behind any such sorts of changes or expansions in our society are also numerous and double the amount of the improvements that have come to pass. This has affected our society both negatively, as well as positively. Therefore, along with these progresses and advancements an assortment of theories regarding the influences of these modifications on the various aspects of our lives has also cropped up. These aspects include; our history, our culture, our religion, our traditions, our education and our political establishments. The reasons behind the evolution of such theories are as far stretched as the earth could be, but basically they depend on the beliefs which are held by diverse scholars and thinkers of our regions. With reference to the subject matter of the ‘Cultural Theory’, this paper will provide an interpretation in accordance to the formulation of the evolution of the social networks and how they relate to our cultural evaluations and representations. As Williams believed that some of the major historical and philosophical issues construct such statements (2003: pp.1) as that which is under presentation in this paper, thus, through brief examinations and verifications in the words of Williams presented by Ayrey and Everist “the specifics of works relate to structures which are not the works” (2007: pp.301) have been explicated in this paper. After the examination of Williams’s outlook on the cultural theory various point of views can be put forth with regard to the subject of social networks which has been chosen. But in order to understand how the two areas or the focal points intersect the familiarization of the basic characterization and explanation of both the terms is necessary. Thus, the first or foremost term to be classified is ‘Culture’. This question and its answer hold immense importance as it is such a part of any community that identifies its existence. Hence, this statement itself verifies what culture is but to be on cleat terms the expression ‘Culture’ has been identified by Kalman as the way the human beings live and the roots which construct their methods of interaction, lifestyle and beliefs (2009: pp.4) Therefore, culture is essentially the part which makes the way of living the life for human beings and this major ingredient is put forth, and represented by human beings to signify their background and their relationship with their milieu. Whereas, the second term which needs to be classified is ‘Social Network’, thus, it has been elucidated as ‘all those sources or methods through which people communicate and interact with each other for both formal and informal causes’. Thus, these sources could be web-based technologies, applications or softwares which enable human beings to interrelate to each other. There is an enormous and astonishingly significant relationship between the above to mentioned terms. With the passage of time people are recognizing the values of their cultures and traditions and alongside they are being provided a large number of opportunities to represent their culture. These opportunities if devoured in a positive manner can cause an extremely constructive effect on the various cultures of the people throughout the world, on the other hand if consumed negatively could definitely prove as a root of off-putting results. But the most important fact is that the cultural promotion and propagation is starting to be affected more and more by these advancements of the interactive sources. Thus the relationship of social network to that of the representation of our culture and our backgrounds is linked through the cultural theory of Williams. How so? This is due to the fact that along with the modernization of our society the methods of representation are though becoming modernized too, but shall they be altered in such a manner that they revolutionize our culture as well. Consequently, the specifics of the work of social network have been related to that of culture which is not the work. In this modern epoch which continues to become more contemporary as time passes, it has been found that communication is achieving more and more importance. People believe that in order for them to survive they need to be able to not only communicate but also to be able to understand and formulate the various methods of communication. This has made the social network such an essential part of human life that people think that it is nearly impossible to survive without these web-based technologies. Wherever ever an individual turns it is seen that people are indulged in operating social networks for communicating and interacting. The major point to ponder upon is whether this affects or life or not? The response is pretty much affirmative as it puts forth the fact that in this era the most important part of the technological developments like the PC, cellular phones and other gadgets is the affect that is being caused by the applications and networking softwares on the lifestyle and culture representation of people. The below presented chart represents the usage of various social networks and their adaptations put forth by the Anderson Analytics (2009: n.pg). There are two aspects of the notion which have been presented; a) Social networks represent people and their culture in the manner that the people want and b) The technologies are being benefitted by the need of the representation of people along with the modernization of time. Hence, these factors have been related to Raymond’s cultural theory as it states the exact same factor classification due to the modernization. Williams has budged the argument by providing a formal investigation of the techniques which are more artistic in the expression of the cultures through these social platforms (2007, n.pg.). At points this relation of the social media and the culture has been referred to as a social media culture clash. But according to a large number of researches it has been found that this relation between the culture and lifestyle of the human beings and the social networks has not only been labeled as a negative affirmative. Instead, this relation has also been tagged as one which is a cause of cultural propagation and social organizational progress. According to a research conducted by Breiger it was verified that the relation between social network and cultural cognition is far stronger than considered by many theorists and thinkers. It was also elucidated that this relation was strong in such a manner that along with the development in the field of social network a spark amongst people to be able to represent who they are and to which culture they belong was constructed and hit upon (2004: pp.9). The fact is that after the development of all these social networks, anyone can come in contact and interact with anyone else without the interference of the fact that they are not known to them or that they may or may not be the people to connect with. Through social networks people become friends with other people to which they would never have ever spoken to or interacted with. Similar is the way of representation of the background of the people through these social networks. People through their profiles represent their cultural backgrounds, their