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DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA

MASTERS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS (PMIR)

PMIR # 108: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH REPORT: GROUP-3

IMPACT OF CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION AMONG THE

URBAN YOUTHS OF BANGLADESH: A DHAKA
UNIVERSITY CASE STUDY

BY

Serial Name Roll Number Signature

1. Md Shahjahan JH # 67
2. Reashat Ahmed Nafees JH # 11
3. Kazi Reaz Rahman BB # 26
4. Sheaikh Umar Faruque Al Hadi JH # 02
5. Muhammad Nazimul Islam JH # 07
6. Md Nazibur Rahman Mukit BB # 25

SUPERVISOR

Associate Professor Dr. Syeda Rozana Rashid; MSS (Dhaka), MS

(Oxford), PhD (Sussex)

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ABSTRACT

Globalization is one of the most attractive and vibrant phenomena of this 21 st

Century, that rapidly changes the economic, socio-cultural, political activities of a
state including day to day life-style of its people; often referred as the concept of
‘Global village’. In one hand, living in such a ‘global village’ allows all to benefit from
its positive aspects mostly regarding technological advancement, economic
development, structural improvement, surge of social media, rapid data transfer,
societal and political transformation and so on. On the other hand, it also renders a
few inherent negative influence in the society by changing its core values like habits,
language, dress-up, food etc.; commonly known as ‘cultural globalization’ or ‘cultural
imperliasm’ or ‘cultural aggression’. This puts an imbalanced and unimaginable
pressure on the long traditional cultural heritage of a country like Bangladesh. While
most studies explain the positive impact of ‘globalization’; other side of the
phenomenon – negative dimensions of the ‘cultural globalization’ – is also a worthy
of study. Hence, the paper focuses in analyzing the core issue, ‘how much impact
does the ‘Cultural Globalization’ pose to Bangladesh?’ The study finds the
domination of Western culture on the life-style of the students of Dhaka University
that erode cultural heritage. The specific objective of the study is to analyze how
globalization rapidly transforms the social values and living pattern in the traditional
societies especially in the youth. This study is a descriptive type of work and is
conducted in qualitative approach. The study findings would be helpful for the
people to be aware of cultural hybridization in the age of globalization upon the
urban youth. Cultural domination by electronic media within the society thus has
eventually become a major concern of sociological inquiry. The present study is one
of such effort to look at how the youth of the University of Dhaka has accepted and
responded to their access to global culture.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Page
Abstract ii
Table of Contents iii-iv
List of Abbreviations v
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background 1-1
Problem Statement 1-1
Significance / Rationale 1-3
Purpose / Objective 1-4
Result / Output 1-4
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Review of the Literature 2-1
Understanding the Paradigm of Cultural Globalization 2-3
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology 3-1

CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Introduction 4-1
Background of the Respondents 4-2

Research Findings 4-3

CHAPTER V
ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT
Exposure to Cultural Globalization 5-1

Impact of the Exposure of Cultural Globalization 5-2

A Gradual Shift from Traditional to Consumerist Lifestyle 5-3
Cultural Imperialism 5-3
Influence of Indian Cultural Hegemony 5-4

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Impact on Trade and Commerce 5-6

Developing Friendly Relations with the Neighbours 5-7
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions 6-1
BIBLIOGRAPHY 6-3

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Meaning

(a) (b)

ASEAN Association of South-East Asian Nations

FGD Focus Group Discussion

SIM Subscriber Identity Module

UN United Nations

USA United States of America

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Number Figure Name Page Number

(a) (b) (c)

Figure-1: Result - How often do you order food
1. 4-3
online?
Figure-2: How often do you use Social
2. 4-4
networking sites every day?
Figure-3: How often are you busy with your
3. 4-5
phone?
4. Figure-4: How often do you go to Cineplex? 4-6
5. Statement Factor 5 4-7
6. Statement Factor 6 4-8
7. Statement Factor 7 4-9
8. Statement Factor 8 4-10
9. Impact of Social Networking - Percentage 5-2
10. Impact of Electronic Media - Percentage 5-3

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Number Figure Name Page Number

(a) (b) (c)

1. Background of the Respondents 4-1

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MIR/108/Group-3

IMPACT OF CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION AMONG THE

URBAN YOUTHS OF BANGLADESH: A DHAKA
UNIVERSITY CASE STUDY

CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Globalization is currently an important phenomena subjecting on economic

activities, socio-cultural dimension, political aspect and so on. This paper is made
mainly on cultural changes focusing the impact on lifestyle upon the youth of the
University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The study finds the domination of Western
culture on the lives of the students of this university that erode cultural heritage.
There has been creating consumerism by which western lifestyles are on diffusion.
The specific objective of the study is to analyze how globalization rapidly transforms
the social values and living pattern in the traditional societies especially in the youth.
There have been some negative aspects; but modernization process is also
positively functioning as well. This study is a descriptive type of work and will be
conducted in qualitative approach. The study findings would be helpful for the
people to be aware of cultural hybridization in the age of globalization upon the
urban youth. Cultural domination by electronic media within the society thus has
eventually become a major concern of sociological inquiry. The present study is one
of such effort to look at how the youth of the University of Dhaka has accepted and
responded to their access to global culture. It is thought that some new ideas and
information may be added into social sciences.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In this era of globalization, people from different parts of the world

