AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BANGLADESH

Impact of western Lifestyle on Middle and Upper Class citizen

A Survey among young/teenagers in Dha a
A report submitted to the Department of English, AIUB, in part-fulfillment of the requirements of the final examination in Business Communication, Summer semester !""

Course Instructor!

LIA"A# $I%&A"A MA'(U(

Prepared & Submitted by $ahman# "aziur ID! )*+),,-,+.

Letter of /ransmittal
3rd August, 2011 LIA"A# $I%&A"A MA'(U( Faculty of Business Administration, School of Business, American International University Bangladesh AIUB!" Subject# A letter of su$mission of the re%ort" Sir, I here$y su$mit our re%ort on &Impact of #estern $ifest%le on &iddle and Upper Class citi'en & 'his gives me immense %leasure in %resently here (ith this re%ort" In %re%aring this re%ort I had the uni)ue o%%ortunity to e*%ress myself" It has $een %re%ared according to your authori+ation, instruction, formation and suggestion %rovided" 'o su$mit the re%ort, I have tried our $est to gather authentic information and %rovide e*act e*%lanation of all the %oints of s%ecific tas, a$out the to%ic"

(our Sincerel% )ahman, *a'iur

0reface
,esterni'ation of Bangladesh is no# a -er% common topic among the people. /eople from root le-el to higher class frequentl% thin0 about this. 1er% fe# reali'e the inner part of this fact. 2his stud% focused on those parts and anal%'ed the logical causes and effects of the #esterni'ation in Bangladesh speciall% the high and middle class peoples condition. 2his stud% also pro-ides information and the situation of the %oung minds. 2he thin0ing of %oungsters about #estern lifest%le brought in this stud%.

Ac nowledgment
4irst and foremost, I #ould li0e to than0 to m% course instructor of Business Communication course LIA"A# $I%&A"A MA'(U( for the -aluable guidance and ad-ice. She inspired us greatl% to #or0 in this term paper. 5er #illingness to moti-ate us contributed tremendousl% to our #or0. I also #ould li0e to than0 her for her -aluable time b% helping me for this term paper. Besides, I #ould li0e to than0 the respondents #ho helped me b% gi-ing their ans#ers to the questionnaire. I am -er% than0ful to them as the% ga-e their precious time for me. 2heir cooperation reall% helps me to anal%'e and finali'e this report. 4inall%, an honorable mention goes to m% famil% and friends for their understandings and supports on me in completing this report. ,ithout helps of the particular that mentioned abo-e, I #ould face man% difficulties #hile doing this pro6ect.

A1stract
*8,ADA(S, Westernization is one of the most tal0ed about topics in our countr%. 2his is mostl% applicable for the inhabitants of Dha0a cit%. 2he stud% has been carried out 0eeping this basic consideration in mind #here ma6or focus #as placed on the high and middle class people9s thoughts, lifest%le, the #a% of beha-e the o-erall recreation s%stem and more. 2he most important factor found that the ratio of #esterni'ation is increasing da% b% da%. (oung peoples from high and middle class are no# more dependent on #estern lifest%le than the% #ere in pre-ious. Inadequate 0no#ledge on o#n culture and the aggression of ne# media9s are responsible for this. 2he research sho#ed that %oung peoples are more comfortable #ith an% 0ind of #estern material. It could be dress, culture, music, thoughts and an%thing.

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)3) (ac ground

,esterni'ation has been a per-asi-e and accelerating influence across the #orld in the last fe# centuries. It is usuall% a t#o-sided process, in #hich ,estern influences and interests themsel-es are 6oined b% a #ish of at least parts of the affected societ% to change to#ards a more ,esternised societ%, in the hope of attaining ,estern life or some aspects of it. ,esterni'ation can also be related to the process of acculturation and;or enculturation. Acculturation refers to the changes that occur #ithin a societ% or culture #hen t#o different groups come into direct continuous contact. After the contact, changes in cultural patterns #ithin either or both cultures are e-ident. In popular speech, ,esterni'ation can also refer to the effects of ,estern expansion and colonialism on nati-e societies. 4or example, Bangladeshi9s #ho ha-e adopted European;American languages and characteristic ,estern customs are called acculturated or ,esterni'ed. ,esterni'ation ma% be forced or -oluntar% depending on the situation of the contact. It mostl% adopted -oluntar%.

