| The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal global cultural values change and global telecommunications changes in countries that participated in four survey waves of the World Values Survey, conducted between 1981 and 2001. Global cultural values data were obtained from the European Values Study Group and World Values Survey Association. Global telecommunications data obtained from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) included Internet and computer related variables, as well as telephone related variables. Principle component factor analysis was used to identify common cultural themes which then used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine if significant change had occurred between survey waves. Common themes among countries included religious activity and spirituality, liberalization of social and moral issues, confidence in government and industry institutions, socio-political activism, rationalization of ethical norms, the need to balance work and personal life, and life satisfaction. Nonlinear correlation was used to explore the relationship between data sets. Although differences existed between countries, general findings showed that an increase in telecommunications was related to a decrease in religious activity, increase in spirituality, decrease in government and industry confidence, and liberalization of social and moral issues. Significant generational differences indicated that older individuals tended to maintain traditional values, while younger individuals tended to promote social change by moving toward secular ideals. |
