Is Pop Culture Good For you ?

Jennifer Torres 

Professor: Dr. Michelle Rosen 

 What is pop culture? Pop culture is the most common form of popular culture like movies, music, TV, sports, entertainment and other various forms of technology. People have different opinions when it comes to pop culture and its benefits to society. Some people may argue that pop culture has affected society throughout time but others will argue that pop culture has its advantages. I think pop culture is good for you because it has become a new form for people to express what they feel without being too exposed. In the Ted talk video from Phil Miller he explains to his audience that pop culture is basically a group of people who come together with a common purpose or idea. He explained that social media happens to be one of the main tools people use nowadays to draw attention to a specific group of people. I think this is true because people all over the world use social media as a platform to bring awareness to certain topics and get help from other people all over the world. I think social media is a great tool for upcoming generations because social media has a faster way to bring news and inform people about day to day situations. Information is more likely to spread faster now than it could ever in the 1960's. Everyone is more talented than ever thanks to social media. 

I also think that social media has a downfall. When working together with my group, we noticed that in the article Small Changes by Gladwell, it stated that " social media can't provide what social change has always required". I think my group and I ranked it the top because we believe that social media can't always provide enough help or awareness for others. I think that social media can definitely bring attention to millions of people through screens but it can not always due its purpose of making sure people are helping resolve issues. These issues can include racism, harassment and police brutality. Yes people will know what is happening through social media but it does not mean that society will change because of the millions of social media posts or views. This is where social media has its downfall because change needs to happen with physical help as well as voices to speak up instead of posting through Twitter or Facebook. 

The most important people in American history brought attention without the help of social media. These people are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks who didn't have social media to share their opinions about what they believed to be fair but made sure to bring attention to their community. They did not care about the consequences of their actions and what could have happened to them. They cared about speaking up and using their voices to fight their purpose or idea of what equality meant to them. Because of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks we are where we are. It is important to realize that pop culture has its benefits to society but should be used to a certain extent. I think some examples can include bringing awareness about an organization to help others that can be posted through media but should also be physically brought to the community with newsletter or community services, to get more people aware and informed. This can help and meet the purpose of its foundation.