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Essay / Social Media and Popular Culture: Class, Media Framing, and Commodity Fetishism
Social media in today's society is an addiction. We spend the majority of our time flipping through different apps to see what everyone has been up to, just so we don't miss anything. Mainstream social media has been part of our society for 16 years now. There are generations who do not know a world without it. The rise of social media began when Myspace was first launched. From there, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat emerged and are now the apps people use most of the day. Through the development of social media, we have created a hierarchy among individuals based on the brands they wear, the goods they own, and the people they have relationships with. Having the ability to present only snippets of one's actual reality has led people to create their own false realities, which can lead to the user becoming too involved in a reality that doesn't exist. Since social media has the power to separate classes and disrupt reality, it also has the ability to create a need in the user for popular and celebrity-related products. This essay will examine social media through class, media framing, and commodity fetishism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Social media has created an alternate reality with many expectations of what one should have and be like. Through different forms of social media, like Instagram, it is very easy to create a false identity and false reality of what life is like when in reality it is the opposite. Nowadays we have created a hierarchy among users. Those at the top of the chain wear expensive brands like Gucci, Supreme, and Louis Vuitton, have amazing cars, always go to exotic places, etc. As a society, we make assumptions about what class one belongs to, based on what they wear and who they associate with. For example, social media has made the skateboard brand Supreme very popular and we associate the brand with wealth. If you see someone on the street wearing a Supreme t-shirt, you automatically assume they have class. However, if we see someone on the street wearing a t-shirt with no name on it, then we assume they have no class. Rather than the person speaking for themselves, we speak for the class. As a society, we base class on its language, etiquette, and budget. This is also seen through the phones that everyone owns. Popular culture asserts that an iPhone is the best phone and anyone who doesn't own one is beneath them. The Apple iPhone currently has a divine status in our society. On Instagram, if someone posts a mirror selfie, then everyone will look at their phones and assume their class. On Twitter, if someone tweets something, below the tweet, Twitter informs users whether an Apple or Android device was used. Social media apps are partly responsible for class separation because they literally indicate what type of phone users are using, helping to create the digital divide. Separation and class are also visible when users mark their location to highlight the luxury they need. Additionally, the most important class separation in social media is the verification symbol. The three multimedia applicationsThe most used are Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. All three apps check the names of users classified as public figures, meaning that if you have more than a certain number of followers, you are a verified user. The checkmark basically gives users the online royalty status. Aside from the apps themselves, the people we interact with also contribute to how individuals perceive us. It is human nature to want to be associated with those who are considered “the king of the jungle”. It gives us a sense of comfort and makes us feel like we have some power. The people we interact with change our status. For this reason, in today's society it is important that everyone we associate with also enjoys high status. On social media, when we post photos of ourselves with our friends, the first thought we have is to make sure everyone looks good, because if they do, then so do you. People want to post photos of themselves with those who have many connections as associates and then have a connection with you. Everyone has very little control over the environmental and cultural resources available to them. However, it is easy to rely on social resources with the people we have connections with. Knowing more people of social class automatically takes you higher up the social chain. The Kardashians, for example, are the queens of social media. They have a lot of power. However, they show this power through those they know. The family has been linked to industry moguls such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Adele, and more. One or other of the Kardashians posted a photo with one of these celebrities. This is a show of power because it shows users that the connections between the Kardashians run very deep across all industries. Some of the class divides have to do with the fact that society has accustomed us to think a certain way based on what is. “taught” us via social media. Media framing has allowed individuals to create multiple realities within a singular reality. We are able to present different sides of our world and adjust it to appear perfect, almost as if it were a mythology. This causes individuals to become obsessed with this false reality they have created because everything is exactly the way they want it to be. It becomes addictive because you want to continually post all the good things that are happening to extend the longevity of this false reality. It's gotten to a point where the company says if it's not on your Snapchat story, it didn't happen. In 1989, theorist James Carey wrote that reality has become very rare today due to the ability of mass media to alter and show only a particular side of a story. Carey was able to identify the lack of reality at a time when the idea of social media had not yet been conceived or introduced. In an age where social media is essentially what everyone experiences, the scarcity of reality has increased as the current era of social media makes reality switching easier. Theorist Denis McQuail said that social media has impacted us by allowing individuals to construct their own social reality by presenting images of an "ideal" world. Social media has established a guideline for what viewers are supposed to think based on what they see. If someone posts a photo of themselves holding their partner's hand on a beach, they.