)3.

0urpose 4f /he Study

2his report had the follo#ing primar% ob6ecti-e< 2o obtain information concerning the #esterni'ed lifest%le among %oung people of Dha0a Cit%. 2he secondar% ob6ecti-es of this report are as follo#s< = 2o obtain the general idea regarding the impact of #estern lifest%le on middle class and upper class %oung of Dha0a cit%. = 2o identif% se-eral constraints concerning #esterni'ation.
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= 2o identif% the relation bet#een moderni'ation time and #esterni'ation.

)35 Methodology of the Study

2he applied method in this stud% is the use of sur-e% and inter-ie#. 2his method is applicable to measure the depth of %oung peoples thoughts about the #estern lifest%le. In the inter-ie#, I used questionnaire to gain the idea regarding the #esterni'ation. 8n the other hand, the inter-ie# conducted on the teenagers from prominent schools and colleges ?B.A.4 Shaheen, Aga @han, )AAU@ College etcB. I also used faceboo0 Cquestion pollD to collect datas.

)36 Limitations
2his report comprises limitations such as< = 2he lac0 of time caused the research to compromise precision. = 2he research #as not representati-e of all socio-economic classes in Dha0a. = 2he report is onl% based on -er% fe# informations I am able to gather. = A group ha-e to ma0e the report but in here onl% one person does all the 6ob. = Difficulties to get exact information.

)37 4rganization of the $eport

2his report studies the impact of #estern culture and the condition of higher and middle class peoples of Dha0a Cit%. Chapter 1 of this report pro-ides the bac0ground of the report #hich states briefl% some of the information I ha-e collected during literature re-ie#. 2he ob6ecti-es of the report are also stated explicitl% to facilitate the o-erall implementation of the report. &ethodologies are stated in order to pro-ide a clear idea to the readers ho# the research has been conducted. 5o#e-er, se-eral limitations are undoubtedl% present in this research. Chapter 2 of the report highlights the ma6or findings of the research. )ele-ance is also disco-ered as the research progresses. Chapter 3 pro-ides the summar% of the findings #hile Chapter 4 contains the recommendations.

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.3) 8indings and Analyses

2he stud% clearl% sho#s that most of the %oung middle and high class people are consciousl% and unconsciousl% follo#s the #estern lifest%le. As 2able " indicates, out of the "7 respondents sur-e%ed, F ans#ered C(ESD on the straight question G CAre %ou comfortable #ith #esterni'ation of BangladeshDH + people sa%s that C&a% beD another + sa%s C*oD. In this case #e can easil% assume the %oungsters current situation regarding the #esterni'ation. 2he% are -er% much comfortable #ith the #estern lifest%le.

Comfortable with western lifestyle 9es May (e "o

Number Of Respondent : 5 5

In another sur-e% sho#s that people no# more used to listen )oc0;&etal songs rather than Classical;4ol0;)abindra Sangeet. 2raditional Bengali songs are not so popular among the ne# generation. 2his stud% indicates that the ne# generation are more accepted the #estern music. 2his influence them to listen more #estern music but the% are not habituate to listen Bangla songs. Impact of these brought out dar0 shado# on the s0% of Bangla 4ol0, )abindra and *a'rul Sangeet. 5ere is a sur-e% screenshot ?4aceboo0 /ollB sho#ing that ho# much the #estern music influence the high and middle class %oung9s?sur-e% too0 among the graduate students of AIUB, Bracu, *SU, IUB, E,U and DUB.
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8ne more aspect of sur-e% #as to find out the C488D 2AS2ED. *o# a da%s person are used to ha-ing fast food ?mostl% middle class and high class %oungB. 2his is influenced b% the #estern culture. I too0 a short sur-e% ?IuestionnaireB #ith some of m% friends of CBrac Uni-ersit%D #ith the food culture of them. &ost of them ans#ered the% li0e fast foods mostl% the franchise shops #hich got international reputation.