information and other extracts of their personality the way they want. But the social networks alone cannot be held responsible for this process of growth and expansion of interaction. The truth is that the cultural backgrounds of various people around the world may or may not allow them to represent themselves and their culture in the manner in which they are. This can or cannot be true in such a way that along with the passage of time the more technologies are being invented the more socialized and modernized the society is becoming. People rotate and live their lives in an atmosphere where PCs, laptops, cellular phones and other gadgets are breathed and slept around. Thus, there is a need felt by the people to use whatever is offered regarding these gadgets or whatever enables these gadgets to formulate and to help them communicate with others. In short social network is a work that its specifics are related to day to day structures of our lives and affect them in many ways. These impacts of social networks on our lives include; the effects on socialization, effects on economy, effects on culture itself, effects on politics, effects on globalization, effects on education, effects on health and effects on organizations and effects on marketing or advertisements. Provided below is a detailed account of these changes. A. Effects on Socialization: It has been found out through many researches that after the expansion of various social networks a numerous amount of changes have been seen to have casted on the socialization process of the society. This has both a negative and a positive impact on the people of the society. The positive impact is that the more people interact the more they represent their culture and the more it gets promoted. But the negative impact has been considered to have been seen in the exposure of people to other people who may or may not be who they represent they are. Thus this puts the data being presented at risk and through this the point of work and its specifications being related to that which are not work can be roved. B. Effects on Economy: The economy of the society is affected in such a significant manner by the advancement of these social networks that its ignorance is impossible. This directly or indirectly links to the culture of the society as the money which is regulated and circulated in a society represents the cultural ethics by means of which it is gained and distributed. Thus with the advancement of social networks the need of interacting more is also enhanced and people are being hooked to all the web-based technologies to fill any gaps which may or may not accumulate due to the lack of their attachment with these gadgets. C. Effects on Culture Itself: The major part of the notion is that the development of the social networks is linked to the most important part of our lives which is ‘culture’. The fact is that people do not bluntly follow what is put forth them or they do not consume what is fed to them, but they analyze it and unfortunately very few of the people question whether their culture allows them to adopt any such changes with regard to the process of development and modernization whereas a large number of people do not bother proposing any sorts of questions or queries. Thus this does not label the social networks responsible rather this puts the people at risk of not being able to present what is being handed down to them in a better manner. D. Effects on Politics: A major affect which has been seen of the social networks is on the politics of a society. People use social networks as a source of spreading their political representation and this has made people more aware regarding their responsibilities with reference to their civic senses. This again related to culture directly or indirectly in a manner that people of various regions belonging to diverse cultures come forth and become an active part of the civic analyses and participate to play their required role and do not let go of any opportunities to represent their culture. According to a research conducted by Pew Research Center the following findings have been discovered, which have been presented in the table (2010: pp.2). E. Effects on Globalization: Some other major affects of social networks which have been researched and found are on the process of globalization. This process plays an important part in the promotion of the culture of various regions as it plays a role of a medium of transmission of values through objects in the form of products. Social networks have helped a whole lot in the process of globalization and continue to do so as people come in contact with diverse organizations through their establishment in their regions. F. Effects on Education: In accordance to the theory of culture presented by Williams and many other scholars who second him, it can be further evaluated that even though social networks are a part of modernization and they relate to the parts of our lives such as culture, tradition and beliefs but yet it cannot be ignored that they prove as a hub of benefits for the people who utilize these sources that play as a medium of transmission of promotional strategies. Virtual campus is another name which can be provided to the social networks but again this virtual campus can affect the system in both the negative and positive manner. Students can use the applications to promote the background to which they belong and help other understand what they believe and also gain knowledge about other cultures. In a negative way they can harm the educational system and misinterpret as many of the times people do what other cultures represent and promote. Thus this again links the situation to William’s belief. But the anti-culture promotion efforts like blocking these social websites and not letting the children to promote what they know is a danger to both the organization of the institution and the culture. Thus the major question which is now being proposed is that whether such actions play a vital role in proving as a threat to the culture of a society or not? The fact is that it is not the actions that determine whether or not the cultural performance is affected or not it is the types of social networks that are being allowed to be introduced such as MySpace or Orkut where the privacy is limited and students or other participants are not provided with the required authority to show what they want. G. Effects on the Health: The next major part of the lives of the people which has been affected by the advancement of these social networks and the development and production of the related products is the health of the people. This is thus considered to be a negative and most important impact on the lives of the people as people waste large amounts of time using these applications and become lethargic and start living sedentary lives. This leads them to diseases which make them unable play an active part in a society and thus, they become unable to play a role of the representative of their culture. H. Effect on Organizations : The affects which are caused by social networks on the organizations mostly imply on the recruitment and the promotion processes. Through the use of social networks now, organizations