Is Pop Culture Good for You?

 Is Pop Culture Good for You?

By Zolciree Marte

We may all have a definition of what popular culture is or how we refer to it, however, popular culture is nothing more than the advances and innovations that society or members of society have been acquiring. as the years advance; Art, beliefs, and different types of entertainment are part of what we call popular culture or pop culture. Popular culture, pop culture for short, generally refers to the dominant or prevalent traditions and aspects of material culture in a certain society. In modern Western countries, the term is used to describe various cultural products (movies, music, art, television, and more) that the majority of the population regularly consumes.

Nowadays, society is so modernized that it is almost inevitable not to belong to this popular culture that is talked about so much, the ease with which the internet, music, movies, books, comics, video games, novels, and so on, they are so accessible that it is almost impossible to avoid them. In the article "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" by Steven Johnson, we see some of the benefits that all this new technological culture can offer. What many may see as absurd or uninteresting, is quite the opposite, it helps the brain try to find other ways of seeing life, of solving problems, of identifying with the situations of others, it is a method of discovery, in which the person has to use their intelligence to be able to understand what is happening around them. Television and video games are not harmful to those who consume them, because everything depends on the material that the person is consuming, if it is not something that contributes to their development and growth as a person, then it will only be a waste of time, however If they are programs or games that help the person develop different skills or create a different way of receiving information, the person will be receiving benefits in a creative and fun way and it is most likely that said person will not even realize that.

StevenJohnson's article shows how society changed after television became part of the daily lives of Americans, and the same thing happens today with cell phones and their innovations every year, little by little society is becoming attached to these technologies that are seen as something so necessary, but that are not.

On the other hand, we have Malcolm Gladwell's article, "Small Change" which talks about how different life was before technology took over society. People who had the desire to change their society did not have the option of posting it on Instagram or Twitter, but rather they made their wishes come true. If they did not like how they were treated, they would go on strikes, sit-ins, and complain in front of large groups. or small audiences to show their disagreement and the reason why they want a change; They didn't wait for others to do it for them. Previously, people were activists, leaders, and revolutionaries who, even if they were afraid, faced society to express their ideas and feelings. They expressed the following: “Social media can’t provide what social change has always required.” This is extremely true, we must be the change we want to see.

In the video Pop Culture is Dead by Phil Miller, we see how he mentions different factors about popular culture that separate us from our community and create lonely people because people no longer want to sit on the patio on Sunday afternoons and listen the radio, everyone already has applications to listen to the music they like whenever they want, the same thing happens with television and movie premieres, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc., they came to improve us but also to separate us from others. On the contrary, the video Why Pop Culture? by Alexandre O. Philippe, shows us how despite being so different and with diverse tastes, we can approach others and share what we find interesting, debate where we differ, and celebrate where we connect. Popular culture is not bad, it just has to be used in moderation.

 

The answer to this question is that pop culture is not good or bad, but like everything, we should use it in moderation. Pop culture has its advantages and disadvantages, we just have to know when, how, and where to take advantage of it so that it does not harm us.