Towards Cultural Homogenisation
Mike Hynes · 2021
Towards Cultural Homogenisation[T]his mode of consciousness [inherent in digital technology] makes a virtue of ignoring the forms of intergenerational knowledge and skills essential to the world's diversity of cultural commons that enable people to live less consumer-driven lives.It also makes a virtue of being rootless; that is, not being long-term inhabitants of place.C.A. Bowers 'Do you mean to tell me that you're thinking seriously of building that way, when and if you are an architect?' 'Yes'.'My dear fellow, who will let you?' 'That's not the point.The point is, who will stop me?' The Fountainhead -Ayn Rand Is There Digital Diversity?There is a dominant value system evident in how the internet is organised and operates, which leaves little room for other differencing or opposing cultural beliefs and world views.With so much of the tech sector headquartered in Silicon Valley, the principles and rules of the web as we know it are being set there in California and by their politicians and leaders in Washington.Smaller nations and non-Western societies receive scant attention on the English-language-dominated internet diminishing their relevance and cultural significance for many in the digital age.But the importance of culture for individuals and communities alike lies very much in our sense of place and the close association with our general ways of thinking and living in that place.The cultural values that many people inhibit The Social, Cultural and Environmental Costs of Hyper-Connectivity: Sleeping Through the Revolution, 39-54