Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges of goods, and services, capital, technologies or cultural practices all over the planet. One of the effects of globalization is that it promotes and increases interactions between different regions and populations around the globe.

Globalization has brought benefits in developed countries as well as negative effects. The positive effects include several factors which are education, trade, technology, competition, investments and capital flows, employment, culture and organization structure.

Together with economic and financial globalization, there has obviously also been cultural globalization. Indeed, the multiplication of economic and financial exchanges has been followed by an increase in human exchanges such as migration, expatriation or traveling. These human exchanges have contributed to the development of cultural exchanges. This means that different customs and habits shared among local communities have been shared among communities that used to have different procedures and even different beliefs.

Good examples of cultural globalization are, for instance, the trading of commodities such as coffee or avocados. Coffee is said to be originally from Ethiopia and consumed in the Arabid region. Nonetheless, due to commercial trades after the 11th century, it is nowadays known as a globally consumed commodity. Avocados, for instance, are grown mostly under the tropical temperatures of Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Peru. They started by being produced in small quantities. to supply the local populations but today guacamole or avocado toasts are common in meals all over the world.

Globalization is a complex phenomenon. As such, it has a considerable influence on several areas of contemporary societies. Let’s take a look at some of the main negative effects globalization has had so far.

Apart from all the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also homogenized the world’s cultures. That’s why specific cultural characteristics from some countries are disappearing. From languages to traditions or even specific industries. That’s why according to UNESCO, the mix between the benefits of globalization and the protection of local culture’s uniqueness requires a careful approach.