simultaneously experience the same events thanks to the advances in

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communications technology. Today the satellite broadcasting services as well as

social Medias like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube etc. allow an unprecedented
diversity of choices for their viewers. While the media systems were primarily
national in the past, in the 1990s the societies throughout the world witnessed the
emergence of a global commercial media market through which the media giants
established their powerful distribution and production networks within and across the
national boundaries. This media globalization, broadly known as cultural
globalization, has profound implications for the way we make sense of our own lives
and of the changing society we live in.

Today the Internet has swept away the cultural boundaries, with the global
entertainment companies shaping the perceptions and dreams of the ordinary
citizens wherever they live. This rapid spread of values, norms, and culture
promotes the western ideals of capitalism. Consequently, the local culture inevitably
falls victim to the global consumer culture. The multinational corporations are taking
the lead in order to establish themselves and ensure their dominant presence in
almost every sector of the global capitalist market. In the whole scenario, the media
play the leading role of advertisers where the benefits of new products and services
are shown as superior to what the local market has. And slowly but steadily the food
that the peoples eat, the clothes they wear, and the life-styles they lead begin to
change.

The arrival of a powerful global media-driven culture through Internet and

Social Medias shape the processes of socialization, the norms, beliefs, and values
of the young people and influences their decisions about life-style choices and
behaviors. The global media offer a culture which is rich in information, full of
pleasure, and endowed with relative autonomy, all of which are of particular appeal
to a society’s youth. This carries substantial implications not only for the lives of
young people themselves but also for their relationships within the family and the
larger society. As a result, the sphere of experience for many young people has
become global and local at once.

Bangladesh is no exception. She is also a member of this 'Electronic Media

Society' where most of the urban people are accustomed to almost every form of
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media like the satellite television and Internet. Cultural domination by Internet and
Social Medias are whitening the society thus has eventually been a major concern
of sociological inquiry. Young generation especially from the University of Dhaka is
the field of interest in this study, because the students who belong to this university
have come to the urban culture from a variety of society and prone to face the
impact of cultural globalization all of a sudden in their urban life. So it will be quite
fascinating to see how the cultural globalization will actually affect the youths of the
University of Dhaka because the major responsibility of preserving the culture goes
to the young generation as they are the representatives of the future.

1.3 Significance / Rationale

For our research, we choose ‘Impact of Cultural Globalization among the

Students of the University of Dhaka’ as our topic for its importance on the effect of
cultural globalization (which means the commercialization of culture) among the
students. Now a day’s the production and consumption of cultural goods and
services has become commodities, along with the essentials of social life (marriage
and family life, religion work and leisure). What once was an element of the way of
life becomes a product, rather than something unique men had made to suit their
own needs and circumstances. In urban Bangladesh, technology of multi- channels
TV began in 1991 and hence satellite broadcasting has been delivering lots of
channels to viewers. Cultural domination by electronic media as well the
contemporary phenomenon of Internet and Social Medias within the society thus
have eventually become a major concern of sociological inquiry. The present study
is one of such effort to look at how the urban youths especially the students of this
university have accepted and responded to cultural globalization.

1.4 Purpose / Objective

Drawing on empirical data, the present paper attempts to capture a snapshot

of the contemporary urban youth culture in the University of Dhaka and to ascertain
the extent to which the social and cultural life of the students has been penetrated
by the global flow of culture. In particular, the following specific objectives guided
this study:
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• To find out the nature and extent of social networking and media
consumption among the students of this university;
• To describe the extent to which the life-style choices and preferences
of the students have been influenced by the global flow of culture;
• To explore the attitude and behavior of the students in so far as their
social relationships.
• To analyse the impact of cultural globalization in Bangladesh.

1.5 Result / Output

Through this research we want to test within the limited periphery of the
University of Dhaka the impact of the cultural globalization among the students of
Bangladesh. The research will also help us understand recent student traits, their
cultural orientation regarding globalization and its impact on the society and their
families. It will also help us assess the awareness of the youth in educational
institutions especially in universities on globalization. Our paper is also aimed at
generating views of particularly Dhaka University students on the issue which can
be tested against results from any particular university in the rural region. On the
other hand, as University of Dhaka is actually the center of education in
Bangladesh, and as different cultural and economic background students come
altogether every year in the university, judging the impact of cultural globalization
upon them can be very interesting as well as it is a new addition in the respective
knowledge pool as no research has been done till now about cultural globalization
among the students of this university.

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CHAPTER-II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1 A number of literatures are reviewed for providing theoretical basis of the
research and also for situating it in the context of existing knowledge/research. In
doing so, several books and articles published in Bangladesh have been reviewed
which are mainly focused on arts and music culture, folk culture, cultural
background and heritage, archaeological matters and Islamic ideology and so on.
The list of reviewed literatures is given at the bibliography. Findings from the
relevant discourses are discussed in subsequent paragraphs.

