Cultural Preservation in the Digital Age
There are concerns that the internet may lead to a loss of cultural diversity. In fact, it may lead to more cultural diversity. But we have to protect it.
One of the benefits of the internet and advances in transportation technologies has of course, been bringing humanity closer together. This has also created some problems. Some minor and some rather unpleasant. Much of both outcomes, we now know. One of the bigger challenges as we move further into the Digital Age, is protecting cultural diversity.
While it may seem that loss of cultures is inevitable and underway, our interconnectivity and digital technologies may in fact, play a vital role in protecting cultural diversity.
As we become more connected, both through communications and transportation technologies, it means more cultures are at risk of being diluted or so deeply absorbed into a more dominant one that it effectively disappears.
There is reason, however, to hope. While we may easily speculate that dominant cultures like Western and Chinese sociocultural systems could result in a global monoculture or perhaps two or three dominant cultures, this is not inevitable. And highly unlikely.
There are just over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, some 3,000 or so are expected to go extinct in the coming decades. Some no doubt, will. That’s been happening ever since we started talking to one another. Languages have branched out and evolved. Some die from oppression, others as populations dwindle and cultural assimilation due to migrations and other factors. There are many reasons and oppression is probably on the smaller scale.
As languages fade out, so do many of the other aspects of a culture such as literature, art, family kinship systems, economic and political systems. Some risk marginalization as dominant powers use soft power as part of projecting their ideology for control and influence.
Cultural diversity has long been at risk stretching back thousands of years. The challenge with today and our connectivity is that this can happen much faster. But the opposite is also true.
Because of social media and the social interconnectivity afforded by this tools, we are seeing many marginalised cultures able to revive themselves. Welsh and Gaelic languages are seeing a revival and popping up in places they normally wouldn’t. So are First People’s languages in North America.
First People’s in Canada and the U.S. are exploring their culture and sharing their music, literature, language and world views. People are interested. They are paying attention. There are the trolls who seemingly pounce at every opportunity to denigrate them. The reality however, is that they themselves are a minority. In the long term, it is their voices that will fade.
Some countries are working to create digital archives of their cultures and even preserving real-world artefacts as digital twins. Such as Egypt, Greece, Syria and other countries 3D scanning statues and other items to preserve them and share them with the world.
There is the organisation the Institute for Digital Archeology, which aims to preserve all kinds of artefacts and make them accessible. There is the UN Charter on the preservation of Digital Heritage. There is a private company, Codex, looking to preserve indigenous languages and cultural elements digitally. Such projects are being undertaken by governments, NGO’s, companies and non-profits around the world.
Perhaps the biggest long-term challenge for preserving cultures digitally, is storage mediums. Tried using a 5” floppy disk lately? The Egyptian pyramids may be crumbly and worn, but they are still there and recognisable. As new storage technologies evolve, it will be critical to ensure that the transfer of information is possible.
One of the other key benefits of preserving cultures digitally is accuracy. Archeologists and anthropologists who study older societies and cultures often have to make a lot of inferences, weighing the available facts and evolving theories. Digital technology such as DNA analysis and genetic engineering is helping us better understand our relation to other species like Neanderthals and Denisovans. We are finding evidence that there may be other hominid species DNA within us too.
Not only do advances in scientific technology help preserve cultures, but those of us living today do as well. When we watch videos of Anishinabe or Inuit speaking and talking about their language, that is far more true than theories from scientists.
It is also evidence for social scientists to explore how cultures adopt and absorb influences from other cultures. We can, for example, see how Canadian First People’s adopted rap and hip-hop elements into their own music through a shared identity of historical oppression. It is an interesting fusion and makes for some really cool music.
While many cultures are doing their own cultural preservation, it will be important that international organisations like the UN and governments ensure funding and resources are made available.
A global monoculture would be terribly boring. It is our diversity of cultures and all the elements that make them up that weaves the stunning tapestry of humanity.