Pop Culture And Its Impact On Our Lives

Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is almost over, many of us are returning to our old normal, that is pre-2019. At least am convinced most countries are not in lockdown anymore which means the nuts that had been tightened on certain things are now being loosened and this includes live music festivals, world tours and award shows.
During the past three years, many musical acts and bands have been putting out their music but as we all know, it has not been easy because of the unstable economy. Sales have not been so impressive and even for some die-hard music lovers like myself, I could not risk buying a ticket, first because my pockets could not allow me and second, all hopes of attending were getting minimal day by day as the pandemic progressed.
It is therefore only artists with thick skin that risked releasing new music. In the early months of the pandemic, I personally drowned myself in five albums that is Lover, After Hours, Future Nostalgia, Folklore and Evermore. It was a wild ride trust me, playing songs on repeat to quiet my thoughts.
In the other half of pandemic and recently I have been much into Lil Nas X’s Montero, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, Adele’s 30, Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour and Taylor Swift’s two iconic re-recorded albums Fearless and Red.
As you might have noticed, I listen a lot to female music even if I identify as male and I see no problem with that, it’s perfectly normal. I think women are good at using emotion in a song to put across whatever they want and I believe that’s why many of us are drawn to tracks like Easy on me, Driver’s license, Cardigan, Blank Space, Willow, Hello and many more.
Another thing you might not know is that I’m a black man listening mostly to what someone might deem “white music” because people believe if you’re black, you only have to listen to music by Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia keys, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West or Lil Nas X which I do. I believe there is no correct pattern or formula of listening to music.
Sometimes you find yourself listening to what’s popular at the moment and other times you’re tired of a certain genre and you want to mix things up, maybe listen to another one. But often times, there are those songs that make meaning to us or make us feel a certain way in regards to what we are going through in life. And this brings me to today’s topic of what pop culture is teaching us about music, celebrities and fame.
Growing up in the 21st century might have been the coolest thing to happen to many of us who believe we’re the Generation Z. Being born in what we call the digital age has many benefits, talk of the internet, social media, streaming platforms, Amazon, eBay and now Bitcoin which can be all accessed with a click of button.
But what happens when all this that is availed to us is misused or used excessively or ignorantly? I would say the answer is trouble.
Let’s use an example of a timid fourteen-year-old teenager girl with low self-esteem and an out of place fashion style who logs into Facebook or rather Meta for the first time. What do they see? I guess heaven, because of the perfectly curated ads, who to follow(I mean celebrities whether actors, actresses or musicians) and what to subscribe to. And this is where her journey of self doubt starts because she is looking at this sort of Utopian world that is seen by many but only entered by a few.
For long pop culture has set the standards of what is considered beautiful. I guess you do not need to be tall, have blonder hair, white skin, a straight chin, a dog or cat face to be called or rather feel beautiful. Beauty is not reserved for only a certain race. Black, Asian and Latino people can all be beautiful.
They are many ways of being beautiful but it starts from inside. It starts by knowing yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. If it feels hard being yourself sometimes then imagine how harder it would being someone else. Sometimes you will wake up and you don’t want to put on mascara, lipstick or gloss and it’s okay even if Kylie Jenner has hers on.
There is thing called fanbases and most of us love them. They are everywhere from Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, Discord and even shockingly on Wattpad. We have the Swifties, Arianators, Selenators, Barbz, Lovatics, Beliebers and so many more.
Personally, I am a Swiftie and I love that I can be a part of a larger community that is passionate about Taylor Swift’s music especially new releases. In each of these fanbases, there is that vast energy that encompasses everyone and creates unity and passion which many times has driven albums to number 1 on Billboard, iTunes or Spotify which is good because it means maybe the album has been bought or streamed multiple times and therefore more money for that artist.
But let’s flip the coin and talk about what other things that happen in these communities. Sometimes the good energy becomes toxic energy and instead supporting their favorite artist, the fans start attacking other fanbases and causing chaos especially on Twitter.
Sometimes these wrangles are about who has sold more units or had the best selling album or who has a better voice, name it. In the end, the whole goal of the fanbases loses meaning and instead music is used like a weapon. It is like pop culture has taught us that extreme competitiveness is now the other new normal besides the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is absolutely okay to support your favorite musician but remember you also have a life of your own. You do not have to buy everything the artist puts out to prove that you love what they do. Let’s us enjoy the music responsibly.
And lastly, let’s talk about fame. Most people I know who use social media at least have dreamed of getting famous even if it’s just because of their online presence. In 2022, fame is like a new currency or even a gate pass to heaven and many teenagers and youth are willing to do anything to achieve it and that’s why we see celebrities like gods and goddesses.
We believe these are perfect beings but we forget they are still human, made of fresh and bone. That’s why some of us spend countless hours gossiping about the houses they live in, the cars they drive and vacations they go. In the end we deny ourselves the opportunity to be present and live purposely.
It's time we realize the impact pop culture is having on our lives before we become its slaves.