Recently, popular culture has evolved in ways never before seen. The rise of social media has connected people and has helped to globalize trends and ideas like never before. With a simple click of a button, a person is able to spread his or her ideas to countries hundreds of thousands of miles away. A click of a button gives a person the ability to promote cultural syncretism and universal fashions. With over 4 billion people using social media and the internet worldwide, pop culture has changed drastically.
There is a somewhat universal assumption that social media is doing nothing but harm for the new generation. There are countless examples of social media’s negative effects–cyberbullying, FOMO, addiction, unrealistic expectations, and so much more. Although social media absolutely contributes to negative behaviors and emotions, there’s so many reasons it’s valuable as well.
We as a society value progress. Throughout the course of history we as humans have never stopped making efforts to make things better. Whether we make social change or have technological and academic breakthroughs, humans are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and social media is a powerful and efficient tool that an average person can use in order to progress toward a cause or interest. In an online article, Gale Global Issues acknowledges the impact that pop culture–specifically social media–can have on progress, asserting that “social media can “circumvent government control and censorship” (Gale). Using social media is an incredibly valuable way to achieve change, as it provides a platform for people to express discontent. All across the world, social media is a hub of social unrest. A simple hashtag has the power to generate change and can inspire people to make progress for the better; the “#MeTooMovement that began in 2017 inspired an influential conversation around issues related to women’s experiences with sexual harrasment and sexual assault” (Gale). According to Forbes magazine, it “sparked a societal reckoning as millions of women’s voices about the sexual violence they’d experienced put a spotlight on gender inequalities and power dynamics” (Corbett). By utilizing a simple social media hashtag, a person was able to inspire a conversation and raise awareness about sexual assault. Pop culture in the form of social media has made it possible for a person who is discontent with society’s state to spark reform on a global scale by simply typing a hashtag. It has created an entirely new way to address issues that have been in desperate need of reform for centuries. Social media is an avenue toward achieving progress because it can inspire a conversation with a click of a button. It connects people in a way that cannot be achieved by other means.
Chargers have already begun to use social media to connect with people and make Chatfield a better place. Recently, every other post on the Chatfield Instagram and TikTok have been about the Chatfield Holiday Outreach Program, a program that gives students at less fortunate elementary schools the ability to celebrate Christmas and open gifts that their parents otherwise aren’t able to afford. With the use of social media as a promotional tool, attendance at and participation in the event has skyrocketed. The same is true for events such as Relay for Life, Wish Week, and the Powderpuff fundraiser for There With Care. Chatfield’s social media promotes charity and philanthropy by simply raising awareness. Students are able to identify opportunities to give back to their community by simply scrolling through the Chatfield Senior High Instagram or by clicking on a Chatty TikTok.
Chatfield’s social media also makes Chatfield a more unified place. Posting about students involved in certain clubs or sports subsequently recognizes those students and encourages and celebrates participation. It allows students to share their own unique experiences, ideas, interests, and identities no matter what they’re interested in. Social media can foster a sense of community and belonging amongst the student body and the faculty, as well as create a shared identity. It helps our school to become a community. In the words of Mr. Thanos himself, “[s]ocial media is all about connecting and celebrating people”.
Social media is an insanely powerful tool that we have new access to as a generation. It unites people, serves as a way to promote change, and can just be entertaining in general. It has already done incredible things and will continue to progress and develop over the course of our lives. Don’t miss out on it!
