Is Pop Culture Good for You?

 Pop Culture has been around forever, but it is something that is constantly changing. Over the years, with more technology and the rise of social media, it is more prevalent now more than ever. We are given news, updates, and the newest trend in a matter of minutes. 

From the assignment that we did, we had to choose a word, phrase, and sentence from how we identified the meaning of the article that we read. From what I wrote, what I feel most strongly about is the sentence that I came up with which was "People in today's day in age want to feel like they are a part of something instead of actually being a part of something." That in my opinion, is the worst part about pop culture, social media is accessible to pretty much anyone with a working smartphone, and with that can come with people who are looking to find like-minded individuals that they are able to connect with. But, with that people can find these things but they don't need to leave their couches to do it which is what I see as a big problem with pop culture today. Unlike the social movement that was occurring in Greensborough, North Carolina, people might make they are making a huge difference by making one retweet but in reality, they are not doing much and there is so much more they can do to make a difference. 

When we came together as a group, we all had like-minded ideas and for our number one word, we agreed upon activism. The whole point behind the actions of the individuals in the first article was activism. With pop culture, activists have more of an opportunity now than ever in human history to make a difference and get people involved and when those tools are used correctly, pop culture can be the best thing. Our group also ranked "craving connection" as the number one phrase. All human beings seek connection, and with pop culture and the way it is today, it makes it a lot easier for someone to connect with other people online, but is that true connection? We discussed that Gladwell reminds us that the issue at hand is people do not use the same activist energy in person as they do online and that leads to less real connection and more internet connection. Pop culture, social media, news broadcasts, etc, all have their positives and negatives just like everything else does. The real question is do the pros outweigh the cons, and in my opinion, they do not. Youth today are so glued to their phones and obsessed with pop culture and their entire lives revolve around that, and the companies involved know this, and they profit off it so I do not see it changing anytime soon unless someone in a position of power gets involved.