By JACOB RAMOS
STAFF WRITER
Popular culture in the 21st century is an insane roller coaster that none of our ancestors could predict.
Current, controversial events have changed from merely “recent news,” to true representatives of popular culture. Fortunately, the young people of America become hyper-aware of many events they likely would not care about if it was not a big deal on their social media platform.
Despite their life threatening consequences, the coronavirus, along with the prospective World War III have both been laughed at and overall been taken very lightly across social media platforms.
Speaking of social media platforms, Tik Tok has become a major form of entertainment for teens across the world, transcending its prior tag as Musical.ly’s shameful offspring.
Tik Tok, along with Instagram and YouTube have certainly changed the way young people view politics, music and art.
In the 21st century, specifically 2020, not one trend is forever. Without a doubt there are trends that last longer than others, but nothing is for eternity now as fads come and go.
The farther we dive into technology’s limits, the wilder this roller coaster of trends gets.
While it is helpful that this roller coaster loosely educates many people on subjects, most of which they likely would not care about otherwise, the short lifespan of most topics may provide a skewed perspective on how vital many of these issues actually are.
But, it cannot go without saying how important it is for young individuals to be made aware of the Presidential Primaries, Super Tuesday, the coronavirus and the potential of a World War III, among other things formerly regarded as “adult matters.” Thanks to the evolution of popular culture, the spread of knowledge branches out from just college professors to a wider audience, which is absolutely amazing.
As for the content creators, content curators, analysts and pop culture as a whole who inevitably shape young people’s opinions, continue on this roller coaster, as it has taken us this far. Technology’s limits are endless, and so is human potential, no matter how old or young you are. As popular culture evolves, so will humans, whether for good or bad.
