Culture Shock Also Happens Online

It’s funny but culture shock also happens online. Even when we’re just interacting with people over chat, in social networks and over email. Things like this still happen. The truth is that we all come from different places, see different things, experience different cultures.

Being the melting pot of all cultures, the internet is really amazing eh? Here are some instances when I experienced culture shock online…

When I first realized that what I think about when I hear the term Black Friday is different from what people in the states think about when they hear this phrase, I was shocked. While I thought about a day of sadness, sacrifices and penance, the people on the other side of the globe are thinking about shopping, getting the best deals in electronics and sitting in groups in the morning, sipping coffee while waiting in line for the biggest inventory sales to be open.

When people call me “dog” over chat in an MMORPG game, it feels weird. After all, in this part of Asia, it’s a bad thing when someone calls you a dog. However, I realized that some people in other cultures think that calling someone “dog” is a form of friendship, in the same way I’ll call someone ‘bro’ or ’sis’.

Facing differences in cultures is fun, but only if you keep your mind open