I recently had a conversation with my wife about the loss of a monoculture in society. As Millenials, we grew up in a time period just before the internet was in every pocket. It was accessible, but you had to sit down, attach to a cable, and dial up to get it. Because of this, people were only beginning to use the internet as a tool, and not as a new place to inhabit and exploit others. Society mainly relied on things like radio and television to create a monoculture; by this I mean that even though there was some selection in the forms of entertainment that you could choose, as a whole, society experienced their entertainment together. References to television, movies, sports, and celebrity gossip were mostly understood by a larger group of people, and everyone heard about the latest news in the paper or during the news hour on television. Consequently, many people felt connected to society, because we all generally experienced the same consumption of media, news, and sports, even if in a minor way.
In today’s day, the internet has changed this experience drastically. Because of its accessibility and because we have established permanent settlements if not ‘homes’ on our favorite news, social media, and entertainment sites, we have the ability to pick and choose what we want to experience because of the versatile and ubiquitous nature of the internet. Or, in a more cynical way, companies have the ability to feed us what they want once they figure out our behavioral preferences. As a result, many of the younger generations experience a customized culture that either forms smaller niche communities, or in some cases, no community at all.
This shift in how we participate in entertainment and consequently culture has positives and negatives. Gone are the days when the movie theatres and Hollywood could control the movies we watch. Gone are the days when non-crime related shows could last longer than five seasons. Gone are the days when books like Harry Potter could become a worldwide phenomenon with people pitching tents for midnight releases. Gone are the days where students in both Kansas and Pennsylvania could go to a school dance and have almost the exact same playlist. Taylor Swift is the last standing idol of the monoculture that did not reward many, but if you were able to break through, you had universal fandom.
Even though I have the tendency to bemoan the loss of a monoculture, it is not necessarily a bad thing to make a shift from the monoculture experience. A monoculture has the tendency to raise up human idols (see aforementioned Taylor Swift), and has the tendency to encourage society to build its modern day Tower of Babel (see politics). Additionally, we are a people of individuals who should have the freedom to explore whatever moral form of entertainment that we desire (provided it does not detract from our holiness).
So the formation of smaller niche communities is a healthy reversal of a culture that became very monolithic once everyone had a TV in their home. But what has become unhealthy is our hyperindividual and customization of culture that has left many in the younger generation isolated. Songs, streaming services, and social media are so flooded with content, so hyper individualized, and so monetized that each member of a community, school, or even family often do not experience any entertainment together. And because culture is only created when people share experiences, a younger generation feels increasingly disconnected due to their pursuit of, or being fed, a customized entertainment menu. They feel the connection of a community virtually, but never experience it physically which leads to discontentment and even depression.
So what’s the answer besides regulating receiving a smartphone similarly to getting a driver’s license? A couple come to mind.The first is engaging in a monoculture that is oriented towards the one true God. We are made to form a type of monoculture through worship. But it must not be oriented to a false idol, only to the One who deserves to be elevated – God. Second, we must also engage in smaller niche cultures in a physical way. It is fine, and even encouraged, to use the internet and all it can provide as a tool to foster growth and enhancement in these communities, but real culture and community is mainly experienced with people who are physically present. If these communities can be influenced and graced by the true, the good, and the beautiful, or namely, by Jesus Christ, then we will not only be able to avoid creating idols, but also make sure that everyone is able to experience a community centered on God. And that is the truest form of culture.
