JOIN USLiving in a world of their own
And today’s youngsters are the carriers of this new culture which is a mixture of both Western and traditional way of life.
Go to any campus in the City and you will see that the youngsters are the same everywhere despite their regional, linguistic and cultural differences. They are the citizens of the highly globalised world. But in its effort towards ‘being global’, has the youth disconnected itself from the native culture? Is it showing disregard for local traditions? Metrolife caught up with youngsters to know whether they have become ‘too global’.
“To an extent, it is true that we, youngsters, have been living in a world of our own. Our priorities are different from those of our family members. Pop stars, music bands, Hollywood actors, cricket, football, Formula One and international brands attract us more than the local issues. If you ask me about the characters of Indian mythology, I may not be able to answer. Ask me about international celebrities and I will be able to tell you a lot. But this does not mean that I don’t respect my tradition. I agree that I am going with the collective behaviour,” says Shwojit from Jain University.
Utsav, an engineering student at Dayananda Sagar Institutions, says that this tendency is not permanent.
“I agree that every event — from college festivals, fashion shows, music, quizzes to lifestyle — has a Western influence. But one should see things from a different perspective. Thanks to the advancements in technology and globalised economy, people are interconnected in all spheres of life from politics to lifestyle. The coming together of different cultures will obviously influence one. New things always attract the youngsters initially. But when we attain maturity, we will start reconnecting with local practices,” he says.
Priyanka, a degree student at Baldwin Women’s Methodist College, feels youngsters have misinterpreted Westernisation as modernisation.
“I am happy that we, youngsters, have a lot of exposure and are well connected with the global trends. At the same time, I wonder whether this global influence is becoming our weakness. But what I have sensed as a youngster is that most students are local in their outlook but flaunt the reverse on the outside. We should learn from countries like Japan, which have achieved tremendous growth without bowing down to alien culture,” says Priyanka.
Rohini, another student, feels that ‘think global, act local’ should be the mantra of today’s generation.
“If we can’t adopt good things from our own culture, what will we learn from the other cultures? In the name of endorsing modern ideas, the youngsters have been falling
into the clutches of global consumerism, which is highly unfortunate,” she says.