The 21

st

Century
Culture
What are the defining characteristics of the 21st
century culture?
Defined as the spirit of the current age, the 21st century boasts a
number of sophisticated differences which effect society, most are
good, some not so much, and others we can leave to the
philosophers. With everything from mobile devices and the world
wide web to reality TV and selfies, the most definable difference
would be the availability of information/technology. Digital
technology, in its early stages of mainstream use in the 80s and 90s
became widely accepted by most of the world, though many experts
express concerns about increased stress from the overuse of mobile
phones, the Internet and related technologies.
THE COMPUTER - No other device invented in the latter
half of the 20th century has had as great an impact on
world culture than the personal computer. Defined as any
general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and
original sales price make it useful for individuals. Unlike it's
predecessors, the PC is intended to be operated directly by
an end-user with no intervening computer operator (this
contrasted with the batch processing or time-sharing
models which allowed larger, more expensive minicomputer
and mainframe systems to be used by many people,
usually at the same time) and unlike the large data
processing systems, PC's didn't require a full-time staff to
operate efficiently.
Today's PC offers connectivity to almost all aspects of
human life, music...? Simple. Film and video...? A
cinch. Cable TV...? No sweat. Video gaming...?
Please. Education...? Duh. Set to be the primary
threat to the library, bookstore and news print, the
speed at which information is processed, shared, and
stored offers a world of information at ones fingertips.
But while the computer (PC) had a fundamental
impact on today's culture, it goes hand in hand with
perhaps the second 20th century invention to change
the world.
THE INTERNET - Like what mashed potato
and gravy is to a T-bone steak, like what
tomato meat sauce is to spaghetti, like
what gravy melted cheese chunks are to
french fries, like what fried dumpling is to
ackee and salt fish, the Internet and the PC
go hand in hand like a twix bar. You could
have one without the other... but why would
you want to? 
Especially when there is a global system of
interconnected computer networks that
exists to serve billions of users worldwide.
The Internet is a network of networks that
consists of millions of private, public,
academic, business, and government
networks, of local to global scope, all linked
by a broad array of electronic, wireless and
optical networking technologies. 
The Internet carries an extensive range
of information resources and services,
such as the inter-linked hypertext
documents of the World Wide Web
(WWW) and the infrastructure to support
email and let's not forget the biggest and
fastest growing aspect of the world wide
web... 
How culture has changed over the years?
Culture can change through contact with
other cultures. When contact occurs
between two cultures, diffusion may occur.
Diffusion is the transfer of ideas
between cultures. In the past, this was
limited because fewer people were able to
travel or communicate with people from far
away lands.
The 21 st
Century has dawned
amazing achievements, surprising
milestones and change in modes of
thinking. It has unveiled enormous
challenges as well- the demands in
meeting the possibilities of fulfillment
and triumph. All these unfold on global
stage.
The International Space Station (ISS) –
First on our list is a space age engineering
accomplishment. The ISS was launched
in 1998 and has been orbiting Earth ever
since. The station holds a crew of 6
astronauts and is the largest artificial
object in orbit: it is 72.8 m (239 ft) long,
108.5 m (356 ft) wide and around 20 m
(66 ft) in height. It is so big that it’s
possible to see the ISS from earth with
the naked eye. The ISS is used for
research in different fields of science and
lately HD cameras that send live
streaming of Earth over the internet were
installed. 
The Great Wall Of China – The Great Wall
Of China is the longest man made
structure, stretching for 8,850 kilometers.
It was built in the 14th century and
protected the northern borders of the
Chinese Empire from the attacks of
nomadic tribes. The Great Wall
is sometimes falsely claimed to be seen
from space with the naked eye. This
construction is a remarkable achievement
that shows the persistence and
capabilities of the Chinese Empire. The
Great wall is the most famous wall and 
most famous man-made barrier in the
world.
Burj Khalifa Building – As of the
beginning of 2015, the Burj Khalifa
building in Dubai is by far 
the tallest freestanding structure
 in all of the world at a height of
828 meters (2,717 ft.) and 163
floors. Completed in 2010, the
immense building is an
engineering accomplishment like
no other, designed to stand
earthquakes, strong winds and
other hazards. A building like that
would seem completely
impossible just a century ago.
21st Century Milestones
21st Century Innovations
Solar chargers
produce power that
can be passed to
dying gadgets
anywhere you are
without needing
electricity.
The vending machine will
serve up hot pies 24 hours a
day, seven days a week at just
the touch of a button.  At $9 a
pop for a full 12-inch pizza,
you can choose your toppings
on the touchscreen, hit a
button, and within three
minutes receive a fresh-baked
pizza in a box, dispensed via a
special pizza slot.
Future Plugs
This makes
everything
easier and it
doesn't takes
much space.
 Turn your citrus fruit
into the freshest
juice container! Spray
ay er directly from fruit to
ce Spr
Le m on J
u i
dress your recipes or
t ant
I ns
aromatize your soft
drinks and cocktails
in the freshest way.
Are these trends good or bad?
How can one make of this trend in
promoting social good? Are
networks good or bad? How can
one make use of social networks
in promoting social good?
One promising potential of the 21 st

century is leading learners to become

learned and responsible citizens in the
context of today’s global society.
Success in the 21 century requires
st

everyone to understand how to learn

independently.
Moreover, it brings imperatives to
develop fair-mindedness along
with the interpersonal
communication skills, both written
and oral, for the interconnected
and complex world.
Howard Gardner in his book Five Minds
for the Future featured the following:
“In the Age of Info-whelm, students are
bombarded by information 24/7.
Shrewd triage becomes an imperative.
Those who develop a synthesizing mind
will rise to the top.
Synthesizing is not a one-time process. New
information must be acquired, probed,
evaluated, and evaluated.
Good synthesizers always keep an eye on
the big picture while securing and
arranging the smaller details in useful ways.
One must know what works for oneself and
for those who make use of their synthesis.
We must help our students
learn to make use of
information and media in
meaningful ways.”
Vocabulary:
Shrewd triage (ranked) –
having a clever awareness and
sharp intelligence in identifying
which needs much attention.
Activity: PAIR and SHARE
1. What do you mean by info-
whelm? Describe.
2. What does becoming
shrewd-triage mean? Cite
examples.