Professional Documents
Culture Documents
population is trying to find a place they can be valued and belong. According to Ruddick (2003,
p. 337), the world is very fragile and the youth form partnerships, and tend to move away from
the mentality of total self-reliance and living independently. They have their own right and desire
to be part of something bigger. To achieve this, they make use of the current technology,
especially the social sites to enter the global world.
The Impact of Globalization on Indigenous Cultures
Globalization has led to a comprehensive exploitation of many cultures, especially in the
tourism industry. Ensuring ease of access to those areas by other tourists enables interaction of
people from different cultures (Powell 2007, p. 23). Tourists observe indigenous groups as relics
of the past and interact with them to gain information and report back to their friends. Countries
practicing this kind of tourism ensure there is an influx of foreign currency into their economy.
Additionally, there is an increase in employment opportunities in the service industries for the
locals. This tends to reduce the inequality between the tourists and the local staff.
Traditional cultures portrayed by traditional dancers are not accurate reflections of the
traditions, but used for entertainment purposes. The use of cultural traditions commercializes the
local culture to a point its significance is compromised. The youth are the main segments of the
indigenous society targeted by the multinational corporations. Adolescents are more prone to the
targeted consumerism and western culture appeals more than their own traditions. It becomes
easy to convert them because their own identity is not similar to that of the adults. This leads to
cultural erosion of identity, and remains a significant problem because it is a personal issue rather
than a societal one. Many indigenous groups consider globalization a threat to the ancient family
structure and that it creates a disconnection from the cultural traditions (Powell 2007, p. 27).
This has been achieved through platforms for networking like Twitter and Facebook. It is an
opportunity for improved problem solving strategies from other cultures that experience similar
challenges. Also, it is a platform for idea globalization, campaigns, viewpoints and strategies that
garner political power and cultivate interests. Global technology boosts public awareness of
communication technology and provides the ability to foster and strengthen the relationship and
create a global village. This contributes most in strengthening global cultures.
Ruddick (2003, p. 357) points out that global awareness provides many benefits to
include spotlight on government policies, living conditions, access to education and injustices,
thereby promoting economic pressure to foreign nations to promote national change. Cultural
awareness leads to the understanding, empathy and tolerance but the global markets can lead to
economic, employment and educational opportunities. It is evident that in most communities,
communication between cultures has lead to improved creativity among the young population.
Diversity is valued in the international community and is being promoted through various
international organizations whose most of their employees are the youth.
Negative Influence of Globalization on Cultural Diversity
Because of the extraordinary access to various cultures, there is a much wider audience to
see, hear and experience the phenomena than ever before. Stereotyping and misrepresentation of
risk of loss of cultural property rights are the outcomes of unmonitored access. Some negative
effects of globalization on cultural diversity include the influence of multinational firms on the
promotion of consumer culture and market exploitation that influence societal values. Increased
availability of commercial products and media also affect the influences of local cultures,
especially the youth (Ruddick 2003, p. 345).
Conclusion
Culture is the total pattern of human behavior and its products in action, speech and
artifacts depend on individuals capability to learn and transmit knowledge to the future
generations. Globalization points out that the resulting absence of cultural diversity will lead to
inheritance of the western culture by the future generations. Regardless of the positive or the
negative impact of globalization, relations to culture and institutional diversity may be the
biggest ally. In various nations, steps are in place to stay current with the emerging globalization
trends. The productivity and education of labor forces within the international community leads
to aggressively embracing of education systems.
However, globalization complicates the process of education. This has created
opportunities for nations to breakout of traditional models of education and move toward having
knowledgeable communities. A global person has the capability to act locally and also think
globally. This makes the person maintain cultural diversity and expose other citizens to the
benefits of globalization. Therefore, globalization can provide a strong collective identity and
empower individuals and groups. It can also provide means for disempowerment,
misrepresentation and possibility for further colonization. To strengthen the youth culture by
globalization, there should be means and wherewithal to give aid to cultural groups that attempt
to make a difference in the society as well as maintain their set of practices, values and beliefs.
Bibliography