2.1.1 In the article, “Globalization and Cultural Transformation: The Case of

Bangladesh”, K. M. Atikur Rahman (2014) have portrayed a systematic overview of
cultural changes focusing mostly its impact on the moral issue and lifestyle in the
Third World countries. This is an empirical study conducted in qualitative approach
using mainly secondary sources of data based on the analysis of various
documents, although in-depth observation tool is also used as a primary source of
data collection. The specific objective of the study was to analyze how globalization
rapidly transforms the social values and living pattern in the traditional societies of
Bangladesh. The study finds the domination of Western culture on all lives that
erode cultural heritage and moral values. Although the study emphasized cultural
transformation of globalization in the societies of Bangladesh in general, yet its
specific impact to the lifestyles of urban youths have hardly been discussed.

2.1.2 In the article, “Impact of Cultural Globalization on the Upper Class Youth
in Dhaka City: A Sample Study”, author Dilara Zahid (2007) gives a brief account
of the cultural globalization among the upper class youth in Dhaka City, mostly
focusing the impact of social media. It was a primary study carried out in 2003 in the
metropolitan city of Dhaka and data were collected from three upper class
residential areas - Gulshan, Uttara and Dhanmondi considering that respondents
with an “upper class” social, educational and economic background mostly live in
those areas. Author argued that the most important far-reaching effect of cultural
globalization is the commercialization of culture which has a disturbing impact on
people’s life-style. Most notable ones are the change of food habit, dress and style,
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linguistic ability, thinking, values, choosing role model etcetera. However, the study
only focused to the specific class of youths rather than generalizing among the
youths of urban areas.

2.1.3 The article, “Urban Youth Culture in Bangladesh under the Sway of
Cultural Globalization: A Descriptive Analysis (2015)” 1 written by Muhammad
Zakir Hossin and Mohammad Mohiuddin, has given an in-depth analysis of the
cultural globalization among the youths of Bangladesh. It is a descriptive cross-
sectional study based on a survey conducted in 2012 among 123 youths (both
males and females) of three high-profiled areas in Dhaka city. The study presented
the contemporary youth culture in Dhaka with an emphasis on the underlying role of
cultural globalization. The study exclaims that the young generation in urban
Bangladesh prefers trendy clothes, fast food, western style of marriage and family,
western music, movies, festivals, and so on, reflecting a shift toward a consumer
culture with global values. However, the study was not based on the survey results
conducted among the youths of dominant public universities like Dhaka University.

2.2 Clearly, there are ample of scopes for further study in understanding the
impact of cultural globalization among the urban youths of Dhaka University.
Particularly, following research questions need to be addressed:

2.2.1 Primary Question

• What is the impact of cultural globalization among the Dhaka

University students of Bangladesh?

2.2.1 Secondary Questions

• What are the dimensions of cultural globalization in Bangladesh?

• What is the nature and extent of life-style choices and preferences of

Dhaka University students being influenced by the cultural globalization?

1 Hossin, Muhammad Zakir, & Mohiuddin, Mohammad. (2015). Urban Youth Culture in Bangladesh under the
Sway of Cultural Globalization: A Descriptive Analysis. Sociology Mind, 5, 213-226.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/sm.2015.53019
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• What is the attitude and behavior of the students in their social

relationships?

• What is the impact of cultural globalization in Bangladesh?

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CHAPTER-III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 The existing literature around the cultural globalization phenomenon has
been studied based on data and samples taken from third world countries. The
researchers intend to investigate whether the cultural transformation of globalization
identified in previous literatures equally apply to the urban youths of Bangladesh
taking Dhaka University students as a case study or not. The research findings will
be entirely developed and progressed on the basis of narrative manner. It will be a
study of empirical method which will be conducted in qualitative approach using
mainly secondary sources of data collection method based on the analysis of
various documents. Books, journal articles, records of governmental and non-
governmental organizations, media reports will be the main sources of data.
Besides, some primary methods of data collection tools like, in- depth expert
interviews, focused group discussion (FGD) and participant observation in the form
of survey as a source of primary data will also be used for this research works.

3.2 In this research the participant observation (survey) will be adopted as

research instrument to collect the primary data. The semi-structured survey
questionnaire will be developed based on research objectives and previous
research in this field. The questionnaire will be administered personally to the
respondents due to the complexity and depth of understanding necessary to
visualize the impact of cultural globalization among the students. The data collection
process will continue for 15 days and will be finished within 1 st week of April 2019
due to the paucity of time. The respondents (minimum 20 students of mixed
faculties) for the survey will be randomly selected from Dhaka University based on
probability sampling technique.

