By Michael Chu
Popular culture is everywhere. Generally, it consists of music, fashion, mass media, Internet, and celebrities. Pop culture defines how we dress, how we interact, how we find entertainment, and how we spend our leisure time. It is life.
The influence of culture on globalization affects virtually everyone and signifies the growth of development on a worldwide scale. Extensive interactions and zealous attitudes toward integration of change ultimately define and affect globalization.
Today, the fundamentals of life and culture are significantly different than those of before, all thanks to the invention of social networking and accessibility to instant communication. When a person enters a building, he or she is most likely guaranteed availability of TVs, computers, and even complimentary wi-fi. The Internet is a big factor in our lives. The escalation in the importance of the Internet contributes to the effect of globalization on everyone. It dictates our lives with its enormous influence, affecting our day to day routines.
In this day and age, the Internet is one of the most dramatic influences on pop culture. Since the start of its popularity in the 1990s, the Internet became incorporated into virtually every aspect of modern human life, now reaching a user base of more than 2.3 billion people in the world.
This has brought forth a more culturally interactive world.
We are connected to each other everywhere, anywhere, and at any time. In addition, the Internet has also closed the gap for families separated by distance, connecting individuals. Friends and family can see and talk to each other with one click of a button.
The Internet is also a powerful tool, capable of causing riots, revolts, and rebellion overnight through the vast amount of people. The Arab Spring is accentuated through the means of the Internet, resulting in wide support around the world.
Over the years, the alteration in globalization has demonstrated the influence of popular culture among people in all areas of the world. The process of international integration has always existed, but since the emergence of the Internet, the necessity for globalization has significantly increased. The future will bring unknown effects to culture. The challenge will be to find a balance between the superficial, which is portrayed through the emulation of celebrities and other means through mass media, and reality, which is sought through individuality and not conventionality.
Finally, pop culture symbolizes the globalization in world culture. Everything is interconnected, with young minds and the new generation of people influencing and being influenced by all that is popular culture. (end)
Editor’s note: This story was written by a Summer Youth Leadership Program student, not a Northwest Asian Weekly staff member.