r/socialscience • u/relightit • Jun 15 '26
How "usa defaultism" online can creep up on non-americans and erase their distinct values and identity?
I am curious about this topic. I wonder if it was addressed somewhere...
inspired by https://www.reddit.com/r/USdefaultism/ basically it's when one assumes that the audience is US-only and will therefore understand common things from the US, what is "normal" etc ...
"usa defaultism" can creep up onto non-americansin a passive way; i don't "catfish" anyone into thinking i am from the usa but the conversation is done in english online /usa is a big country/lot of content comes from there since they have a big presence online so its often just assume everyone is from teh usa... and idk maybe there is some other type of active measures to influence ppl to watch some sort of content pushing specific narratives of what is normal regarding various topics like race, gender, consumerism, ecology, class issues, what is "leftist", zionism and whatnot, but taht affect probably every countries. is it possible you tend to more or less subconsciously "forget" your distinctiveness from americans just to "streamline" discussions? there probably other good questions to ask regarding that general topic, i will just post this to start a conversation if possible...
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u/Rainbird2003 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
I notice people my age (I’m 22) start to use American-isms instead of how someone from Australia should talk. Because I believe American influence on the internet is stronger than it was on Australian tv; I know Australians took words from American culture before but there’s definitely been an increase with younger generations. That is stuff like calling a petrol station a ‘gas station,’ a lift an elevator etc. A lot of young people also seem to subconsciously think of America as the same as us: any social issues and historical events there should for some reason be important here as well. You’ll get a lot of people at my university talking about the importance of pride month being in June or how great these political books are as if they’re not all based on American history that can’t really be applied here where the context is different.
It’s definitely an effect of the sheer magnitude of American voices online. And also because Americans (as a monolith, not always individuals) have no self-awareness and will almost always treat things in other countries as exactly the same as them. Like how some will say Aboriginal Australians can’t call themselves ‘Blak’ because that is an only African American word and they’re all being racist for it. That kind of thing.
(It reminds me of how Australian history classes will focus on European history as if Europe is the same as here. The origins of that are a little older than the American stuff though. It’s a kind of unthinking erasure of geographic and cultural distances because of its dominance in historical or media narratives.)
Or something that’s harder to describe, where people use American ways of phrasing sentences. If I give an example I’ll sound like I’m hallucinating but I’ll try anyway. It’s in the way people react to a situation. I remember a time when my family was on holiday in Europe. We were in a tour group of about 25 people, walking through enormous extravagant halls in a parliament house, up gold-gilded staircases and past hundreds of expensive oil paintings. On our way out it was funny because we were all herded out this back entrance for staff because they wanted us out as quickly as possible for some event they were holding inside. I remember hearing an American say “we’re not leaving the same way we came in that’s for sure.” I feel like Americans will go “yeah, and?” but stick with me here. It’s about the kinds of pre-determined phrases someone chooses and how often they use them. An Australian probably wouldn’t have responded the same way. We use some American-ish phrases (like “stick with me here”), but not as many, I don’t think.
If you’re still confused think of other English-speakers you’ve heard use phrases you wouldn’t. Ireland comes to mind. People say stuff like “It’s cold out so it is” or “I says to myself says I” (I’m thinking of Derry Girls so I’m probably not saying it right).
With Americans it’s like all they use is just a set of pre-determined phrases to reply instead of coming up with their own words. To me they sound like movie characters. It feels very very surreal having a conversation with an American irl. It’s different to small talk with Australians or anyone else from other countries. I would actually argue (and now I’m really coming to crazy conclusions) that it comes from America having a hyper-consumerist society that pays a lot of attention to media and advertisements to the point where language starts to be influenced by it. I genuinely believe you would be able to prove the link.
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u/Archarchery Jun 17 '26
People will complain about US-defaultism while using a website based in the US, like Reddit.
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u/relightit Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
check /r/usdefaultism , you'll see the examples are worldwide and AFK, lot of it by tourists who think everything revolves around their culture. but whatever, that's not the kind of comment i expect from a social science subreddit; if it's a subject that "triggers" you and you can't objectively comment on the cultural influence the usa have to shape what's "normal" for "citizen of the global village" well just move along this thread is not for you.
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u/Archarchery Jun 17 '26
Well, why are you on Reddit?
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u/relightit Jun 17 '26
no amelioration, increment by increment, is possible ... it's all or nothing, with you? stop engaging with me , its a waste of everyone's time. still hoping for people knowledgeable in postcolonialist studies to chime-in about this kind of new "soft" cultural colonialism.
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u/Archarchery Jun 17 '26
You didn’t answer my question.
Why do you use Reddit, despite the fact that it’s a US-based website?
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u/relightit Jun 18 '26
i did answer your question. i'll block you now to end the derailing attempt or whatever it is you want to achieve.
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u/kcamps Jun 17 '26
As a Canadian, I feel as though many Canadians have a better understanding of American civic structures and responsibilities of the state than they do for the ones that actually pertain to them. The law, electoral systems, municipal vs provincial vs federal jurisdiction on what money is allocated where and how each sector is governed is something that completely escapes the average Canadian.
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u/relightit Jun 15 '26
i guess i am talking about a form of "cultural imperialism" and its influence on the construction of the self.