3.3 More so, FGD and in-depth expert interviews will be done as research
instrument to collect the primary data. FGDs will be conducted among the Dhaka
University students to understand the extent and depth of the impact of cultural
globalization among themselves. In-depth expert interviews will be taken to visualize
the cultural globalization and its impact among the urban youth of Dhaka city. The
structured questionnaire will be developed and administered personally to the
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interviewees. The respondents (students of mixed faculties) both for FGD and in-
depth expert interviews will be randomly selected from Dhaka University based on
probability sampling technique. The data collection process will continue for 15 days
and will be finished within 1st week of April 2019 due to the paucity of time.

3.4 The research intends to investigate the impacts of cultural globalization

among the students of Dhaka University, being urban youths. Findings derived from
the participant observations (survey), FGD and in-depth interviews will be analyzed
to verify the research questions. Qualitative data obtained will be analyzed by
thematic analysis (familiarization, data reduction, coding and summary).

3.5 The field work for the present study was conducted during June-July, 2012.
The respondents were approached through the help from the familiar students. In
particular, extensive cooperation was received from three female students in
collecting information from the female respondents. Instead of face-to-face
interview, self-administrated questionnaire was chosen to ensure that the
respondents might not feel ashamed, embarrassed, or afraid of giving honest
answers where their personal issues were concerned. Moreover, the respondents
were ensured that the information they would provide would be kept in strict
confidence. The respondents’ consent to participate in the study was sought during
data collection. Though most of the questions in the questionnaire were close-
ended, the whole questionnaire was left for appropriate post-coding. After the
completion of editing and coding, the filled-in questionnaires were coded and the
result was entered in the excel sheet for deducing related bar-charts and data
tables.

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CHAPTER-IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

As we have already discussed that for this research we have done three
types of data collection processes. The first one is a survey with 20 people with an
easily understandable questionnaire, the second one is Focused Group Discussion
and the third one is an Expert Interview. And for this interview we have interviewed
Dr. Md. Tanzimuddin Khan, Associate Professor of International Relations of
University of Dhaka who is an expert on Globalization issues. This chapter presents
the summary of our research findings from our conducted surveys, focused group
discussion, and expert Interview in line with purpose of the study described in the
first chapter (1.4). We have described the findings of the surveys and then the
findings of the FGD and then a brief summary of the expert interview consistently.

A total of 23 students, comprising both males (54.5%) and females (45.5%),

participated in this study. The age of the respondents ranged between 18 to 30
years and their mean age was 22 years. Most of the study participants were
Muslims (88.6%) by religion which reflects the actual proportion of Muslims in the
total population of Bangladesh. More than half of the respondents (56.1%) of this
study came from business-class families while the others came from different other
occupational backgrounds including government, non-government services and
other backgrounds. Out of the total respondents in the sample, 10.6% had an
income of less than 20,000 taka while more than one quarter (26.8%) of the
respondents’ families belonged to the income group of 20,000 - 40,000 taka and
almost a similar proportion (25.2%) of the respondents’ families earned TK. 1 lakh or
more per month (Table 1).

Table 1: Background of the Respondents

Serial Items Result Percentage

Faculty of Dhaka University
International Relations
Law
Gender
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Male
Female
Religion
Islam
Hinduism
Christianity
Buddhism
Marital Status
Married
Unmarried
Father’s occupation
Govt. service
Non-govt. service
Business
Retired
Others
Monthly Family Income
<20,000
20,000 - 40,000
40,000 - 60,000
60,000 - 80,000
80,000 - 100,000
100,000+

Source: Researchers’ Construct

4.2 Findings

Based on the research that is done by the answers of the questionnaire we have
come to the state of couple of traits and findings that will help the researchers and
academicians for further research and query.

The main findings of this research through surveys are listed in the following pages.

4.3 Survey Findings

Statement of Factor: 1

(How often do you order food online?)

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When asked how often students of DU order food online six out of 20 students said
they never order food online (30%). Ten said they occasionally order food online
(50%) while four said they often do it (20%).

Here is the graphical representation of the findings.

Answers

10

0 0

Percentage

20.00%
30.00%

50.00%

Figure-1: Result - How often do you order food online?

Statement of Factor: 2

(How often do you use Social networking sites every day?)

When asked how often you use social networking sites every day, one out of 20
students said they use it occasionally (5%). The majority (ten) said they frequently
use it (50%). Seven said they often use it (35%).

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Answers
2

10

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Percentage
5.00%

10.00%

35.00%

50.00%

Figure-2: How often do you use Social networking sites every day?

Statement of Factor: 3

(How often are you busy with your phone?)

In the third question we asked 20 students how often are they busy with their
phones. Eight each opted for often and frequent usage (80%). Two said they use
phone all the time (20%).

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Answers
8 8
8

3
2 2
2

0
How often are you busy
0 with your phone?

Percentage
10.00% 10.00%

40.00% 40.00%

Figure-3: How often are you busy with your phone?

Statement of Factor: 4

(How often do you go to Cineplex?)

When asked how often they go to a Cineplex, five said they never go to a Cineplex
(25%). Eleven said they occasionally visit a Cineplex (55%) while three said they
often visit a Cineplex (15%).

