How does globalization affect your life?<\/p>\n
Monique Natalia, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Living in this \"global village\" we are continually exposed to
\nthe impact of globalization. Is it actually more westernization
\nor, more specifically, Americanization?<\/p>\n
What does globalization have in store for Jakarta's youth? The
\nJakarta Post asks six young residents of the capital how they
\nview globalization and how it will affect their lives.<\/p>\n
Ferdi, 22, West Jakarta: It started when the western countries
\nwanted free trade without any boundaries all over the world, so I
\nthink globalization has a lot to do with westernization. In fact
\nI think both, globalization and Westernization, are happening
\ntogether, especially in Indonesia. When globalization is more
\nabout free trade with all the multinational companies from the
\nEuropean countries and the U.S. trying to get into the Indonesian
\nmarket, westernization is more about the lifestyle that
\nIndonesian people are adapting today.<\/p>\n
Indonesian values are rapidly changing. What we can really see
\nis the change in the values that control sexual life. What is
\nreally visible is the spread of promiscuous sex. Now people think
\nthat to have sex before marriage is normal. I don't think that
\nside of westernization is good.<\/p>\n
But looking at the economic side of globalization, I think
\nthat it can be both good and bad. I think it's good if everybody
\naround the world can benefit from it, and by everybody, I mean
\neverybody, not just western countries. It's bad if it becomes an
\neconomic occupation of the third world countries by the countries
\nthat have the most assets, which are the Western countries.<\/p>\n
How is it affecting my life? On one side I can enjoy good
\nwestern films like, say, Memento and Lord of The Rings. On the
\nother hand, I am also now exposed to things like Vivid
\nInteractive, which is a porn film company.<\/p>\n
I'm also majoring in advertising so in the future, I am hoping
\nto work at an advertising agency, but with all the expatriates
\nworking there, it'll be tough competition. Before they could only
\nwork in an agency as a consultant. Now you see expatriates with
\npositions like art directors and creative directors. I'll just
\nhave to work harder.<\/p>\n
Debby, 21, South Jakarta: What I see as the direct impact of
\nglobalization is the penetration of foreign cultures in Indonesia
\nthrough the mass media, like TV, magazines, and the Internet.
\nEspecially if you have cable TV.<\/p>\n
What I mean by culture is things like ways of thinking,
\nlanguages, and traditional customs. Like, for example, now we can
\nknow more about Japanese culture without having to go there
\nourselves. We can learn a lot about Japanese culture from all
\nthese Japanese comics that can be found everywhere these days and
\nalso from Japanese TV shows.<\/p>\n
We can also see the impact of cultures from countries like the
\nU.S. from popular traditions like the celebration of Halloween
\nand Valentine's Day, for example.<\/p>\n
I think most Indonesian people think that globalization is
\nmore about westernization because people turn to countries like
\nthe U.S., England and other European countries for role models.<\/p>\n
But I don't think so. Like what I said before about the
\ninfluence of Japanese culture on our society, globalization can
\nalso mean influences from eastern countries like Japan, India and
\nHong Kong and not just from western countries!<\/p>\n
I think that on the whole, globalization is a good thing. At
\nleast with all this information about other countries our
\nthoughts and minds can be more open. Besides, it also changes our
\nway of thinking, now we are taught to be more assertive and to
\nspeak up for ourselves more.<\/p>\n
Intan, 23, West Jakarta: I think the manifestation of
\nglobalization is most noticeable in technology, especially
\ntelecommunications technology. It used to be really hard to
\ncommunicate with people from another country, when people used
\nletters and it took ages!<\/p>\n
Now we can use telephones, cell phones, and of course, the
\nInternet. There's no more boundaries between countries. Now we
\ncan also learn about another culture through things like films
\nand TV shows.<\/p>\n
I work in public relations for the Betawi Cultural Center, so
\nI can really feel the benefit of globalization. Like, now with
\nmany foreigners coming and living in Indonesia there has been a
\ngreater demand for traditional performances, like Betawian
\ndances.<\/p>\n
We see it as a good sign but we don't stop there! We don't
\nwant people to get tired of looking at the same dances every time
\nthey come so we always try to modify our dances and create new
\ndances. I think it's very good for our creativity because we are
\nconstantly challenged to make things better.<\/p>\n
I know that a lot of people think that with globalization the
\ncompetition in the job market is going to get really tough, but I
\ndon't see it that way! I think that instead of looking for jobs,
\nwhy don't we be the ones who provide jobs! Like me, I see that
\nwith all this interest in traditional arts from the foreigners,
\nwhy don't we work together with them, like maybe we can work
\ntogether, say, to put on a dance performance! This is what we've
\nbeen doing at the cultural center; we put on shows for embassies,
\nfor example. Unfortunately, the people who appreciate our own
\ntraditions more are foreigners, not Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Erlin, 21, Depok: Right now, there is a lot of contradiction
\ngoing on surrounding the issue of globalization in Indonesia.
