Differences befween counfries ore borely eyident lhese doys. Everyone in lhe world is wecrfing lhe some bronds ond wdlching ihe sorne ry chonnels ond movies. Do you think it is o posifive or o negolive developmenl?

It is irrefutable that because of globalization, similarities between countries are more obvious these days than in the past.

ln

many ways

people

around the

world

are becoming more and more similar.

This

situation is both - a positive

as well as

a negative development. I personally believe that the advantages are much more. The main advantage of

this

change is that communication is much better nowadays;

people

understand other cultures much better and have become more open in their outlook on life.

This

has resulted in more business and cultural contacts among different nations. Multinational companies have opened in many parts of the

world

providing jobs to thousands of

people

. There is

also

more efficient trade between different countries around the globe thereby improving the economies of developing countries.

People

have more opportunities to travel and

therefore

have an awareness of other cultures. The major reason why

people

consider

such

a situation negative is that national

identities

are being lost.We eat the same food, watch the same TV programmes, listen to the same music and wear the same

clothes

.

For instance

, international outlets like Reebok, Nike and Levi's can be seen everywhere. Food outlets like MacDonald's and Starbucks etc. can be seen in almost all corners of the

world

.

People

wearing the same type of

clothes

can be seen everywhere.

People

have

also

started speaking one language, English, in many parts of the

world

.

ln

fact, English has become the lingua franca today.

However

, feel that

this

is a very narrow definition of national

identities

and nations are as different as they were ever in the past. Cultural identity is based on far more than just the films we watch or the

clothes

we wear.

For example

, take my own culture of India and compare it to the West. We may wear any

clothes

, but we never take the names of elders and call them with respect.

ln

the West, it is quite OK to call anyone by name.

ln

fact, they appreciate it more. I believe that after knowing about other cultures, we learn to respect our culture even more. So, some very deep-rooted national

identities

will always be there.

To conclude

, similarities among

people

and their lifestyles cannot be denied,

However

, the similarities we see today are only on the surface. Total loss of national

identities

can never take place.

Therefore

,

this

situation is largely positive.