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Answers
0
5 5

1
4 4

3
3 3

11
2 2

5
1 1

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Percentage
5.00%

15.00% 25.00%

55.00%

Figure-4: How often do you go to Cineplex?

Statement of Factor: 5

(Using a scale of 0 to 10 grade your dependency on internet for the purpose

of learning. ______ (10))

In the fifth question we asked the students regarding their dependency on internet
for the purpose of learning. Three out of the 20 (15%) students we surveyed said
they would rate their dependency as 10 out of 10. Two students rated nine (10%),
the majority six students rated eight (30%) followed by 5 (25%), 1 (5%), 2 (10%) and
again 1 (5%).

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Answers
7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10

6 6 6

5 5 5

4 4

3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1
0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Percentage

15.00%5.00%
10.00%
5.00%
10.00%

25.00%
30.00%

Figure-5: Statement Factor 5

Statement of Factor: 6

(Using a scale of 0 to 10 grade your dependency on foreign language for the

purpose of learning. ____ (10))

When asked to grade their dependency on foreign language for the purpose of
learning, only one student out of 20 graded the dependency 10 out of 10 (5%). Five
students rated the dependency as 8 (25%) and six students gave it 7 (25%). Three
students each opted for 3 (15%) and 4 (15%).

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Answers

6 5

1
3
3
6
2 0
5
4
3
2
1 0
0 0
10 20 30

Percentage
5.00% 10.00%

25.00% 15.00%

15.00%

30.00%

Figure-6: Statement Factor 6

Statement of Factor: 7

(Using a scale of 0 to 10 grade your bonding with your family tradition. ____
(10))

For the ninth question regarding bonding family tradition, three each rated a 10 out
of 10 (15%) and 9 out of 10 (15%). Five each opted for 8 (25%) and 6 (25%). Two
opted for 5 (10%) and two opted for 7 (10%).

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Answers
5 5 6 7 8 9 10
55
55 66
6 777 888 9 9 9 101010
4.5 5 6 77 588 99 1010
56
44
4 444
4
3.5
3 33333 3 3
3
2 2
2.5 2 2 2 2 22
2 1
1 11
1.5 1 1
1
0.5 0 0 0 0

0
1

Percentage

10.00%
1
2
15.00% 3
4
5
6
15.00% 25.00%
7
8
9
10
25.00% 10.00%

Figure-7: Statement Factor 7

Statement of Factor: 8

(Using a scale of 0 to 10 grade the effects of television, social media on your

family tradition. ____ (10))

When asked to grade the effects of television, social media on family tradition, three
people graded it 9 (15%), only one opted for 8 (5%), four rated 7 (20%), two went for
six (10%), five rated it 5 (25%). This is the only question where we received so
varied answers. As you can see in the below graph.

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Answers
5
5
4.5
4
4
3.5
3
3
2.5 2 2
2
1.5 1 1 1 1
1
0.5
0
Using a scale of 0 to 10 grade the effects of television, social media on your family
0 tradition.

Percentage

15.00% 10.00%
5.00%
5.00% 5.00%
5.00%

20.00%
25.00%
10.00%

Figure-8: Statement Factor 8

4.4 FGD Findings

Study reveals that students used to watch TV, serial & drama before but now
a-days everyone watches dramas on YouTube. Students used to watch prime news
on TV before. But now a-days we get news online at any given time. Students used
to get breaking news occasionally but now everyday there is breaking news for
everyone. And the social media has taken the news media in its grip in this regard.
Everybody used to watch the news sports games together in various halls. Now
everybody has a Smartphone and they prefer their entertainment in to be curtailed
according to their taste. Students at halls used to make phone calls to their parents
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and family members from stalls outside the halls. But now they do not have to go
out in the sun or rain for a mere phone call. Most students think that they are now
changing fashion tastes regularly to be updated with changing world. They say that
they don’t want to be lagged behind.

4.5 Expert Interview

Interviewee: Dr. Tanzimuddin Khan

Associate Professor,

Dept of International Relations, University of Dhaka

Interviewer: Md Nazibur Rahman, Reashat Ahmed Nafees,

Muhammad Nazimul Islam

Duration: Ten minutes

Type: Narrative

What are the major impacts of globalization on the youths?

It depends, some may take positivity out of it, and some may take the negative. It
depends on his or her own context. Those who are well-off economically will get
influenced by western culture, those who are middle-class will find their taste in
Bollywood or Indian culture. Therefore it depends on the economic conditions as
well.

A complete different scenario can be seen. Conservatism, intolerance, religious

extremism are on the rise among the youths. Because some take the wrong side of
the lane and they tend to get backward.

The way we want to understand globalization is not the always the thing it brings to
us.

Who are most vulnerable to the risks of backwardness?

It also depends. But mostly those who have a bad parenting or schooling are mostly
prone to this backwardness. The schooling and the way the students are brought up
will define their capability to adapt to cultural changes. Therefore parenting is
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important. They must be taught how to cope to new technology or to changes in

front of them.

So you are suggesting that those who had a bad parenting have derailed or
took to the darker side of the alley?

