214601 2 BS ITE

Maria Daniela Sofia S. Pedrosa Professor: Carl Reyes

In my opinion, there are two main things that constitute modern life: first is each person
having a larger sense of connection to the world as well as a more developed sense of
individuality, and second is constant transformation as a result of the ever-evolving cultural,
political, social, and economic landscape.

To elaborate on my first point, social media has allowed for the rampant connection of
everyone across the globe. Further, modern life is filled with the constant sharing and
consumption of advertisements, celebrities, news, personal lives, opinions, and stories that now
dictate our social interactions and mold who we become. People can now make decisions based
on the latest trends from the other side of the world, dress according to the styles of foreign
countries, speak using the same slang from these countries, and so much more. This very much
constitutes modern life as we are no longer isolated in our own beliefs or practices unlike
indigenous communities. Back then, indigenous communities were distinct from one another
through what belonged in their community. Now, with the unlimited access we have to all
spheres of the globe, many of us are connected by the same things. As a result, we have formed a
shared culture of globalization and colonialism–whether it’s commonly enjoyed TV shows,
movies, celebrities, fashion, or music—we are connected by what we consume. However, despite
this connectivity, modern life also places emphasis on self-actualization. This has created a
movement of individual focus, creating movements like #SelfLove, the notion of “choosing
yourself”, #MeToo, and many more. There is no longer an inclination towards the community;
many people have learned to prioritize themselves before their communities. As a result, we now
live in a world wherein the self is placed at the center of the world. An example of this is the now
common practice of quitting one’s job if it “doesn’t make one happy,” or pursuing one’s dream
out of passion. Though these are normal concepts in my generation, my parents and grandparents
often tell me about the jobs and struggle they had to go through when they were young to get
where they are now.

Thus, this brings me to my second point of how modern life is constituted by constant
transformation as a result of the cultural, political, social, and economic landscape. We are now
living in a world of rampant advancement due to various new technologies. Further, because of
globalization (and our access to information everywhere), new research is constantly being
discovered. From these, ideologies, values, practices, and overall living is in constant flux and
development. This has brought about a clear characteristic of modern life: most people are in a
mode of constant adaptation due to these commonly occurring changes. Together with this and
the nature of social media, people always expect immediacy and feel like they need to be
moving. This has created the “busy and burnt-out” culture of modern life. Its origins possibly
begin with the industrial revolution’s success and colonization’s transformation of the world:
after we had pushed our capacity to create, work, and earn more, our world has been in a rush to
discover and put out the “next best thing,” placing both consumers and companies in a state of
hyperactivity. In my opinion, this is the condition that modern life has created for us: one where
we feel we need to be constantly sprinting towards the next ‘thing’, otherwise we get left behind
and need to catch up to the next sprinter. I’ve also noticed that because of this condition, and
because of the constant release of new ideas, people easily forget one new advancement as soon
as two weeks after. This has caused businesses to release new things as regularly as possible to
maintain their relevance. An example of this can be seen in the release of a new IPhone, iPad,
and MacBook every year, and consumers buying the new models every time as they wish to stay
updated. Another example is how many millennials and Gen-Z believe they need to be in x
amount of internships and have x amount of extracurricular activities so that they’ll be able to
land good jobs as soon as they graduate college, causing them to be burnt out and tired much
before they even graduate. I believe that this is characteristic of only modern life as traditional
societies preferred slower processes wherein they let things develop in their own time as most of
their focus were on agriculture and the creation of cultural crafts.

Thus, what makes ideas, interests, goals, or lifestyles “modern” are those arising not only
as a result of social transformation throughout the years, but also as a response to the changes
that have been made throughout history. An example of this is innovating new food styles or
inventing fusion cuisines. The ability to do this can come from several modern things: having
parents of two different ethnicities, traveling around the world often to try new foods, having
access to groceries that sell ingredients from foreign countries (which also means living in a
country of imports and exports), having access to different cookbooks, and so many more
factors. All of these indicate growing up in a globalized and connected world, as characteristic of
modernity.

To conclude, modern life is constituted by a larger connection to the world and self, as
well as the many social transformations that come about as a result of our constantly changing
sacrifices. Because of this, the world has become even harder to navigate despite our larger
connection to it.