Is Pop Culture Good For You?

    While I do believe that some elements of Pop Culture can benefit society as a whole and us as individuals, I know that overall it is not good for us. At its root, Pop Culture is an ever changing collection of trends that reflect things going on in society at any given time. For example, one common example of how Pop Culture affects things like fashion is the recent fascination the public has with “The Rachel” haircut from Friends. A much more serious and darker example would be how a trend of eating disorders in young teenagers erupted after social media because of pro-anorexic twitter pages that started in the early 2010’s. While it may insight change and help spread some messages, Pop Culture ultimately causes more problems than solutions.

   Both of the articles and the Ted Talks discuss the importance of Pop Culture and the effects it has on society. I think even the articles that have a more positive outlook on these effects still prove that it can be a distraction from the larger issues at hand. In the Ted Talk, “Why Pop Culture?” Alexander Philipee discusses why Pop Culture is a unifying force, and because of this perhaps people should focus on it more than the things that divide us, like politics and religion. But in reality, it is not just as important as those two things. As much as I agree with him that Star Wars is an exceptional series that brings people together, focusing on something like that would be similar to putting a bandage on an open wound. Almost like a distraction, something to make you feel good in the moment. In the article “Small Changes” the author makes a similar claim, “In other words, Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice” (Gladwell). This quote too displays the true dangers of what happens when Pop Culture mixes with real world issues. People post because it is easy, and it leads to things being left unsolved and overlooked. Like in Phil Miller’s Ted Talk, “Pop Culture is Dead!” adults as well as kids just want to be recognized and rewarded for the things they do. I think that is mostly what happens today and what really pushes the spread of Pop Culture. Everything is always about the person as an individual, and not about anyone else. This kind of thinking and behavior is one I believe is truly dangerous and Pop Culture only fuels it.

    I stand firm on my beliefs on Pop Culture because the damage it can do can be seen everywhere. The articles and Ted Talks alone can prove how Pop Culture can entirely distract from the true important things at hand and cause bigger problems than intended. Hopefully, with some time and change, Pop Culture will change and become what the world needs it to be. 

The following video discusses various topics covered in my blog post regarding the dangers of Pop Culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwPdAZPnk7k