Mostly yes, because they don’t know what to do with the new technology? Where to
use it, what to do with it. It all came like a shock to them.

What about social networking sites and the usage of YouTube?

Same thing happens there. Those who have a good parenting and are from
wealthier families know exactly what to do or not to on social platforms. Those who
do not have similar brought up will end up criticizing others and creating roasting
videos. They have nothing else to do with their phones and idle time.

Is fast-food the new trend?

Obviously. Don’t you see how people feel ashamed when their friends are eating
outside and they are not? Of course it is a trend and people like herds are following
it. They don’t want to understand what’s good or bad for them. Western countries
are dumping these food habits on us and we are recollecting them. We are recycling
their messes basically.

What is your suggestion then, how can the society have a better youth
population who are adaptive to social changes?

Enlighten them from an early age that this is not the life they are going to have
always. Teach them that there will be changes so cope with them every day.
Remember how we coped with letters and then with telephones to cell phones. We
had to go through all these rapid changes. Thankfully innovations have slowed
down.

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CHAPTER-V
ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT

5.1 In the preceding chapter, the detail findings of the research is given showing
the findings of survey, expert interview, FGD and other related secondary data. In
doing so, initially survey questionnaire was obtained from the respondents in light of
the secondary data and later the results were verified by means of expert interview
and FGD. The result shows definite impact of the cultural globalization among the
students of Dhaka University. At this backdrop, the impact of the cultural
globalization and the primary reasons behind such impact will be analysed in
subsequent paragraphs.

5.2 Impact of Cultural Globalization among the Urban Youths of Bangladesh

(Students of Dhaka University Case)

In order to assess the impact of cultural globalization among the urban

youths of Bangladesh (mostly among the students of Dhaka University as a case),
the study initially tried to visualize how much the students of this University are
exposed to the Cultural Globalization. Afterwards, the study analysed the overall
impact through the lens of gradual shift from the traditional to the consumerist life-
style, global cultural imperialism and influence of Indian cultural hegemony.

5.2.1 Exposure to Cultural Globalization through Social Networking and

Electronic Media

There could be various means by which students could be apparently

exposed to the cultural exploitation; like social networking, electronic media
(including internet), visits, social works etc. However, the study only analysed the
amount of exposure through two of the important means; i.e. Social Networking and
Electronic Media (including internet). The result obtained through survey was quite
significant to visualize the exposure of the students to the Social Networking and
Electronic Media.

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The study assessed exposure of the urban youths to the Social Networking
means like Facebook, Tweet and YouTube etc.; and electronic media like
televisions, cinema and internet videos etc. by asking respondents whether they
watched foreign or local television channels, the programs they liked most, the type
of mobile handset they are in possession, the amount of time they spent browsing
social networking sites and watching satellite channels, accessing the Internet, and
so on. The study reveals that almost all of them (96.4%) have android or similar type
mobile sets and in general, majority of the respondents (74.2%) browse social
networking sites in an average 2 to 3 hours a day; although surprisingly there are
respondents (16.6%) who remain exposed to social networking more than 4 hours a
day.

Figure 9: Impact of Social Networking - Percentage

Social Networking - Above 3 Hours

Social Networking - 1 to 3 Hours

Social Networking - 1 Hour and Below

Social Networking - No User

Social Networking - User

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Male Students Female Students

The researchers also tried to understand the exposure to electronic media

exposure of the students. It appeared that students are less exposed to the
electronic media in comparison to the exposure of social networking. Study reveals
that majority of the respondents (64.2%) used to watch both local and foreign
satellite channels. A substantial number of respondents (30.9%) reported that they
watched only foreign satellite channels (mostly Indian channels) while a small
proportion (4.9%) watched only local satellite channels. Moreover, 57.7% of the
respondents spent on an average 1 to 2 hours a day watching satellite channels and

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around 10.2% watched satellite channels for more than 2 hours a day. The study
further reveals that out of the programs the respondents usually watched, the most
favorite was films and drama (37.3%). The second most favorite program was
sports (26.8%), followed by comedy (15.4%) and others (20.5%).

Figure 10: Impact of Electronic Media - Percentage

Electronic Media - Above 2 Hours

Electronic Media - 1 to 2 Hours

Electronic Media - 1 Hour and Below

Electronic Media - No User

Electronic Media - User

0
Male Students 10 20 30Students
Female 40 50 60 70 80

At this backdrop, the study focused on the core issue what impact likely to
make to the people and state as a whole. It reveals that the impact can traced in the
form of multifarious implications related to many but not limited to the the gradual
shifting towards consumerist life-style than that of traditional ones, cultural
imperialism, impact on trade and commerce, Indian cultural hegemony and
developing friendly bilateral relations etc.