have found a way of finding applicants for work in a much easier manner. Through this, organizations can easily analyze the background let it be cultural or educational which suits the requirements for both the tasks as well as the working environment and practices, and can appoint people who would get along their agencies well. This again helps them gain knowledge about various cultural as well as educational backgrounds to which the people belong. I. Effects on Marketing or Advertisements: Similar to that of the above provided facts, various organizations gain the benefits of marketing and advertisement through social networks which highly promotes the culture of a specified region as products are not sold alone when bought instead the entire culture is promoted and moved forward to other regions through marketing and advertisements. While analyzing William’s cultural theory the most important findings which surprise the readers as it relates to the notion under elucidation, are that a belief of resource-mobilization theory and political process theory are extracted from all of his work as he puts forth the injustice in the approaches due to modernization. It can be further valuated that through his belief it is better to understand that what needs to be brought in light is that if social networks want to mobilize the people they should do so not in a frame of injustice but in a frame which is one of fairness. In m perspective, the following extractions can be formulated and can be taken as a form of measures for the solution of the problem: 1. The Enclosed Facts: The most important and the foremost part of the solution of the problem includes the separation of the facts from that of an invention or a counterfeit. This would help in the advancement of the reality and truth. This is not really possible if people are stopped from representing what is not true. But on the other hand this problem has a very simple solution if people are provided with opportunities to represent themselves in which they feel they are secure enough like social movements such as personal representation profiles and group matching. Thus when people are provided with more opportunities of becoming a part of what is called ‘affective effort’ they would themselves reach out for help. 2. Frames of Dual Regard: Another significant finding which can be portrayed is that people carry various frames around them when they are place out to face others. Through social networking this factor is emerging out more and more as a problem and less of an output of the society. This is problematic due to the fact that people are not able to pick out who is real and who is sham representing. 3. Petitions and Principles: Another major point which has been established and can hold the social networks responsible is that all social frames of connection advance various appeals or petitions. This one of social network in specific puts forth the idea of ‘more socialization more development’ and that of ‘fish where the fish are’. Thus this again leads the people of a society not only towards socializing but also towards putting themselves and their data in the wrong hands. Therefore, through the cultural theory of Williams the following three general solution frames can be marked to the social networks in order to gain what is called a mutually coordinating relationship in regard to stability and balance. According to William’s theory, the outlook I present includes the following ideas of changes; i.e. analytical edge, extrapolative outline and an enthusiastic sketch. These three sections could be labeled as the categories of solution which could solve the issue. The analytical edge which could be provided in accordance to the cultural theory by the social networks includes the plans that these organization of networking could work upon in order to find out what is it that they are unable to provide. The second outline provides the organization or the social networking authority with the idea of what the solution is desired by the society and can help the people move towards a better culturally developed future instead of an insecure prospect. The third sketch puts forth the verification that suggests to the people and motivates them to play the role of a helping hand, in the procedure of betterment of the organization which in this circumstance is the social networks. Thus, through the above mentioned steps, the issue which puts forth the advancement of such web based applications and the culture and other codes of life at risk, can be eliminated. Hence, it can be concluded that this paper is not an amendment or any sort of change in the cultural theory presented by Williams or any other scholar or writer, but this evaluation is more of a reassessment and an analyses test which brings forth the variations in the points of view and beliefs with reference to the diversely assessed recognitions. This investigation thus analysis, in its various forms, what is being put forth us to perceive and what is actually being perceived by us. It is a fact that the cultural theory and the material which is provided by its appropriate belief and put forth in various manners through a large number of authors, cannot be ignored or changed from what it examines both socially and historically. But it is rather important to elaborate any sorts of postulations, proposals, processes and belongings. Thus, as the social theory refers to many other sociological theories of general instructions and establishments it relates directly to the advancement of the social networking as it is a modernized form of social interaction. People feel confident when they know that their fellow human beings trust what they practice and they return the favor. It is necessary that the three tier set up shall work i.e. the government, the public and the media. The task of converting social media and cultural clash from a negative to encouraging portion will become much easier. Different cultures, religions, geographies, demographics remained existent in all civilizations. History is evident that those nations that maintained an equilibrium society status by applying integration. Thus, incorporation and integration is the major key. References: Ayrey, C. and Everist, M., 2007. Analytical strategies and musical interpretation: Essays on nineteenth- and twentieth-century music. New York: Cambridge University Press. Anderson Analytics, 2008. InfoGraphic: Social Networking Adoption Rates. [online] Available at: < http://www.debaird.net/blendededunet/2009/07/social-networking-adoption-rates.html > [Accessed 15th December 2011]. Breiger., R.L., 2004. The Analysis of Social Networks. [pdf] University of Arizona. Available at: < http://www.u.arizona.edu/~breiger/NetworkAnalysis.pdf> [Accessed 15th December 2011]. Kalman, B., 2009. What is culture? Ontario: Crabtree. Pew Internet, 2010. Social networking sites and our lives. . [online] Available at: < http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks/Part-1/Introduction.aspx> [Accessed 15th December 2011]. Williams, R. and Williams, E., 2003. Television: Technology and cultural form New York: Routledge. Williams, R., 2007. Politics of modernism. New York: Verso. Read More