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$i0e @4C, /IJJA 5U2, lounges and others. 2he lounges are no# extremel% popular to the %oung peoples. 5ere in a sur-e% ?4aceboo0 /ollB it sho#s<

*o# a da%s the teenagers alread% get in-ol-ed #ith the #estern culture and accepted it totall% normall%. 2he stud% brings onl% -er% fe# part of that. 2he conformit% le-el of acceptance #estern culture is -er% high.

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2he stud% represents that #e are -er% much in-ol-e #ith the #estern lifest%le and no# #e can9t den% it. It has become a cra'e for our people, especiall% for our teenagers. ,e are 6ust tr%ing to 6uxtapose ,estern and Eastern cultures. But there is a question here< Can it be done properl%H $etKs loo0 at our societ%. &ost teenagers;%oung peoples thin0 that ,esterni'ation is the sign of smartness. 5ence #e are tr%ing to de-elop?LB oursel-es b% being #esterni'ed. In this regard, it is crucial to sa% that #e are -er% much neglecting our o#n culture. But there are a lot of people among us #ho are extremel% conscious of the Eastern culture. A clash is being created bet#een our 6u-eniles and these conser-ati-e people. 2he total en-ironment of our societ% is falling into a tops%-tur-% state. Ethical teaching b% parents to the %outh generation is being decreased. 2his is creating negati-e effects on our societ%. 2he people on #hom our future generation is dependent are graduall% ta0ing man% #rong elements from

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,estern cultures such as drug addiction, lac0 of social bonding, open relations etc.

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53* Conclusion
2he impact of #estern lifest%le is no# at a una-oidable position. Either #e can not gi-e it up neither #e can full% accept it. In the upper middle class and high class famil% practice of #estern lifest%le is higher and sometimes it9s turning into a unexpected situation. ,esterni'ation is must in this era of globali'ation but still #e ha-e to loo0 at our past rich culture. As our culture is so much related #ith old -alues, these sorts of actions are not expected from our people. Again, these are great hindrances to our social as #ell as national de-elopment. 8ur moralit% is also facing a great threat.

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63* $ecommendations

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As a representati-e of the %outh generation, I am not sa%ing that #e should totall% neglect ,estern culture and be out of the global -illage. 8f course #e need it to cope up #ith other countries in this age of globali'ation. But #hen I see ta0ing drugs is considered as smartness, #hen I see that a mother passes her lonel% da%s remembering the s#eet memories of her famil% in the old home, I cannot control m%self from #riting against it. ,e, the students, are the representati-es of our countr%. ,e should not imitate other cultures. I #ill li0e to request our 6u-eniles to not drift a#a% #ith the flo# of ,esterni'ation. Aust ta0e its positi-e sides and bear %our o#n culture in %our soul, as it is the root and identit% of e-er% indi-idual.

Sample Questionnaire
1. Name: 2. Age: 3. Gender: a. Male b. Female 4. O !pation: ". #d! ation $a %gro!nd: a. &e ondar' b. (igher se ondar' . )ndergrad!ate d. *ostgrad!ate +. Marital &tat!s: a. Married b. )nmarried . Others,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. -. What %ind o. .ood 'o! li%e most /hen 'o! are o!t o. home0 Fast Food 1ndian2M!ghal Chinese Or 3hai

A002"DI;

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3raditional $angla Foods

4. Where do 'o! read05to e6al!ate the so ial lass7 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 9. Monthl' 3!tion .ee o. 'o!r instit!tion: 5to e6al!ate the so ial lass7 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 1:. ;o! are more om.ort /ith: &ala/ar %amiz &aree <eans23shirt

11. What %ind o. m!si 'o! listen .re=!entl'0 $oll'/ood >o %2Metal *op2 &o.t $angla >abindra2Nazr!l

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