5.2.2 A Gradual Shift from Traditional to Consumerist Lifestyle

In order to visualize the impact in life-style, the study focused on the

dimensions of dress, food-habit, behavioural change, language and marital issues
etc. of human life-style. The study reveals that there is a gradual change among the
youths from the traditional culture to the consumerist life-style due to their extreme
exposure to social networking, social media, electronic media etc. as a means of
cultural globalization. The Indian Serial shows the ultimate luxury that a human
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being can avail. It shows the women wearing luxurious dress and ornaments in
home and ultimately provokes the women in Bangladesh while they watch the
serials. It shows the joint family having many members engaged in various
conspiracies against one another. This provokes the women too to create anarchy
and misunderstandings among the relatives and siblings. It also instigates the extra
marital relationship which simply devastates the happy married life. In various
reports it has been said that the rate of having extra marital relationship is
increasing rapidly over the past few years in Bangladesh.

The worst effect of Hindi serial goes on the Bangladeshi teenage girls and
the young women. They try to learn the vague and ludicrous romanticism seeing the
love story from the Hindi serials. Though sounds something awkward, it is true that
many of the Bangladeshi girls dream to have a handsome guy as their husband or
boyfriend like the heroes of Hindi serials. Same thing happens for the male case to
some extent. The girls are also learning to be subjugated to the boys or accept the
domination of the boys (Chowdhury, 2018).

In every Eid and Puja occasions, some farcical dresses dominate the market,
which are often named after Hindi films’ heroes and heroine. And females of our
country want to buy dresses named Masakkali, Aishwariya and Indian sarees from
the markets. Last year something more alarming happened as three women
reportedly committed suicide for not getting ‘Pakhi dress’ which is worn in the serial
‘Bojhena se Bojhena’ by the lead character (Chowdhury, 2018).

The study reveals that, more than two-thirds (69.9%) of the respondents
answered fast food while only 30% of respondents preferred traditional food items.
Girls were fonder of fast food (75%) than the boys (65.7%). Among our respondents,
their sex status seemed to have nothing to do with their preference for Western
dress-up. That means, both boys and girls were equally motivated (65.7% of boys
and 66.7% of girls) to dress up according to Western fashion. The data also indicate
that females had more positive outlook towards Western outfit (66.1%) than their
male counterparts (56.7%). Besides, 85.4% of the respondents are used to listening
to Western music. Once again, the proportion of female respondents who used to
listen to Western music was a bit higher (89.3%) than that of the male respondents
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(82.1%). The survey findings show that Hollywood is the most favorite film-industry
among the respondents (52%), followed by Bollywood (44.7%) as their favorite film-
industry.
5.2.3 Cultural Imperialism

In the era of globalization one culture can mix up with another without
harming the individuality of the respective culture. But when this culture-
intermingling turns into cultural domination, the individuality of a particular culture
remains under threat. This is what is happening here in Bangladesh right now. And
this domination is taking the turn of imperialism day by day (Chowdhury, 2018).
Globalization has opened many ways to explore extraneous cultures, and gives
Bangladesh an amazing opportunity to know about foreign cultures. Therefore, it is
the practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually of politically powerful
nations over less potent societies. Nowadays, Bangladeshis are blindly following
foreign culture, mostly western and Indian culture. Obviously Indian Culture is
dominant here (FGD, 2019).

5.2.3 Influence of Indian Cultural Hegemony

The popularity of Indian television and fashion is having an impact on

Bangladesh’s language, film industry and even cultural celebrations. Indian TV such
as Star Plus, Sony, Zee Bangla, and Star Jalsha is the main way through which the
Indian culture is affecting Bangladeshi people and culture (Hasan, 2016). The major
programs on those channels are movies, serials, dramas, crime programs, music
programs and reality shows (FGD, 2019). The best example of the aggression of
Indian culture in Bangladesh is Hindi and Bangla serial broadcast in the Indian
Satellite TV channels (Chowdhury, 2018).

The hegemonic impact of Indian Culture is extensive as TV channels are not

making or trying to make quality programs. As a result they are becoming very fond
of Indian programs (Rahman, 2018), which is likely to have excessive influence to
the people as they have started imitating Indian language, lifestyle, dress,
behaviour, movies and music (Hasan, 2016). Bangladesh is witnessing a cultural
shift during the time of some biggest festivals like Pohela Boishakh, Eid and Puja
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etc. Even, the rag day celebrations at Dhaka Universities are done according to
Indian Music and Dance (Muhsin, 2017). As a whole, the situation is no less than an
Indian cultural hegemony over the traditional ones.

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5.2.4 Impact on Trade and Commerce

The cultural globalization has a huge business impact in Bangladesh, mostly

related to the consumer goods, film industry, daily needs, food habits etc. Presently,
Bangladeshi markets got encircled by the Indian dresses and people were really
passionate to buy them (Hasan, 2016). It is worthwhile to mention that, after 39
years Bollywood movies got permission to be exhibited in Bangladeshi cinema halls.
Definitely this is a bane for Bangladeshi film industry. Most of the DVD found in the
shops are of Hindi and Tamil movies. A number of English movies can also be
found. There are Bangla movies also but 80% of them are Indian. Many often
comment that they have no alternative other than watching Indian movies because
Bangladeshi movies are not up to the mark (Chowdhury, 2018).

