Essay on Non Conformity in Pop Culture

Social Influences: Media, Fashion, and Pop Culture manifest the need for conformity to Society’s standards leads to dissatisfaction.

Does a collection of individuals create a society? Or does society, itself, make up its individuals? Flashback to hundreds and thousands of years ago when our cavemen ancestors explored the earth without knowledge and intelligence only to rely on instinct to thrive, they were able to create a society of their own though much less complex than what we have right now, but as through years’ human evolution has come a long way. Not only did our brains develop that made us capable of intelligence making our thinking more complex as well as our society. Though, as humans, we are considered to be the smartest animals on the planet; there are still many complexities we cannot understand; an example would that be: human behavior, is more than what science explains that it is more than the hormones produced by the glands in our bodies or the chemical chemistry in our brain, it is a subjective phenomenon that differs from person to person, (Bornstein & Kagan, Human behavior, 2019)). The article provides information about how human development is shaped not only through biological aspects but also environmental as well.

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We are now in a digital age where there is a widespread usage of technology. The task is made much simpler now, gone are the days when communication was possible only through telegrams and writing letters and sending them to the post office, it certainly was not that efficient and also information was not that readily made accessible too, not as quite as it is in the modern digital era wherein in handheld devices such as cellphones, tablets, and laptops become a gateway for communication between people, which was intentionally its main purpose, but over the years the functions of those devices have evolved and become used more for its entertainment purpose, though communication is still very much its prominent feature, it has become more evolved compared to before when communication was still limited to a certain range and flow of information was not that yet diverse; now, almost everyone at this digital age is in a possession of a handheld device connected to the internet. In fact, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2019, that adults with mobile connectivity are especially likely to be online a lot. Among mobile internet users – 86% of Americans who use the internet at least occasionally using a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device – 92% go online daily and 32% go online almost constantly (Perrin & Madhu, 2019).

The effect media has been having on society Correlating to what has been discussed in the previous paragraphs on the prevalent use of gadgets in our modern day society; as it is the medium for the internet web therefore making access to the media but what is media? Media is meant to inform, create, educate, and share content coming from society as its creators. Society and media have a co-dependency relationship wherein, society needs media for it to thrive as a form of interaction towards other people in society and or as an outlet of one’s creation, bringing color to life while media needs society for the simple reason that media could not exist without the components of society, which are the people. However, the media is one of the biggest influencers on how people live. For example, the feminine beauty ideal which is defined by the media is having the perfect pear-shaped body, flawless white skin with no blemishes or scars, a symmetrical face, and a perfect smile being the embodiment of perfection. Mass media is all-pervasive and advertisements are always seeking out to grab people’s attention. Every day people are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful-looking models, who vow to make every woman’s life perfect. In other words, it appears as though the advertising industry thrives on people’s vulnerability to buy into the ‘beauty myth’ that the people in the media have successfully stereotyped (Mayne, 2000). That is just how the majority perceives beauty, it is what we see when we browse through our phone's Instagram accounts of celebrities we look up to and the current trends revolving around them; why? Because we create this obsession with them, part of the reason is that we would want our lives to be like theirs and though there are respectable celebrities in the industry, we cannot deny that they are part of the scheme that governs the media.

Take K-pop as another example; it is the most popular type of genre in the music industry. It is unique because of its style, unpredictability, and diversity in themes, and overall it is aesthetically pleasing, which the main factor is why is it so popular, and that makes fans increase at a faster rate. Many become fans without knowing the darker side of K-pop, about how the industry and the companies slave off their idols making them sign slave contracts to overwork them until they collapse; or pressure them to lose weight so that they would look perfect in styled clothes fit for size 0s. Not only do the managers in the industry put pressure on the idols, but it seems that in the world of K-pop, fans expect their idols to come as close to that standard as possible. It’s not surprising (albeit a bit saddening) that idols have to work to the standard of their fans to maintain a steady fan base for themselves (and a job), but does anyone stop to consider whether or not the standards of “perfection” placed on the shoulders of idols is too unrealistic? (Buzz, 2012)

Changes in self-perception

 Marketing and advertising campaigns are the ones that are mainly brainwashing how we think by catering to the interest of the youth of today through putting the 20% major influence ring, trend-setting teens in charge of the other 80% of teens as followers which decreases the moral standards leading to it to decline eventually, putting ideas of by buying whitening/tanning products or undergoing services like plastic surgery would make us feel contended with ourselves because they make it seem like self-love is impossible to achieve. This type of mindset is very toxic to our mental health and psyche because the doubt that we have for ourselves is always going to be present as long we continue to believe the lies that media, advertising campaigns, and marketing show us; it is also harmful to our body as well, because of the pressure to be in the standards of the society we often have the urge to punish ourselves into harmful diet fads, practices, and lifestyle which roots to manifesting a few mental health problems or disorders like bulimia, anorexia, self-harm, depression, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. So why do we go to extreme lengths just to be considered “normal” by society? The answer to that is conformity; “When the consensus comes under the dominance of conformity, the social process is polluted and the individual at the same time surrenders the powers on which his functioning as a feeling and thinking being depends” (Asch 357). In today’s youth conformity is a major problem. It's more centered on following the latest trend, how should people wear clothes, how people should act, etc. focusing more on the opinions and ideas of other people rather than their own. It’s the lack of individualism that is the problem or the fear of being different. Society puts these pressures, especially on teens, the reason why people do not step out to say they’re different is because they are afraid to be labeled and judged by people around them. This toxicity sprung forth from commercials, media, Hollywood, the fashion industry, and modern pop culture.

Conclusion

Media plays an important role in our lives because of how influential it is to our society, it mirrors how we think, act, and speak and projects it to us in different forms we call entertainment; but though it is a reflection of us humans we should not let it define us because every one of us has our own identity. Though we should keep in mind and be knowledgeable about the current trends in society, we should not let Them dictate them on how we would be like. Thive for perfection is useless because there is no such thing as perfect in this world but that does not mean that we could never find happiness; because it lies within contentment and acceptance. Being happy with ourselves no matter how we look like is the best type of love we all deserve and it’s equally rewarding but once we realize that, that is attainable and strive for it the reward makes the journey so worth it.

References:

1. Asch, S. (2008). 'Opinions and Social Pressure.'. Retrieved from Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
2. Bornstein, M. H., & Kagan, J. (2019). Human behavior. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.
3. Buzz, N. (2012, August). Nihon TV. Retrieved from soulbeats.com: https://seoulbeats.com/2012/08/idols-striving-for-perfection-its-a-hard-knock-life/
4. Kehl, K. (2013, May 5). Conformity Attacking Today’s Youth. Retrieved from https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/553093/Conformity-Attacking-Todays-Youth/
5. Perrin, A., & Madhu, K. (2019, July 25). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from pewresearch.org: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/25/americans-going-online-almost-constantly/