Social media and the virtual world are now more important than the real world in the

construction of
young people’s cultural identity.

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Give your own opinion.

In the creation of young people's cultural identities, social media and the virtual world are thought to
be becoming more essential than the real world. In my opinion, I partly agree with this statement and I
will provide reasons why in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, it can be admitted that upbringing still the sole factor in determining cultural identity.
Firstly, language still the primary source of identifying with culture. Without language, we can not make
the differences among the nations around the world. Secondly, parentage , school and how a child is
raised still impacts cultural identity more than online.

On the other hand, I believe that social media and the virtual world are beneficial with teenagers in
various of ways for globalisation. It can be seen that the large proportion of time online impact
considerably many things including fashion , opinions , beliefs , hobbies and interests. For example, E-
learning mixing students from all over the world - better integration. Similarity, Online Gaming - allows
for safe integration into different scenaios and experience of different cultures. Moreover, Online world
has more ‘pull’ in terms of how we think and who we identify as.

In conclusion, although the importance of social media and the virtual world with young people’s
cultural identity can not be denied, the real world still able to affect significantly with them .However,
from my point of view, the construction of youngsters’s cultural identity should be improved by not only
the real world but also the virtual world.