Influence of Global Mass Culture on the development of young people's values

Ali Fahd

Have you ever wondered why many youths today are falling victim to various societal pressures and trends that prioritize conformity over individual self-determination, analytical reasoning and personal growth? In this global village that we are in, global mass culture is the silent architect moulding the dreams and realities of today's youth. A bitter reality to assimilate, but this is one of the risks that youths are facing today, blocking their access to acquiring individual values and critical thinking. Moreover, this reality is less addressed by the masses themselves. Firstly, it is important to define what “globalization” “global culture” and “mass culture” connotes; then we will look into the merits and the demerits of the concepts and the influence of global mass culture on the value of the young people and conclude with recommendations.

Globalization, Global Culture and Mass Culture?

Although they seem to have similar or the same meanings, there are notable differences between these concepts to the successful understanding of the topic on our table. Globalization is a collection of processes that are said to be unifying the world and increasing the interdependence and connectivity of all peoples, cultures, and nations. Therefore, globalization is a phenomenon that can be said to have shaped the world we live in today in numerous ways. The benefits that have come with globalization include inter-networking, communication, easy transportation, facilitation of business across borders, economic growth and so on. Global culture, on the other hand, is a concept that entails two different words: global and culture. Looking at the meaning given to these two words and their complicated and complex nature, we might literarily define global culture as a whole way of life of the people living in the world and their shared cultural works that are produced and commonly consumed by rarely everyone. Theoretically, global culture is a concept that implies the culture shared globally and commonly by many nations and is based on Western ideals on consumption, and attitudes towards the physical environment. Hollywood movies, fast food chains, and pop music are a few instances of material global culture that has permeated every part of the globe. Global culture has some advantages in the sense that it gives the opportunity to exposure to many languages, beliefs, and relationships, and it promotes connections and varieties. Those who are marginalized and underprivileged may find opportunities as global culture develops. To say in short, Global culture has spread to the world today through globalization. In this context, we can understand that these two concepts are intertwined.

Mass culture may be summed up as a collection of cultural myths, pictures, and/or models that are disseminated via all media and are associated with consumerism and conformism.Mass culture plays a significant role in shaping public opinion, social norms, and trends within a specific society, most especially among youths. One of the main effects of postmodernity is mass culture. People typically have similar habits, consume similar foods, dress similarly, listen to similar music, and uphold similar morals and laws. Accordingly, global culture items that transcend national boundaries are therefore born. The mass media plays the most significant role in the transmission of mass culture in our global village. It's crucial to acknowledge that, despite their apparent overlap and influence, mass culture is limited to a single country or civilization, whereas global culture is shared by people all over the world. Therefore, Global Mass Culture, as our topic depicts, is a notion that combines aspects of global and mass culture which simply means mass-produced and extensively distributed cultural activities and goods on a worldwide basis.

Merits and Demerits

Despite the fact that global mass culture has produced many positive effects like economic growth, global connectedness and intercultural interactions, it has also led to the erosion of cultural identity, Cultural Diffusion and Cultural Homogenization. Local cultural identities are being lost as a result of the disembedding of social links brought about by globalization. They contend that individuals start to identify more with global culture than with local culture as they grow increasingly networked. The globalization of the market has made it easier for Western cultural norms to spread, resulting in the emergence of a single global culture known as a homogenous culture. Local cultures have suffered as a result of this difficult competition and have been neglected. This homogenous cultural nature of this global village has led to what is known as cultural hegemony, leading the youths to behave, live and think as the West does. Therefore, the big question of whetherglobal mass culture is causing cultural homogenisation or cultural heterogenisation can be answered by looking from this lens.  

Global Mass Culture and Youth Values

It is hard to argue that there isn’t any relationship that exists between the “Global Mass Culture” and the values of today’s youth. The information society and globalization drive the evolution of modern culture, with youths regularly absorbing new norms and ideals.
Globalization of the media and social transformation hastened the integration of cultures, leading to the general adoption of mass culture, which is referred to as popular culture. This gives rise to a new and different cultural identity, particularly for young people, which causes risks for their self and personal development. However, it is not ideal to totally generalize the youth population as victims of this problem. There have been critics of globalization and global mass culture arising from conscious youths all over the world. It is pointed out that global culture is responsible for the exploitation of natural resources and consumerism, which causes pollution, deforestation, global warming, and biodiversity loss. Additionally, it takes advantage of laborers in developing nations with poor salaries, unstable working conditions, and no union representation. The disparity of riches has increased, with a few wealthy and powerful individuals creating riches at the expense of others in what we know as capitalism.

Conclusion

The war against cultural hegemony, the negative side of global mass culture, or popular culture that is affecting individual self-determination, society and the development of local cultures must be supported by the government of each nation. Initiatives must be taken by educational institutes and organizations to keep the youth conscious of the risk that is ahead of them by making them embrace their culture and values and not falling victim to the negativities stemming from the Global Mass Culture.

References

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