Western Values Versus Pakistani Ethos and Culture

Parenting is becoming challenging in the age of globalization, where there is an onslaught of cultural and social content from all over the world thanks to mass media. The problem here is that this is too often in conflict with our indigenous cultural values and norms. There is hot debate about the pros of a global community and merging boundaries. There is focus on a transcontinental regime and the boundary-less world with respect to trade, values and ethics. Mass media has a very critical and pivotal role in all of this. Amidst it all indigenous values, ethical norms, cultural ideals and ethos are on the verge of marginalization. Mass media, over the past two decades, has overwhelmingly portrayed a flamboyant image of the western culture and ethos, minimizing focus on the very essence of Pakistani traditions and cultural norms. The recent phenomenon of adding Indian culture to that list and the unfortunate fact that we, as a society, are not well equipped and ready to face it has further added to the challenges faced by parents.

The extent to which media actually dictates our values, norms, everyday life, and choices as well as preferences is exceedingly greater than what it was a decade ago. Increased access to media of the populace, with little diversification and limitation of its content according to age groups, level of education and exposure, makes them susceptible to fallacies and misinterpretation. This specifically poses a great threat to the naïve, immature minds, having an ever-increasing access to media without any filter or restriction in accordance with our cultural and social limits. An even greater responsibility lies with the parents who are bringing up their children who have a very fragile mindset in times of inflated media interface and information overload. The following are key areas of focus for parents in the contemporary age:

• Defending the cultural facets of indigenous norms and values is important. The media portrays foreign culture as the dominating trends and something to be followed. There is an emergent need to prioritize local culture at the catbird seat. Otherwise, it will not be long before local culture will become drastically defunct.
• Parents play a key role in sustaining ethical-social paradigm is marked imperative to endure tolerance and diversity in the child’s personality. Acceptance to diversity is actually imperative to wholeheartedly accepting cultural norms. This is totally important to understand one’s own indigenous culture as well as welcoming other cultures in the society. The Pakistani society has a mix of traditional and cultural dynamics, extending from Baltistan to Karachi and from Punjab to Baluchistan – each single province has its own dynamic set of traditions those are the heritage of the people dwelling there. Now, in lieu of media’s aim at extensively promoting the western trends, the metropolis citizens actually forget their own peculiar trends. Cities like Karachi and Islamabad has an amalgam of cross-cultural diversity from all corners of Pakistan.

Likewise, it has become a challenge for parents to justify the expectations and realities for children, in an era of highly popular antagonistic media. It proves very difficult for parents to defy the negative messages, profoundly because of its emerging popularity and feigned gaudy presentation. This has a very negative effect on a child’s psychological state, where artificial archetypes are paved in young minds.

For parents it is arduous catering to the overloaded information exposure. Thanks to the internet, the social media and mass media which have been very unsuccessful in differentiating useful from irrelevant information. Added, the provision of information is widespread and readily available, not catering to age based differentiation. Moreover, Parental controls are highly deficient and have exacerbated the whole turmoil of media on slaughtering our socio-ethical and cultural paradigms.

The parents are facing a risk with the long-term payoff, apprehending their outlook thirty years from now. Whether it will give way to individualistic mindsets? Will this be complemented by lack of respect for elderly and a disdainful attitude towards parents when they are feeble and weak? In this entire realm – the media is an active agent changing and poisoning mind sets. It poses risk to a parent and increases fear, where outcomes seem to be pessimist and gloomy.

A state level intervention is indeed one way to resolve this paradox. Policy and planning agents have to look into the affairs, apprehending the worst case scenario. The psycho-social impact of media is great – and its impeding role in catering to social norms and cultural ethos is saddening. Long before, when the waters have over flown the brims – a task force need to be set up where respect orientation to own indigenous culture and traditional notions should be enacted. This is imperative to all levels, all segments and at all forums – ensuring a total reform in favor of own national culture. The need for a local solution to the contemporary challenges is important. Last but most important, parents are the key factor in the society who can greatly turn the situation for favoring establishment of an era where indigenous values are celebrated. Charity begins at home and so does the love for own customs and traditions.

'Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers.'  Quote by Paulo Coelho

An understanding of one’s own reality is the core value that ascertains success and long term prosperity. Media has to revive, bringing back the basics to its agenda – to sustain in long run before the society’s fabric is lost and forgotten. The child is the future – engraved and bridged to the previous generation through tradition, culture, ritual and ethos. Preserving customs is the dire need in today’s world of over-whelming media interference in everyday life, where a parent is the pivot which can turn around situations for best.