How does globalization affect your life?

Monique Natalia, Contributor, Jakarta

Living in this "global village" we are continually exposed to the impact of globalization. Is it actually more westernization or, more specifically, Americanization?

What does globalization have in store for Jakarta's youth? The Jakarta Post asks six young residents of the capital how they view globalization and how it will affect their lives.

Ferdi, 22, West Jakarta: It started when the western countries wanted free trade without any boundaries all over the world, so I think globalization has a lot to do with westernization. In fact I think both, globalization and Westernization, are happening together, especially in Indonesia. When globalization is more about free trade with all the multinational companies from the European countries and the U.S. trying to get into the Indonesian market, westernization is more about the lifestyle that Indonesian people are adapting today.

Indonesian values are rapidly changing. What we can really see is the change in the values that control sexual life. What is really visible is the spread of promiscuous sex. Now people think that to have sex before marriage is normal. I don't think that side of westernization is good.

But looking at the economic side of globalization, I think that it can be both good and bad. I think it's good if everybody around the world can benefit from it, and by everybody, I mean everybody, not just western countries. It's bad if it becomes an economic occupation of the third world countries by the countries that have the most assets, which are the Western countries.

How is it affecting my life? On one side I can enjoy good western films like, say, Memento and Lord of The Rings. On the other hand, I am also now exposed to things like Vivid Interactive, which is a porn film company.

I'm also majoring in advertising so in the future, I am hoping to work at an advertising agency, but with all the expatriates working there, it'll be tough competition. Before they could only work in an agency as a consultant. Now you see expatriates with positions like art directors and creative directors. I'll just have to work harder.

Debby, 21, South Jakarta: What I see as the direct impact of globalization is the penetration of foreign cultures in Indonesia through the mass media, like TV, magazines, and the Internet. Especially if you have cable TV.

What I mean by culture is things like ways of thinking, languages, and traditional customs. Like, for example, now we can know more about Japanese culture without having to go there ourselves. We can learn a lot about Japanese culture from all these Japanese comics that can be found everywhere these days and also from Japanese TV shows.

We can also see the impact of cultures from countries like the U.S. from popular traditions like the celebration of Halloween and Valentine's Day, for example.

I think most Indonesian people think that globalization is more about westernization because people turn to countries like the U.S., England and other European countries for role models.

But I don't think so. Like what I said before about the influence of Japanese culture on our society, globalization can also mean influences from eastern countries like Japan, India and Hong Kong and not just from western countries!

I think that on the whole, globalization is a good thing. At least with all this information about other countries our thoughts and minds can be more open. Besides, it also changes our way of thinking, now we are taught to be more assertive and to speak up for ourselves more.

Intan, 23, West Jakarta: I think the manifestation of globalization is most noticeable in technology, especially telecommunications technology. It used to be really hard to communicate with people from another country, when people used letters and it took ages!

Now we can use telephones, cell phones, and of course, the Internet. There's no more boundaries between countries. Now we can also learn about another culture through things like films and TV shows.

I work in public relations for the Betawi Cultural Center, so I can really feel the benefit of globalization. Like, now with many foreigners coming and living in Indonesia there has been a greater demand for traditional performances, like Betawian dances.

We see it as a good sign but we don't stop there! We don't want people to get tired of looking at the same dances every time they come so we always try to modify our dances and create new dances. I think it's very good for our creativity because we are constantly challenged to make things better.

I know that a lot of people think that with globalization the competition in the job market is going to get really tough, but I don't see it that way! I think that instead of looking for jobs, why don't we be the ones who provide jobs! Like me, I see that with all this interest in traditional arts from the foreigners, why don't we work together with them, like maybe we can work together, say, to put on a dance performance! This is what we've been doing at the cultural center; we put on shows for embassies, for example. Unfortunately, the people who appreciate our own traditions more are foreigners, not Indonesians.

Erlin, 21, Depok: Right now, there is a lot of contradiction going on surrounding the issue of globalization in Indonesia. Some people agree but others do not. As for me, I am with both groups.

If we look at the negative impact of globalization we can see that with free trade and all the tough competition the rich are going to get richer while the poor will only get poorer. That is really bad! Like right now, in support of free trade people are building more malls. There are malls everywhere in Jakarta!

Those malls only accommodate rich people but what about the other 80 percent of the population. Why don't they build schools or hospitals for the poor instead! Those are the things that we really need, especially after all this flooding.

The good side of globalization can be seen in the form of the flow of information. Before, for news on current national and international affairs, people could only turn to TVRI. They didn't have any way of knowing whether the information was right or wrong. But right now, with all the private TV stations here and the Internet, people have a lot more options so they can choose for themselves which information they want to trust.

Mike, 15, South Jakarta: I think now the world is becoming too American. It's good because people can get the good American values, like freedom of speech for example. But then again, native cultures and languages get destroyed in the process and everything becomes American.

Take McDonald's, for instance. Now you cannot find a country without a McDonald's and now local food is competing with McDonald's for customers. I mean, I think it's good that globalization brings people from all over the world closer together, but it's also bad because it screws up traditional cultures.

Another good side of it is that it allows me to live anywhere I want. Now I'm so used to being in another country. I'm originally from England, but I've lived in Indonesia for ten years now. But I don't feel strange and different because with globalization everything is pretty much the same everywhere, like the food, the style, the music, everything! All this exposure to other cultures also keeps me from being prejudiced about other cultures. I think that every culture is good.

Rossi, 19, South Jakarta: I think it's cool that people can know about new cultures. Before globalization, they (Indonesian people) only know about Indonesian culture and now thy can find out about other cultures like the U.S., for example. What I see here is that Indonesian people are following American style.

They don't use Indonesian stuff anymore because they think that it's not cool to use local products. I know because I myself am half-Indonesian and I also see how Indonesian people are with this globalization. What I don't like is when people follow stupid stuff, like when I see some kids here try to act like American rappers.

They dress like those rappers they see on TV. They even follow a rappers way of talking! It's so bad! I think it just sounds and looks weird. Why don't they just be themselves! Don't copy anyone, get your own style!

There are so many different cultures out there that people follow in Indonesia. Like premarital sex, for instance. For me it's really bad, because it's not Indonesian culture. Even things like kissing in public are not something an Indonesian would have done before, but now you can see people kissing in public everywhere.

Another bad influence is underage drinking. I know that in countries like the U.S., underage drinking is not allowed and they have strict rules about it, but in Indonesia there are no rules for it. They see people drinking on TV and movies and think that it's cool to drink and with all these clubs that sell alcoholic drinks to everybody. There are no restrictions for underage drinking here and that's bad.

For my future, I am not planning on living in Indonesia. In fact, for college I'm going to go to the Netherlands, but still I am scared that with all the competition, I won't be able to get a good job.