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.

It is a belief held by many people that social network, along with the cyberspace, are now more influential than the physical world when it comes to creating young people’s cultural identity. While I fully believe that social media platforms play an undoubtedly crucial role in forming one’s cultural self-conception, there are still other factors that are also necessary in this process. To begin with, as youngsters spend most of their free time online, a large proportion of their personality is affected. Their fashion styles, their hobbies, their interests, even their opinions and beliefs are influenced by things that are presented to them online. Moreover, people around this age are especially impressionable, hence the reason why they are so easily impacted. Furthermore, this era of technology development has enabled students to be exposed to people of different cultures and ethnicities from a young age. This will inevitably lead to better integration of global youth. On the other hand, there are also more elements that contributes to the building of teenager’s cultural identity. Firstly, it is basic knowledge that language is the primary source of one’s identification with their culture. With a language being their mother tongue, they have a better opportunity to study deeper aspects of a culture than non-native speakers, as some of the sources can’t be translated well into other languages. Following this, a child’s upbringing is the most crucial – if not the sole factor in determining their cultural identity. Child raising and parenting definitely have a heavier impact on their identity than social medias do as their personality and identity have been modified by these features since birth. In conclusion, early years of childhood can establish one’s overall culture and this will resonate through later years. In summary, apparently both the online and offline world have equally critical roles in shaping one’s cultural identity.