Cross Generations Cultural Changes

CULTURAL CHANGES ACROSS-GENERATIONS

When we look for today’s young generation, we can see some new, sometimes weird changes. Most of these changes are not accepted by their families or their friends. But how did these changes start, and why are younger generations easily seized by these changes?

When we go back in history we can see that cultural changes happen always, because every culture changed a lot in history. Some of the cultures remained but some of the others changed a lot in history, due to migration, wars, due to occupation of their land, pressure of new rulers, while some of the other cultures already disappeared from the history.

If we look at all the big cultures we can see especially in the last decades all of them change a lot, but when we look at today's world, we can easily say that American culture effected the world a lot, in food, drinking, fashion, technology, nearly in everything. But what is American culture? Is this culture that old or not? When we look at American history, we can see that the United States of America was established nearly 300 years ago. How can a country spread its culture so fast and effectively to cultures which were older than the American culture?

Actually the United States of America had a big war against the British Empire and gained their independance, but before and after this independancy, we can see that there was no American race. Today's American citizens are mixed of all immigrants like Italian, French, British, Chinese and so on, and of the Native Americans. But after the United States gained their independance and George Washington among others established the new country, within 300 years, because of the world structure, America took advantage of Europe’s old and 'tired' countries and when all these countries kept fighting with each other America became the new world power. All these things made American culture to spread all around the world, and effected all the other cultures.

For example if we look at the Turkish culture, we can easily say that Turkey is effected by America too much. The Turkish culture is really old, one of the oldest cultures in the world, it effected world very much. But unfortunately today, this big culture is getting less important because of the American and other cultures, which effected the Turkish culture very much. When we look at Turkey’s past, the older generation always complain about the younger generations and how they act. In the past, in Turkey people always used to know each other, tried to help each other even if they didn’t know the other person or family. But now all these things are gone, the 1990’s generations namely is definitely the last generation which was effected by our old traditions, but after the 1990’s generation, everything changed, because the American culture started to effect our culture too much.

It is not just the American culture of course; when we look into the past we can see that technology was not that much effective in our live and it effects not just Turkish culture, it effects whole world. Older generations or middle age generations are not grown up with technological possibilities, even our generation’s was not grown up with not that much technological devices. But today’s children growing up with technological devices all around themselves, it all begins in their babyhood times, with some devices. When we look the children which were born after 2000, we can easily see that, children’s relations with their parents are nearly over because of they spent their times with their technological devices. Because of this their parents always complain about their children are not socialising enough.

In older times in Turkey people are more social then now, Turkish culture known as sharing, older times everybody known each other, share everything they have but now younger generation doesn’t know anything about it because this culture is nearly dead. Also until 90’s in Turkey everybody has a neighborhood, in this neighborhood everybody lives together, share together. At that times children always play in the streets until late times, everybody trust everybody when there is a problem occur, they solve this inside of their own neighborhood, without interfere any other people. Student always wait for the scholl finishs or holidays to play with their friends in the playgrounds, parks, sports areas but now all these things are nearly dead, because technology starts to kill manners, traditions and of course old cultures. When you look for the young generation you can easily say that technology is definitely kils all these things. It changes to old culture completely, the things that I mentioned before, they are all dead now because today when you look at the streets, you can not see any child in the streets which is playing with his/her friends. They are all playing computer games, or ipad games or with their toys in their houses and day by day technology is capture their brains and since the families does not say anything about it our old traditions and culture is damaged and nearly destroyed.

When we look for old Turkish culture and new Turkish culture we can see these changes, but there are also lots of things that did not change and will not change ever. Turkish culture is very famous all around world, every year lots of tourists came to Turkey just to see Turkish culture, even if our culture effected too much today, It would not be easy to destroy out culture.

Today there is another problem occur especially in Germany, the Turks which lives in Germany. When 1950’s and 60’s the first immigrations starts to Germany, the people which immigrate to Germany, they were uneducated, most of them came from Turkey’s Eastern part which was not that developed at that time, so when they came to Germany, they kept living in their own living standards. They did not learn any German, they were trying to protect themselves from Germans, always hanging out with Turkish immigrants and that’s why today still most of the Germans thinks that Turkish people are all the same and they all look like the first generation which established their lives in Germany.

When we look the Turks in Germany today, we will see a big difference between the first generation and third-fourth generation. First generation as I mentioned it before did not learn any German, they always lived like; one day we will go back to Turkey so we should not interfere with the German society, we can live in our own community. But third and fourth generation is not living like their parents. Most of them lives like a German, they always speaks German, barely speak in Turkish, some of them even does not know any Turkish. After second generation when they realise that they will not go back to

Turkey permanently they start to live like a German, they started to learn German, try to fit into German culture, at the same time they try to effect German culture and they manage to effect German culture, today German’s national food become Döner almost. When you look to two Turkish people, one of them is living in Germany and one of them is living in Turkey, you can separate them easily, because most of the Turkish younger generations in Germany lives like German now, wear like them, make their own hair style, always hanging out with Germans and talk German.

When you look for a guy from Turkey and another one from Germany which both of them are Turkish, you can understand them where is he from by his speaking skills, the guy which lives in Germany can not able to speak Turkish like his generation in Turkey. His family never thought him Turkish that much, nearly all the time they speak German, so when you want to talk with this guy, you have to speak with him carefully, you should not use hard words or if it is possible you have to speak with him in English. They always say that, our Turkish is not that good and we can understand the person if he/she came from Turkey and live in Turkey by his/her accent.

When we look the Turks in Germany today, we can say that third and fourth generation is nearly lost their own culture, they are start living like a German instead of living like a Turkish, and when they come to Turkey for holidays, they always mixed up between these two culture and sometimes they return from holiday earlier because they feel that they can not able to live in Turkey anymore, but some of them still protect their own culture while they are living with Germans at the same time because for them the culture is the most important thing and always have to be protected. Today we can easily say that some of the Turks which lives in Germany are more Turk that the Turks which lives in Turkey, because they protect their culture more than Turk are ding in Turkey.

From past until today culture is always changed, no one can stop changing so everybody have to adapt by these changes. But at the same time you have to fight for your own culture and protect it, otherwise your culture will destroy forever and you have to live rest of your life with another culture which is not belong to you and you will be assimilated and you will lose your own identity.

Turkish culture is really old and important in the world, all the Turkish people have to protect their culture and today even some of the Turks already forgot about their culture, the others and some foreigns tries to protect Turkish culture and it would not be that easy to delete Turkish culture from history and today, from the world.

Word paper

Media:Creating Cross Generations Cultural Changes.docx by Doğukan A.