Lifestyles and culture are very similar today around the world. Why is it? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?
Never before was the world so globalised and assimilated as in this century. Technological advances and multinational corporations contribute to this trend of assimilation and it is hard to tell whether it is positive or negative.
The rapid development of technology is the root cause of this worldwide phenomenon. Under the influence of technological advances, people all around the world have access to the most powerful cultures, and they will invariably be influenced. Hollywood blockbusters, for instance, have been so powerful that our lifestyles or recreational styles have been radically changed and assimilated.
Many multinational corporations have also assimilated our lifestyle. Macdonald’s or Starbucks, for example, are so influential that they have subsidiaries all over the world, providing services or products of all levels to many countries throughout the world.
Those who believe that this trend is positive or negative are equally justifiable. On the one hand, with countries more and more assimilated, misunderstandings or conflicts are likely to decrease and effective and constructive communications between nations are made possible. On the other, national diversities will decrease and people’s lives will become increasingly monotonous and humdrum.
Like it or not, the assimilation of lifestyles and culture, driven by the clout of technology and multinationals, is an inevitable phenomenon throughout the world. While it is hard to say whether it is positive or negative, governments should try their utmost to preserve traditional lifestyles or local culture simply because it is these traditional lifestyles and local culture that distinguish and define them.
