Television and social media is it good and bad in regard to culture identity

Television and social media is it good and bad in regard to culture identity

            Social media and television through airing information to the world has brought about the unification of the global system. This has culminated ethnocentrism which is the worst enemy of the propagation of the original culture. As a result of globalization, social media and televisions have ushered the vice of individualism and capitalism in social ideology. Through social media the original culture has been propagated into a mixture of culture through borrowing or stealing traits from other culture and integrating them into the original culture. However, social media is playing a very critical role that has reduced the world into a global village through modern technology. The television and social media therefore propagating both virtues and vices of a community enhances culture development

Unification of global systems through social media comes with ethnocentrism which is the greatest enemy of the propagation of the original culture. Initially, people or the nations which were strong regarded themselves as more superior and imposed their cultures everywhere they went resulting to suppression, inferiority and frustration to those who belonged to other cultures, as a result there are some cultures which were neglected and extinct. Culture is part and parcel of human livelihood.  Social media and television have succeeded in bribing the peoples mind to forget their beautiful culture from which they have grown adoring to adopt the emergent behavioral social traits (Anderson, 1983). Culture incorporates quite a number of social aspects and behavioral traits which revolve around the mannerism in which people behave and conduct their events. Even the food people eat is not just food but cultural aspect that determines the kind of traditional food, its contribution to social cohesion of the people with that culture and so forth. Cultural identity may refer to people who share common nationally, convergent ancestry and believes. Social media and television have transformed people’s culture and turned the people to become the copycats of what round the social media. Social environment is very important in determining the behavior of the people within their immediate social niche. The culture is the key to determine the kind of life one lives within in the society. Television is one of the new technologies that has reduced the world into a global village. It contribute towards information sharing and updating peoples current affairs around the globe. People growing in cosmopolitan cities adopt the language and norms of their immediate environment to an extent of forgetting their original mother language which is very important aspect of cultural identity.

The context of the built environment, is most common that the idea of constructing a cultural identity is tied to the behavior and the idea of the nation. Social media and television have facilitated globalization through social ideologies and other unifying system which is a major threat to the construction of cultural identity (Bhabah, 1994). The capitalism and individualism are critical enemies of social interaction in in the social economic worlds as it plays egocentrism and implants self-reliant spirit thus driving away the social fabric with the communities. Television and social media are very vital aspect of social life that’s enables the quick and wide coverage of information. The integration of different culture has brought utterly confusion to a state that the young generation is not in a position to know the bad and the good of their culture.

The tradition within which one is brought up is the best gift ever one can receive from his/her natal community and has to be protected by all means as it carries the fabric of the society (Anderson, 1983). This culture gives one the identity, religion, behavioral aspect and even the kind of foods to eat and language. The very important aspects that are shaped by the culture are the social environment, cultural environment, socio-economic aspects and religion among others. Cultural identity behavior and norms should therefore be protected and adored within the social setting within its boundaries. The effort to build cultural identity should always revolve around the individuals with similar nationalities, believes, religions and all those who share coherently cultural identity. Even though the effect of social media and television cannot be overlooked, their role in cultural construct and globalization are quite very controversial. The social Medias and television has come as transformational connectivity of the global phenomena (Bhabah, 1994).

Contrary opinions have indicated that culture promotion in media platforms and Televisions are not free, to mean that the cultural norms to be aired on these platforms are sponsored by the members from the communities. Then the dilemma comes in where some communities are financially stable to afford to foot for the costs of airing their culture practices whereas there are others which cannot afford to pay for the services. Definitely, the community which is financially stable will have its culture promoted more than the others and that makes it appear more superior to the rest. Well, I stand to support this opinion since it’s a fact; however, I attribute such a failure to community unity. This is in consideration to the fact that a community is made up of a group of people and through their unity can contribute and promote their culture just like the other communities.

Others fail to consider the advantage that lies in the best use of social media and television by focusing on the distractive social sites and television session that are negatively influential to the original culture. The key importance of social media and television is the fact that they keep the world more connected and informed than it has been before. Cultural divide and cohesion can simply work effectively to enhance global cohesion, economic and social cultural well-being through exchange of cultures across borders. However, global connectivity is not a drive to mean that cosmopolitan population, divergent nationalities, believes and norms will merge their norms and believes to constitute a single culture. The culture remains divergent and widely determines the extent of social habilitation and lifestyle. For instance, the natives of Pakistan, the cultural shock is vital since their emphasis is on family traditions, values, community and the individualism of the Western civilization that takes over. I would advise people to first weigh between the advantages and disadvantages which social media and televisions have brought about in regard to cultural identity before they can make a conclusion.

Again, people have become stereotypic of the characters they watch on social media every day. The awareness of aspect that affect the people’s culture such as politics, languages, cultural foods fashions and dressing codes are very vital. People are easily manipulated by what they see and can easily be tamed to adopt other people’s way of life out of social influence. Social media and television may present some cultures as inferior to others thus triggering people to lose the taste of their splendid culture and adopt other culture that they think are more superior to theirs (Prakash, 2002). For instance television may show worse aspect of some countries or cultures such as oppression, poverty, war, catastrophes and even famine thus triggering the affiliated individual to adopt occidental culture which they think they are clean of such atrocities. Every country, every culture has both the blue and red lights.

Running away from ones culture does not help to solve the situation but rather result to suicidal kind of life where one hangs between the cultures. Culture determines some innate behaviors that cannot easily be changed thus running away from one natal culture may not be of any help. Culture is part and parcel of human livelihood (Prakash, 2002).  The culture is the key to determine the kind of life one lives within in the society. Television is one of the new technologies that has reduced the world into a global village.