The Phenomenon of Digital Zeitgeists - Research Paper Example

Digital Zeitgeist by What does the phenomenon of digital zeitgeists say about our culture? Today world culture has become an extremely controversial and all-encompassing notion due to instant spread of information globally. Internet has made the information so accessible that it is hardly possible to capture at least 1% of it. Moreover, new information appears so fast that most people are satisfied with reading titles of the articles not the articles themselves. There exist numerous definitions of the word “culture”. Matsumoto regards it as the set of attitudes and beliefs which distinguishes one generation from another (Matsumoto, 1996). Culture is sometimes defined as “collective programming of the mind” which means the way the people think massively. So in any case culture is based on the information which people create, offer, and consume. With Internet invention the necessity to transmit the information orally and in written form has disappeared, moreover the way of information storage has changed as well. All the information is kept on servers of the biggest global sites such as Google. This search engine along with other influential companies receive huge power as they can predict and even create tendencies knowing what information people look for (Komando, 2013). In order to outline how the global culture is developing Google has created zeitgeist videos which tell about the most frequent requests of its users. Culture is a dynamic notion, and thus those entities that possess the information and know how it is consumed can outline cultural shifts and tendencies. So following and tracing informational currents may help to understand what the phenomenon of digital zeitgeists say about our culture. Analyzing this videos and distinguishing dominant events, personalities, and emotions allows seeing global attributes of development. Reviewing five Google digital Zeitgeist videos helped to distinguish five trends that appeared in global cultural development. Instant Popularity In 2009 Google launched the video in which all the main events of the world were typed as words of request. This choice is not accidental as the way of information transmission was always the way of power control in the world. In this zeitgeist video Google has concentrated on the personalities which create the world history. With the help of Google people learn who became significant, as Barack Obama being elected as the President of the USA or Hussein Bolt setting a new record in running. Moreover, fame spreads instantly so Google marks the époque in which every person can receive global fame and power in a minute. On the one hand, Internet users became aware of prominent people and about those who have become successful by chance instantly. On the other hand, people get used to sensations and aim for more. Excessive information makes people insensitive and lust for more emotions and more celebrities. Globalization. Sharing Problems and Advances 2010 Google Zeitgeist Video is completely different as the site changes increasingly fast each day. The emphasis is made on globalization; the search starts from European debt crisis moves to US unemployment and stops on Thai political crisis. The countries are no more distant inaccessible lands, the world is perceived as a common place since it is united with a click of a mouse. So the company demonstrates that suffering and problems unite people more since in every part of the world hardship is hardship. Moreover, the problems of humanity are mostly “civilized” explained by economic reasons. Google shows how global society gets more and more involved and developed, and how globalization can actually improve life of many. Fast shift to scientific advances are equally important for people in Africa and in Brazil. Loss of famous people also finds response in Chinese and German. So the culture acquires more global patterns and expects to be even more connected. Struggling for Changes 2011 Zeitgeist Video becomes poetical as it starts with abstract issues claiming that the year was the year of adversity, crossroads, and revolution without naming the concrete facts. All the abstract notions are combined with images so the viewers can recall the events themselves. Google demonstrates that eternal human conflicts do not disappear with time and that people unite in attempt to resolve world problems. Politics will never cease influencing global culture as the spirit of revolution spreads as a cultural phenomenon when changes are needed crucially. Access to the Internet permitted many people to see how other people live daily. Comparison usually breeds critical analysis of personal situation and desire to change. Though any revolution is primarily a political event, it is a part of cultural development of society. Google thus claims global shifts in consciousness maybe real because people in different countries demand changes inspired by global sense of equality of human being. Memes Internet has made the perception of information so overwhelming that the human and the human culture cannot manage with it yet (Stroud, 2010). For the first time Google includes memes-absolute invention of the Internet in the video adding this form of communication (art?) into global cultural flow. Some scientists also claim that memes will become new genes and will be spread instead of the latest (Clarck, 2013). Emotional and Visual Saturation In 2013 Zeitgeist video Google shows a breakthrough for the mankind, a giant supersonic free fall. The video is incredibly inspiring with the outstanding steps of human thought implemented in artificial limbs for the runner who had no legs. The video is saturated with images all of each tells a huge story important for many people at once. Olympic Games in London, Pussy Riot protest in Moscow change the world in some way for better. Google for the first time includes so many images in the video that the viewer cannot recognize them all clearly and precisely as about ten photos change within a second. This concept can apparently be applied to the development of global culture - oversaturated and elusive. Google videos show what attributes world culture acquires annually. Google zeitgeist is the best way to see how global society is developing, what topics it discusses, and what images it creates. Global culture becomes more developed with overwhelming quantity of information that is why people seek for daily sensations. Fame has become a mundane notion since anyone anywhere can become famous within two seconds. Internet has also created some relief for people since they achieved possibility to feel connection. Problems of one country now are not viewed as distant and irrelevant as they are discussed, shown, and shared. This also has led to the fact that many nations aim for changes because they can easily compare their life with life of the others. The spirit of change, thus, has become a domineering in modern culture. Due to enormous amount of information people often feel emotional and visual saturation and cannot control its unstoppable current. In order to capture everything a new method of information has appeared-memes. Therefore, culture has become mimetic and saturated with emotions and images. References Barness, S. (2014). “Google Sums Up 2013 In 1 Minute And 30 Seconds. The Result May Surprise You”. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/google-zeitgeist-2013_n_4460764.html Clarck, L. (2013) Richard Dawkins on the Internet hijacking of the word “ meme”. Wired. Retrieved from: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/20/richard-dawkins-memes Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill. Knobloch-Westerwick, S. (2014). Choice and preference in media use: Advances in selective exposure theory and research. New York: Routledge. Kluckhohn, C., & Kelly, W.H. (1945). “The concept of culture”. The Science of Man in the World Culture 2: 78-105. Komando, K. (2013). “How to protect your privacy on Google. USA Today”. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2013/05/17/google-maps-duckduckgo-web-history/2155759/ Matsumoto, D. (1996). Culture and Psychology. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Stroud, N. (2010). Polarization and partisan selective exposure. Journal Of Communication, 60(3), 556–576 Zeitgeist Minds. Retrieved from: www. zeitgeistminds.com Read More