Internet and Westernization - Literature review Example

Running Head: Internet and Westernization Internet and Westernization [Institute’s Internet and Westernization The past two decades have seen improvements in the global communications systems, which no one could have possibly predicted beforehand. The same letters, which took months to reach a recipient in another country, are now easy to send and receive in a matter of seconds (McPhail, pp. 128, 2010). However, as unpredictable as this development was, the side effects that accompanied it were perhaps even more unforeseeable. The countries, which this growth of the internet has largely influenced, have also experienced an immense degree of westernization in several aspects, especially in culture, politics, and business. These influences however, have been stealthy in their arrival. The people of the countries influenced need to compare their lives with how they were in the past to realize how much of western culture has now become a part of their lives. The most dominant influence is perhaps the influence that has set in on the daily lives and culture of these countries. This includes several aspects of the culture, such as the food, fashion, language and ethics of these countries, each of which now have a ‘modern’ western touch to them, no matter which country the culture belongs to (Abdullah, pp. 22, 2007). While countries and regions are usually famous for their traditional dishes, which people have passed down from generation to generation over decades, some of the most popular foods in these countries happen to be fast food, which is prepared in western style. In other words, the food items, which are most common in the west, such as burgers and fried chicken, are now famous throughout the world, both under multinational brand names and local brands. To pin this effect down to the internet entirely may be unfair, as some of these multinational brands were able to penetrate the borders to these countries before the internet was developed to such an extent (Munck and Fagan, pp. 20, 2009). It is however, due to the internet, plus other forms of global communication like internationally televised media, that this sort of food is now amongst the most popular food items across the country. The advertisement that these brands receive through the internet is an effective source of popularity for these multinationals who sell western food to several countries around the globe. Examples of such multinationals, like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken, both of which are brands who have seen immense growth in their international sales ever since this advertisement picked up speed. Not only does this advertisement make consumers in each country eager to try this food, but it also encourages the local suppliers in these countries to produce the same food as competition for these multinationals. These local brands are often a success because they are able to produce food of similar quality but at cheaper prices. This leads to additional promotion of these western foods due to the internet. The media also helps promote these foods as it not only shows commercials for these products, but shows characters on different television shows consuming these foods as a part of their daily lives. This is a significant reason why these western foods gain popularity so fast and become part of the pop culture in several different countries (Mooij and Mooij, pp. 12, 2010). In a similar manner, other aspects of culture like clothing, language, and music have also leaked from the US to other countries. They receive promotion on the internet as well as through popular American television shows, which the US televises internationally. In addition, experts have proven a link in between watching satellite television and developing a materialistic mind (Abdullah, pp. 22, 2007). There is a lot of implicit advertisement of brands through these shows. Other than this advertisement that different brands do, there also the simple effect of young impressionable people seeing certain clothes or hearing a certain language in their favorite shows, and wanting to replicate it all in their own lives (Hopper, pp. 91, 2007). This effect is not unique to any country or culture, but is common amongst all young people, who have impressionable minds, which are vulnerable to influence. Yet another way in which the development of global communications has led to westernization across the globe. This is one of the most negative aspects of this ‘westernization.’ This is because when a country’s youth is trained to act a certain way, it represents how this generation will after a few decades, when it is running the country. It also shows how these adults of tomorrow will be bringing up their own children, according to their own ideals (Updegraffe, pp. 1-58, 2006). If this youth, the future of the country, abandons its own culture from a very young age and embraces western culture, then the country will not be able to attach any individuality to its flag. After a few centuries, the country will have to struggle to show signs of its own culture, if it lets the influences of westernization penetrate its identity. Here, the country would suffer a loss, which is experts often fear in the face of globalization. The second factor that shows how several different countries have experienced westernization is the political outlook of several of these countries. The largest export that the west has made to these countries, as the communication between the two increased immensely, is the parliamentary system of democracy (Ferdinand, pp. 103, 2000). People worldwide have admired this system as a part of the US for decades, as it is related to the idea of freedom and liberty. The idea of democracy brings several principles along with it, such as one man, one vote and the People’s Republic. People who advocate this system strongly favor the system of having local bodies, parliamentary votes instead of witnessing the government of their country to be a one-man show. If a country is developed and educated enough to handle a system this drastically controlled ‘by the people, for the people’, this system would undoubtedly be a success. Such is the case in the US, where people are satisfied with the system and observe it year after year. However, when the global communications around the globe developed, they exported only the advantages of a democratic system, and left out the prerequisites a country needs to adopt such a system (Updegraffe, pp. 1-58, 2006). These prerequisites include an educated public and a comparatively uneven division of power amongst the people. Thus, when the global communications brought the message of democracy to these developing countries, they embraced it in the hope of freedom. Now what one witnesses, is the system of democracy consistently failing in developing countries due to corruption and military influence, but still prevailing due to pressure the west. The final way in which the internet and other such global communication networks have led to westernization is through business (McPhail, pp. 128, 2010). This is relevant to the concept of modernization also, which refers to the technological advancement that different countries receive as a benefit of globalization. This modernization greatly helps development in the industrial and business sectors of several countries, which have seen rapid advancement and growth in the past few decades. Business culture and ethics in different countries are also showing an increasingly Western trend, apart from a few countries like Japan, who manage to maintain their specific business ethics like valuing respect for one’s boss over free and blunt speech (Alston and Takei, pp. 129-147, 2005). There is, however, a noticeable increase in the similarities between western culture and that, which the businesses in other countries are adopting recently. The dress codes adopted by the workplaces, such as suits and ties are becoming more common. Marketing and business management strategies are imported from the US often, as business experts in the US are constantly approached for advice by business owners in different countries. These are only an outlines few of the aspects in which the internet has managed to westernize countries across the globe. While the changes this has brought to the individual cultures of these countries in detrimental for their identities, there have been a few positive changes like the ones brought about through the modernization of these countries (Ess and Sudweeks, pp. 317, 2001). It is thus a country’s own responsibility to weed out the good influences from the bad, so that the country may enjoy the benefits of developing the global communication network without bearing the several consequences. References Abdullah, R. A. 2007. The Internet in the Arab world: Egypt and beyond. Peter Lang. Alston, J. P., and Takei, I. 2005. Japanese Business Culture and Practices: A Guide to Twenty-First Century Japanese Business. iUniverse. Ess and Sudweeks. 2001. Culture, technology, communication: towards an intercultural global village. SUNY Press. Ferdinand, P. 2000. The Internet, democracy, and democratization. Routledge. Hopper, P. 2007. Understanding cultural globalization. Polity. McPhail, T. L. 2010. Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends. John Wiley and Sons. Mooij, M. K., Mooij, M. K. 2010. Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and Advertising. SAGE. Munck and Fagan. 2009. Globalization and Security: Social and cultural aspects. ABC-CLIO. Updegraff, J. J. 2006. Westernization or modernization: the political, economic and social attitudes and desires of the post-Khomeini generation in Iran. Us Army Command and General Staff College. Read More