Culture and Identity

The purpose of this blog is to explore and appreciate the cultures of the world and relate them to each other and my own culture.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Posted by dbowman at 5:34 PM

dbowman: Staying on the topic of culture, the mere fact that an "about me" section is waiting to be filled out by every user on this website suggests an American influence on the creation of this site. Americans stress the importance of independence ind individualism, which makes each person's experiences separate from another person's experiences. Many people from other cultures, specifically Eastern or South American cultures, find Americans to be very self-centered since they always talk about themselves. This is because in non-American cultures, people are often raised not to be individuals but to be part of their family or community. So, instead of always talking about themselves, they talk about their parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, towns, villages, etc. Does this mean that American cultures actually are more selfish than other cultures? Who could know that certain?! But, personally, growing up in America where society is filled with materialistic views and commercialism with a side of the "every man for himself" motto, I'd say yes, we are more selfish.

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