The Rise of Virtual Culture

I have been in Taiwan for nearly two weeks, speaking to church, business and education leaders about the five most dangerous trends facing us in culture. Whether we like it or not, we are going to have to familiarize ourselves with terms like “the digital world, globalization, informationalism, consumerism, and cyber-space.”

What has become clearly apparent to me is that a societal shift is occurring that is both global and apocryphal in its proportions. I have been aware for years that the most challenging force in the universe to my Christian belief system was the power of secular culture. For centuries, Western culture has been the most dominating culture in the world.

Western culture, in a broad sense, takes in a Mediterranean and European heritage and refers to a predisposition of social norms, ethical values, traditions and customs, as well as religious and political systems. There is no question that it has evolved over time. The journey has been a long one, going from the polis of the Greeks to the French idea of republic to 21st century democracy.

The rise of the West – what some call, Westernization – manifested its most powerful influence through two major streams: religion, through the Reformation and Christianity; and modernization, through the Renaissance and the emergence of industry and technology. In the last century, Christianity has waned with more and more people calling themselves agnostic, and industry and technology have given its influence away to what some are calling “the rise of the rest.”

Years ago, Ghandi observed what he considered a harmful link between technological progress and Western values and suggested that modernity should be rejected when it became incompatible with the vision and values of certain societies. He saw it as another form of colonialism and imperialism, where Western nations could dominate a culture from the outside, without military takeover.

Modern researchers resonate with his concerns. Neil Postman stated in Technopoly, “Most people believe that technology is a staunch friend....but there is a dark side to this friend. The uncontrolled growth in technology destroys the vital resources of our humanity. It creates a culture without a moral foundation. It undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life worthwhile. Technology, in sum, is both friend and enemy…. tools are not integrated into culture, they attack culture; they bid to become culture. As a consequence, tradition, social mores, politics and religion have to fight for their lives.”

Postman believes that technology is creating a new culture. I concur. Whatever you call this new culture – let’s say cyber-space or virtual culture - there is no question that it is exerting its influence all around the world. It is displacing Western culture and has become global in its affect. The global culture is now defining individual culture. Global values are replacing the mores of regions. Pressures are increasing for nations to adopt global values. Religion is being repackaged for the universal consumer.

Steve Jones, in his book, Virtual Culture, said that “technology has two sides to its consequences: on the one hand, for every technology we develop in an attempt to improve life, we believe we also will, on the other hand, find life impoverished in some way.”

We may be more in touch, but out of touch at the same time. Like the late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis (1980) sang, "We could go on as though nothing was wrong/And hide from the days to remain all alone/Staying in the same place, staring all the time/Touching from a distance, further all the time.”

Simply put, who we are as Canadians, both individually and corporately, is at risk of being redefined by the global community. We are entering a virtual world that is constantly reworking new values and beliefs. Dare I say that a new world order is possible now? What that order looks like is still morphing, but it is on the horizon as a near and present danger.

How we respond will determine whether Canada remains free to be itself and live out its own destiny, or whether it will be shaped by global forces into a mould of another’s making.         

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.