How Culture Shape Us

Culture has an impact on how we live, learn, and act. The moral and ethical
principles that guide how people should act and engage with one another are reflected
in culture. Culture definitely plays a role in people’s upbringings. External factors like
other cultures, new technology, changing environments, and new experiences will
also cause a person to think at least slightly differently than they did in their previous
culture. However, because culture is a collective and because people are a member of
that collective, those modifications to their attitudes and actions indicate a change in
culture.

Our personal identities are greatly shaped by the culture in which we were
raised. Numerous studies have demonstrated that people from various cultures view
the world and perceive things in various ways. This is likely because their culture has
influenced the way they perceive the world. While there are several elements that
affect a person's identity, culture has an impact on some of the essential narratives that
make up a person's existence. Our social identity evolution is influenced by the
culture of our environment, which also affects how embraced we feel in our
communities.

Cultural norms are seamlessly integrated into a person's sense of self. When a
person experiences culture shock, the norms they are used to slowly crumble, leaving
them to jigsaw together key elements of both the old and new cultures and merge
them together. A person's intrinsic character, temperament, and the type of culture
they are exposed to as children all contribute to their exclusivity.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the observation (primarily in the Emile, 1762) that
we can never be our true selves insofar as individuals in society are ripped from who
they truly are and conditioned from a young age to adopt the cultural traditions
and collective consciousness of the society they were born into. By collective
consciousness, this means the “set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which
operate as a unifying force within society.” As a consequence, a person’s social
identity, behavior, and personality are substantially influenced by community
relationships.

A person's values, beliefs, and behaviors are shaped by their culture and the
narratives it enforces. Culture has a huge impact on our lives today, it affects most of
our behaviour and values in our different lives. It also provides regulation for life and
provides our own individual identities. It is easy to identify someone’s culture through
how they act, dress or even talk, it has a big influence on our different lives
today. Values, beliefs, and changes in behavior are transient.

Essay References:

‘Culture And Communication’ Written By Mukami Sandra

‘Does Culture shape our identity?’ Written By Mukami Sandra
‘Does culture shape our identity?’ Written By Souhir Jerbi

https://iep.utm.edu/rousseau/