The study also reflects that, the youth generations are prone to western dress
codes than that of the native cultures. Agreements made through trade initiatives
have reduced the cost of importing, or bringing in goods, and exporting, or sending
out goods. The increased ability to trade with fewer barriers, such as taxes or
quotas, has reduced the cost of trade. This makes the products sourced through
trade more affordable to the average buyer. Additionally, many countries, including
the U.S, Canada, and Mexico, have developed free trade agreements, which allow
trade to occur with no restrictions, making it easier and cheaper for countries to
participate in international trade. This is one of the reasons that globalization has
assisted in 'reducing the cost of goods.' There, it is clearly understood that cultural
globalization has significant impact on the trade and commerce of a country.

5.2.5 Developing Friendly Relations with the Neighbours

While most studies focused on the diversified negative implications of cultural

globalization in Bangladesh, yet there are positive side of it as well. The study
reveals that there is a strong evidence of foreign policy dimension of any country
with its cultural affinity (Feng, 2019). Important to note that, scholars have heatedly
debated whether and how culture impacts and shapes a state’s foreign and security
policy in particular as well as international relations (IR) in general. Yet, the revival of
cultural studies in national security and foreign policy with the rise of constructivism

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in international relations in the 1990s, while into the 2000s, the culture approach
focused on terrorism and globalization (Feng, 2019).

One of the important dimension of culture and foreign relation of any country
is the cultural diplomacy. From the reciprocal gifts of ancient rulers to modern-day
Expos, culture has been used as a way for leaders and countries to show who they
are, assert their power and build lasting relationships. But in foreign policy, so often
dominated by realpolitik thinking, culture and cultural exchange are often regarded
as being desirable, but not essential (Feng, 2019). A common view is that, while
cultural diplomacy can help establish and support working relationships between
countries, it is strictly subordinate to the harder stuff of laws and treaties, bilateral
negotiations, multilateral structures and military capability. While culture plays a role
in diplomacy, there remains a stark contrast between the amount of attention,
money and column inches devoted to this area, compared with more formal
diplomacy (Briggs, 2017).

The cultural affinity with India can be sited as an example of developing

friendly bilateral relations with Bangladesh. Both these countries have a strong
cultural similarities, especially with the West Bengal of India. The two countries
share many cultural ties in terms of language, food habit, language etc. This stems
from the wider, connective and human values that culture has. Here, culture is both
the means to understand others, and an aspect of life with essential value to enjoy
enjoy and seek out. Cultural exchange gives a chance to appreciate points of
commonality and, where there are differences, to understand the motivations and
humanity that underlie them. As identity politics exert an increasing influence on
domestic and international exchanges, these attributes make culture a critical forum
for negotiation and a medium of exchange in finding shared solutions. Thus, cultural
globalization has a vital role to play in the international relations of Bangladesh.

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CHAPTER-VI
CONCLUSIONS

6.1 The impact of cultural globalization on the lifestyle and behavior of the young
generations is still an issue of controversy. The incorporation of social media and
media technology into the daily life of youths definitely have both positive and
negative consequences. The objective of this study, however, was devoid of such
value judgment; rather it was an attempt to only present the existing youth culture as
it was, which was assumed to be a creation of the global electronic media in general
and the social networking in particular. In order to carry out the research in a
systematic manner, both primary and secondary data were used. A very small
segment of respondents are selected from different faculties with a mix of gender in
order to get variations and neutrality in opinions. More so, expert interviews and
FGDs are carried out for enriching the qualitative analysis of the research.

6.2 A distinctive urban youth culture does exist in our contemporary society,
especially the case of Dhaka University, in which social networking are playing a
central and obvious role. All the youths, irrespective males and females, are heavily
affected by the process of cultural globalization. The impact of cultural globalization
among the urban youths of Bangladesh (mostly among the students of Dhaka
University as a case) can be clearly seen from the study. It also reveals that the
students of this University are exposed to the Cultural Globalization. The study also
found the overall impact through the lens of gradual shift from the traditional to the
consumerist life-style, global cultural imperialism and influence of Indian cultural
hegemony. As a whole, both from the analysis of primary and secondary data it can
be concluded that there is a significant impact of cultural globalization among the
students of young generations of Bangladesh in general and Dhaka University as a
whole.

6.3 The study may not represent the picture of the entire youth culture of urban
Bangladesh due to the adoption of purposive sampling technique and the selection
of a relatively smaller sample. In spite of such limitations, it can be hoped that this
paper would be a starting point for future investigations into globalization and culture
in the context of the Bangladeshi society. Future researches may add to this line of
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inquiry by statistically linking the process of cultural globalization to other important

outcome variables.

(Computer generated total words count: 6848 and words in the main text: 5239)

November 2018 MD SHAHJAHAN

Team Leader
Roll Number: JH-67,
PMIR, 5th Batch, Fall 2018
University of Dhaka

Distribution:

Associate Professor Dr. Syeda Rozana Rashid; MSS (Dhaka), MS (Oxford), PhD
(Sussex)

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