Sub-cultures and civilisation

We grow up in small contexts. Until the internet.

Life was local. Sentiments were local. Supply and demand were local, and hence taste. The menu available for leisure had limited options.

Liberalisation and globalisation opened the world to new experiences. As part of the generation that grew up in this time, I developed a cultural taste from Hollywood movies, Parisian fashion, East Asian and Mediterranean cuisines.

The internet took this cultural penetration further. Online Life is global. Sentiments are global. Supply and demand, and consequently taste, are global. The menu of options are unlimited - gardening or muay thai or this fancy gin festival?

There is a fatigue problem with options, at an individual level. Social media doesn't help, an endless feed of fomo and disappointment, in your face, every day. More on that another day. There is a bigger issue with the explosion and clash of subcultures (at the individual level, identities).

Internet sub-cultures are amazingly represented by reddit. It's a good way to let differences thrive. The opposite is extremely scary. We are moulding a global "woke" culture that is the most conservative "sensitive" opinion on every topic. What happens when you fall through the cracks?

Anti-vaxxer but round-earther? No one likes you. Supporting BLM and OccupyWallStreet, but can't give a dime about the Syrian refugees? Hypocrite! Donated to Turkish earthquake victims, but where were you when there were floods in India or an economic crisis in Sri Lanka? You sly bastard. Free Ukraine, but what about Taiwan?

We live in this world of contradictions. We look to local culture for values, but going to your roots is perceived as going backwards. Maybe we need local contexts for sub-cultures, and global discourse on matters of humanity. That decoupling is messy, but may loosen these tight ropes we live on.