\nSome people agree but others do not. As for me, I am with both
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
If we look at the negative impact of globalization we can see
\nthat with free trade and all the tough competition the rich are
\ngoing to get richer while the poor will only get poorer. That is
\nreally bad! Like right now, in support of free trade people are
\nbuilding more malls. There are malls everywhere in Jakarta!<\/p>\n
Those malls only accommodate rich people but what about the
\nother 80 percent of the population. Why don't they build schools
\nor hospitals for the poor instead! Those are the things that we
\nreally need, especially after all this flooding.<\/p>\n
The good side of globalization can be seen in the form of the
\nflow of information. Before, for news on current national and
\ninternational affairs, people could only turn to TVRI. They
\ndidn't have any way of knowing whether the information was right
\nor wrong. But right now, with all the private TV stations here
\nand the Internet, people have a lot more options so they can
\nchoose for themselves which information they want to trust.<\/p>\n
Mike, 15, South Jakarta: I think now the world is becoming too
\nAmerican. It's good because people can get the good American
\nvalues, like freedom of speech for example. But then again,
\nnative cultures and languages get destroyed in the process and
\neverything becomes American.<\/p>\n
Take McDonald's, for instance. Now you cannot find a country
\nwithout a McDonald's and now local food is competing with
\nMcDonald's for customers. I mean, I think it's good that
\nglobalization brings people from all over the world closer
\ntogether, but it's also bad because it screws up traditional
\ncultures.<\/p>\n
Another good side of it is that it allows me to live anywhere
\nI want. Now I'm so used to being in another country. I'm
\noriginally from England, but I've lived in Indonesia for ten
\nyears now. But I don't feel strange and different because with
\nglobalization everything is pretty much the same everywhere, like
\nthe food, the style, the music, everything! All this exposure to
\nother cultures also keeps me from being prejudiced about other
\ncultures. I think that every culture is good.<\/p>\n
Rossi, 19, South Jakarta: I think it's cool that people can
\nknow about new cultures. Before globalization, they (Indonesian
\npeople) only know about Indonesian culture and now thy can find
\nout about other cultures like the U.S., for example. What I see
\nhere is that Indonesian people are following American style.<\/p>\n
They don't use Indonesian stuff anymore because they think
\nthat it's not cool to use local products. I know because I myself
\nam half-Indonesian and I also see how Indonesian people are with
\nthis globalization. What I don't like is when people follow
\nstupid stuff, like when I see some kids here try to act like
\nAmerican rappers.<\/p>\n
They dress like those rappers they see on TV. They even follow
\na rappers way of talking! It's so bad! I think it just sounds and
\nlooks weird. Why don't they just be themselves! Don't copy
\nanyone, get your own style!<\/p>\n
There are so many different cultures out there that people
\nfollow in Indonesia. Like premarital sex, for instance. For me
\nit's really bad, because it's not Indonesian culture. Even things
\nlike kissing in public are not something an Indonesian would have
\ndone before, but now you can see people kissing in public
\neverywhere.<\/p>\n
Another bad influence is underage drinking. I know that in
\ncountries like the U.S., underage drinking is not allowed and
\nthey have strict rules about it, but in Indonesia there are no
\nrules for it. They see people drinking on TV and movies and think
\nthat it's cool to drink and with all these clubs that sell
\nalcoholic drinks to everybody. There are no restrictions for
\nunderage drinking here and that's bad.<\/p>\n
For my future, I am not planning on living in Indonesia. In
\nfact, for college I'm going to go to the Netherlands, but still I
\nam scared that with all the competition, I won't be able to get a
\ngood job.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/how-does-globalization-affect-your-life-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}