Reprogramming the Software of the Mind: A New Framework for Cultural Homogenization

In this editorial, we delve into the repercussions of social media and Web 2.0 algorithms on cultural homogenization and acculturation. Drawing on Glasser’s choice theory, we contend that humans possess a genetic inclination toward seeking fun and freedom – qualities seamlessly delivered by addictive social media algorithms, offering limitless choices from across borders at our fingertips. These choices personalize our immediate world, fostering social media addiction, simultaneously reprogramming the “software of the mind” and altering the cultural landscape. Coined as CHAW, the Cultural Homogenization Theory of Acculturation through Social Media and Web 2.0 Algorithms facilitates an understanding of how the pull effect of human desires for freedom and fun, along with the push effect of personalized choices and a choice-centric culture amplified by social media and Web 2.0 algorithms contributes to the acculturation of societies. This phenomenon is characterized by a focus on short-term orientation and indulgence. Cultural acculturation is notably pertinent for societies historically inclined toward interdependence, particularly those marked by high power distance and collectivism, but it is also observable in other cultural contexts.