Influence of western culture on current generations: Is it affecting Indian Heritage?

When we say that there is a generation gap between two sets of people: we Primarily mean young people and their elders, and especially between children and their parents, because of differences in their perceptions, beliefs and thoughts. There are different generations we have been through, which covers people born in between (1946-1964) as Baby boomers, (1965-1980) as Gen X, (1981-1994) as Gen Y, (1997-2012) as Gen Z and the one in continuity is Gen Alpha which will cover the people born in 2012 till 2025. So, predominantly in this we will be targeting our current generation (Gen Y, Gen Z).

India is treated as an example in the whole world when it comes to it’s roots of tradition and culture. ‘Culture’ has components like ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society, which differs from region to region. Indian culture is somewhat different from the Western culture. India has it’s own standing when it comes to culture and all the norms which are performed by Indians. Ethics and traditions which we follow as an Indian could be a major point in maintaining that standing in the world and with respect to this, we can infer that it would be difficult for us to digest the new culture which is ‘Western Culture’. Western Culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems of the Western world. However, as Indians are good in adapting themselves according to the changing trends, they are on a track of opting western tradition as their main culture. As western culture brings the notion of freedom to one person, the same brings an attitude of self-interest to the other. Change is taking place in a positive sense and equally in the negative sense.

Positive impact - there is a great change in the eating habits of Indians. They used to love Pranthas loaded with butter as their breakfast, but now they are shifting to healthy meals like oats or cornflakes, being conscious about their health. People started doing regular exercise and yoga to keep themselves fit.

Negative Impact - Earlier Indians used to prefer living in a joint family, but walking on the pah of western culture, they now want to live with privacy ‘In Nuclear Families’. Responsibility towards elders is in decline due to current generation’s desire towards freedom.

Gap in the thought process between the current generations and previous ones is widening since the current generations prefer westernization while older one favors traditional Indian customs.

‘Cultural Penetration’ is where a group of people starts adapting to other cultures and languages. As an example, we have seen that a lot of youngster’s preferences towards songs, movies, diet, etc is changing. The entertainment sector is a great example for considering “Cultural Penetration”. Due to this penetration, not only the current but also the upcoming generations are starting to ignore Indian culture. As a result, they are being disconnected from their roots which connect them to their ancestry. This loss will start to reflect during hard times, hence the current and upcoming generations need to understand the Indian culture, it’s essence, roots and the vast amount of knowledge it holds. Then they should choose the kind of culture they wish to follow.