Intro:

As individuals, we often hear the word culture. We are all part of a culture; we are often
intrigued by other cultures. Through culture, it determines who we are as individuals. Culture is
a dynamic phenomenon. It continuously diversifies itself. Each country has its own culture,
norms, belief, and values that we've inherited from our ancestors' thousands of years ago.
But as we live in an era where technology is prevalent in our society, Media influences how we
act, speak, dress, and look, making our identity as Filipino fades. Through media, we are
heavily influenced by the culture of westerners and east Asians. But at the same time, some
Filipinos can be overproud of our culture, making them feel that our culture is superior to the
others. Also, as we land in a foreign country, we tend to feel uneasy knowing our cultural
differences. Are these things normal? And how do we cope with this? In this video, let's
discuss these topics in order to have a deeper understanding for us to learn more about these
unfamiliar terms. So, let's jump right into the video
Ethno:
We Filipinos love our culture, and it is normal to be proud of it. Whenever our culture is being
praised and featured to an international audience, we feel prouder of our heritage; there's a
sense of Filipino pride within us. But some Filipinos can be overproud sometimes, making them
think that our culture is superior to others. It can create a negative effect on our relationship
with other countries. It changes our way of thinking regarding diversity. This belief is called
ethnocentrism. So, what is ethnocentrism? According to a dictionary, Ethnocentrism is defined
as the “evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards
and customs of one's own culture.” This means it is the belief that one’s culture is superior
to others; that one’s own beliefs, values, and behaviors are a more correct way of living. In
short, it is the perspective of your own culture and asses foreign culture by the traditions and
customs you have learned within your culture. This can create an enormous comparison on
both cultures which is wrong.

 Ethnocentrism is particularly strong among people who have had little contact with
other cultures; yet ethnocentric attitudes are found among the highly educated and
experienced travelers as well.

1. The Advantages of ethnocentrism include

 Promoting unity
 Encouraging conformity
  Reinforcing nationalism
 Maintaining the status quo

2. The Disadvantages of ethnocentrism include

 Increasing resistance to beneficial change

 Discouraging integration
 Increasing the likelihood of hostility and conflicts among groups
 Preventing beneficial social change.

Xeno:
Xenocentrism, on the other hand, goes the other way around. It is the belief that one’s
lifestyle, products, or culture are inferior to another culture. It means that it is a belief that
foreign cultures have more value and sees it more highly than one's own. Here in the
Philippines, xenocentrism is widely practiced, especially among younger generations. Whether
the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, the movies that we watch, and
many more. Everything is influenced by westerners and east Asians. Media has an enormous
contribution to why people practice xenocentrism. With media, influences us to dress similarly
we see on our favorite foreign tv-shows. It also persuades people to eat foods from foreign
countries such as samgyupsal from Korea. These actions led because we are intrigued by other
cultures. It shows how much media gave an enormous contribution to xenocentrism.
There are a lot of factors why Xenocentrism is practiced especially in a third-world country like
the Philippines.
1. Media Influence
2. Leads to the collapse of local industries because of the lack of a local market
3. Incapable of sustaining an industrial base
4. Third World countries often have been convinced by their former colonial masters

So how do we cope with xenocentrism? The only way to solve this is to love our own culture,
promote and support local businesses in our country, by supporting Filipino artists, movies,
and music. With this, it enables us not only to foster and preserve our culture it also to helps
our country's economy.
Culture Shock:
Whenever a person goes overseas, it is normal to feel uneasy knowing our cultural
differences. This feeling is called culture shock. It is the feeling of a profound loss of
orientation because of the massive experience of foreignness when staying in a foreign cultural
environment, which can also affect one after successful adaptation of culture when returning
to your origin country. This leads to a conflict between one's culture and the foreign culture.
The only way to cope with this is to embrace and interact with foreign cultures with respect
and understanding. A scenario would be a foreigner would feel shocked knowing Filipinos uses
their hands to eat because in their culture they use flatware to eat. It shows that the foreigner
is new to the idea of using hands to eat.

Cultural changes in our society during this pandemic:

To say that the current pandemic has affected us is truly an understatement. It has changed
the world in all aspects, the way we live, the way go to school, the way we interact with
people, and lastly, it has changed our culture. Our traditional way of living has transformed
into a modern way by associating every problem we have with technology. In how we attend
classes, how we interact with people, in how we work, everything is done virtually unlike
before. Through this pandemic, it has created new norms such as social distancing and social
isolation. During these times of uncertainty, we need to be united as a society to flatten the
curve. We must be resilient to recover from this unfortunate event. We must be optimistic
and look for the silver lining, to preserve our culture, and to protect our future