Column: Rawlins On Digital Culture & More
[Opinion column written by Chardonaé Rawlins]
Imagine growing up in Bermuda thirty years ago.
When the school bell rang, you went outside. You rode your bike through the neighbourhood, knocked on a friend’s door to see if they could come out, and spent hours navigating friendships, disagreements, and adventures in real time. The people who influenced you were largely people you knew. Your family. Your teachers. Your coaches. Your neighbours. Your community.
Today, a young person can wake up and, before breakfast, consume hundreds of pieces of content from around the world. They may see the lifestyle of an influencer in Dubai, a beauty trend from Los Angeles, relationship advice from London, and a viral challenge from Australia, all before they walk into their first class of the day.
The world has become more connected, more accessible, and more global than ever before. Yet beneath these changes lies something even more significant: the way culture is transmitted has fundamentally shifted.
For most of human history, culture was local. It was passed down through families, communities, schools, faith groups, sporting clubs, and neighbourhoods. Anthropologists have long understood culture as one of the most powerful forces shaping human behaviour. It teaches us what is important, what is acceptable, what success looks like, and where we belong. Much of this learning happens quietly. We absorb it through observation, relationships, and repeated experiences.
Like fish swimming in water, we often fail to notice the culture surrounding us because we are immersed in it.
Every generation is shaped by the environment in which it grows up. Previous generations were influenced primarily by the communities around them. While those influences still matter today, they no longer stand alone. Increasingly, children and adolescents are being shaped by digital environments designed by people they will never meet and systems they rarely understand. This shift has quietly transformed not only how young people spend their time, but how they learn, connect, and develop their sense of self.
That may sound dramatic, but when we stop and reflect on it, it is difficult to deny.
In my field of work, one of the most common concerns I hear from parents is that they no longer recognise the world their children are growing up in. The challenges feel different. The pressures seem more intense. The pace of change can feel overwhelming.
Research suggests those observations are not unfounded.
Young people today are navigating an environment unlike any previous generation. They are exposed to an unprecedented volume of information, opinions, trends, and social expectations. They are constantly connected to one another, but not always in ways that foster meaningful connection.
Psychologists have long recognised adolescence as a critical period of identity development. It is the stage of life when young people begin asking some of humanity’s oldest questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? Who do I want to become?
Historically, these questions were explored through family relationships, friendships, school experiences, community involvement, and cultural traditions. Today’s young people are still influenced by those environments, but they are also exploring these questions in digital spaces where identity is continuously performed, evaluated, and measured.
This is where the conversation becomes particularly important.
Human beings have always compared themselves to others. Social comparison is not a new phenomenon. What has changed is its scale.
Previous generations compared themselves to classmates, neighbours, teammates, or cousins. Today’s young people can compare themselves to thousands of people before lunch.
Research has consistently linked excessive social comparison to lower self-esteem, increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, body dissatisfaction, and feelings of inadequacy, particularly among adolescents. Social media did not create comparison, but it amplified it in ways no previous generation has experienced.
Belonging, once experienced primarily through community, is increasingly measured through likes, views, comments, and followers.
Validation, once personal, has become public. Worth, in many ways, can begin to feel measurable.
Today’s young people are not just consuming information; they are consuming culture.
In a small island like Bermuda, that creates an interesting dynamic. A teenager may spend their day navigating two very different worlds. One is local; school, family, sports teams, church, neighbourhood relationships, and the expectations that come with living in a close-knit community. The other is digital; a world shaped by influencers, algorithms, viral trends, and global conversations happening at a pace no previous generation has experienced.
Sometimes those worlds complement one another. Other times they collide.
A young person may be told at home that character matters more than appearance, while simultaneously receiving hundreds of messages online suggesting that beauty, popularity, and visibility determine value. They may be encouraged by teachers to focus on growth and effort, while scrolling through content that celebrates overnight success, luxury lifestyles, and instant gratification.
Even something as seemingly simple as a group chat can carry significant influence. For today’s young people, social dynamics no longer end when the school day is over. Friendships, disagreements, social hierarchies, and peer pressure can follow them home through notifications, messages, and social media feeds. The opportunity to disconnect, reflect, and reset has become increasingly limited.
In many ways, previous generations experienced social pressure during school hours. Today’s generation carries it in their pocket.
This is not because technology is inherently harmful. In fact, technology has brought extraordinary benefits. It has connected families across oceans, expanded access to information, created opportunities for learning, and allowed young people to find communities where they feel understood and accepted.
The challenge is that technology is not simply a tool. It is also a cultural force.
The platforms our children use every day are shaping norms, values, behaviours, and expectations. They influence what young people aspire to, how they spend their time, how they communicate, and increasingly, how they see themselves.
From an anthropological perspective, this raises important questions. What values are being reinforced? What definitions of success are being promoted? What messages about beauty, relationships, achievement, masculinity, femininity, and self-worth are children absorbing every day? And perhaps most importantly: are we paying attention to those lessons?
In Bermuda, we often speak proudly about our sense of community. We value relationships. We value resilience. We value generosity and connection. For many of us, childhood was shaped by family gatherings, church halls, sporting clubs, neighbourhood friendships, and adults who took a collective interest in the wellbeing of children.
Those influences still matter.
But today’s young people are growing up at the intersection of Bermudian culture and global digital culture. Every day they receive messages about success, popularity, beauty, identity, and belonging from sources far beyond our shores. Some of those messages are positive. Some are not. Many are complicated.
The challenge is helping young people develop the critical thinking skills to navigate them thoughtfully.
Perhaps this is where the conversation needs to shift.
Instead of asking only how much time young people spend online, we should also ask what they are learning there.
What values are shaping them? What expectations are influencing them? What ideas about success, belonging, and self-worth are they carrying into adulthood?
These are not simply parenting questions. They are cultural questions. They are developmental questions. And increasingly, they are mental health questions.
The question is not whether technology is influencing our children. The evidence suggests it already is. The question is whether we are helping them understand that influence.
Because culture does not just shape what we do. It shapes what we believe, what we value, what we aspire to, and how we understand ourselves.
As parents, educators, and community members, we may not be able to control every message our young people encounter. But we can help them think critically about those messages. We can help them develop a strong sense of identity that is rooted in values rather than validation. And we can create spaces where belonging is earned through connection rather than measured through engagement.
Technology will continue to evolve. Culture will continue to change.
Our responsibility is to ensure that while the platforms may shape the environment, they do not become the sole architects of the next generation’s identity.
Because the values our children absorb today will become the culture they carry into tomorrow.
- Chardonaé Rawlins, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Specialist | Founder, Simply Bloom Bermuda
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Category: All, technology
