Erosion of our values: Westernization

HINA IMRAN (10U0143)

Cultures are like underground rivers that run through our lives and relationships, giving us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other. Cultural messages from the groups we belong to give us information about what is meaningful or important, and who we are in the world and in relation to others -- our identities. Interestingly, when the cultural groups we belong to are a large majority in our community or nation, we are less likely to be aware of the content of the messages they send us. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be "natural," "normal" -- "the way things are done" and are just taken for granted. We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own, attending to behaviors that we label exotic or strange.

 

 In Pakistan, since the last couple of decades, this is exactly what has been happening. We have been hit by a giant iceberg known as, “Westernization”, and now waves of change are gradually eroding our old cultural values. There are innumerable factors that have brought about this change over time and so it’s having a major impact on our society, specifically our YOUTH. Pakistani society is undergoing a massive cultural change rapidly. The deep rooted embedded cultural values in our society are becoming hollow and gradually fading away

Two major explanations can be given for this conflict: a) a lack of cultural knowledge, which may be responsible for poor identification with the Pakistani culture and/or b) the use of Western culture as a yard-stick of measurement of the cultural refinement of a person. Another reason may be due to deviancy from our religion, as a culture of any nation reflects its religion. We have stopped following our religion and have forgotten the difference between right and wrong.

The role of media is also enormous here. The media of today is exploiting the personalities of new generation. It presents the western world in such a glittering way that anybody can become its victim. I have seen many youngsters who have acquired the western culture like dressing, way of talking and eating…each and every thing reflects their obsession for the western culture. The European and American culture is slowly embraced in by our society because of the media. The TV channels show various newscasters and different characters in the dramas wearing westernized clothes. The catalogues, magazines, billboards etc clearly show the impact of westernization all over Pakistan. Focusing on the youth, they are more inclined towards adopting the Western Ways as they consider them superior to their own.

As a result, people are losing their individuality and Pakistan may lose its identity and eventually may cease to exist as a strong, independent, culturally-stable nation. Hence, today we are confronted today with a generation of youth unable to obtain strong, purposeful identities; a real "identity crisis" has occurred, raising a sigh of concern for the nation as a whole.