Technology and Culture

In today's Western society, technology has become a lot more advanced than it was fifty years ago. In 2010, 'over 9.5m TV sets were bought across the UK - double the number sold in 2002.' Doubtfire, P. (2011) In just ten years, more and more people have been investing in televisions, with video game consoles, smart phones and even electronic books. With technology developing at the rate it is, it's become normal for those living in these advanced countries to spend their time watching TV or playing games, on their own or with partners. Doing this could be considered spending time with people and socialising over the internet but when it comes down to it, they are solitary and independent activities. People aren't spending physical time talking and 'connecting' with their family and friends; they aren't going out there and spending time outside.

If you compare this to cultures within less-developed countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Haiti and the Maldives; the people within these cultures spend a lot more time together. There is a larger sense of community and families and friends spend time together, working, playing, cooking and gathering. These people are learning about their parents and their grandparents lives, they are, essentially, broadening their minds with the knowledge they can learn from each other.

Some people from Western cultures may see these people as under privileged however, are they really? They may have less technology but they have more family values and morals than many Western people. Technology lets us play football online against our friends, it lets us shop and bank and chat; whereas in places without this technology, they have to do it by hand. The games they play aren't about rules or winning, it's about taking part and having fun and the actual work they do is hard work. They aren't just coasting by life. They are being a part of it.

In my opinion, although being able to do these things online may be easier, spending time with family and growing as people without the help of the internet or media teaches you new things and could possibly, give you new experiences.

Doubtfire, P. (2011). UK TV Watching Trends. Available: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/media-centre/news/report-reveals-latest-uk-tv-watching-trends-NEWS35/. Last accessed 9th Jan 2013 .

Pirates

When we think of 'pirates', our minds are flooded by images of Captain Jack Sparrow; flamboyantly dressed men stealing away women to woo them; exciting fights and gorgeous boats, sailing on the beautiful, never-ending ocean. We view pirates in a different way to how they were viewed a couple of hundred years ago. In today's popular culture, they are a romantic and exciting notion. In reality, pirates were, and still are incredibly blood-thirsty people who raped, murdered and stole from people. Popular mediums such as films and books depict pirates to be adventurous swashbucklers who sail the seven seas living their lives to the fullest, for example Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean or Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, who sails the seas, searching for his true love.

Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean

Dread Pirate Roberts - The Princess Bride

Many places around the world have history linked to piracy. Cornwall in general is notorious for it's smuggler tales and pirate legends. Reaching to hotter climates, 17th Century pirates roamed the warmer seas of the Caribbean looking for merchant ships to pillage.

In today's society, there are more that one type of pirate. There are the dangerous but romantic ones from stories long ago; online 'pirates' who download illegally and share files that aren't theirs to share; and there are the 'real life pirates' in Somalia and other countries who roam their local seas, taking people hostage and stealing from cargo boats. These pirates are not the part of the stereotype, they don't dress in baggy breeches or lacy shirts, they dress in normal clothes and are armed with all types of dangerous weapons. They use speedboats and machine guns. The pirates that are around today are incredibly dangerous to society and the economy. 

Somali pirates

I personally don't like to believe that these criminals are pirates. To me, pirates will always be those bearded men who raise skull and cross bones, swaggering across their decks drinking rum; they will be the sneaky smugglers that are Cornish legend colourful barbarians in fictional literature.