The lack of self – identity and the lack of self – worth is the reason why “pop culture” is
pop culture. In this this day and age, a lot of people have trouble finding themselves, so they seek
out to different outlets in hopes of finding who they really are. Along the way many people
become blinded and confused and then start to mindlessly follow the beliefs and ways of others.
In my opinion, things only become apart of pop culture because one person likes this
thing and others try to emulate what the other person is in to. This is evident amongst celebrities
and their fans. Some fans worship their favorite celebrities and try to live their life the exact
same. One day Kylie Jenner may tweet out that she loves Snapchat then that same day Snapchat
would see two million downloads. Some of the downloads may be from the new exposure that
Kylie Jenner is giving to the app, but a lot of those downloads are from people who want to be
just like Kylie Jenner. These people who are obsessed with these famous celebrities lack their
own self – identity and lack their own self – worth. These people fail to see that they themselves
are unique in their own way and they do not have to be exactly like someone else to become rich
and famous. They fail to see that these same rich and famous celebrities became rich and famous
because they acted genuine and not like anyone else. Self – Identity is the quality that makes a
person or thing different from others. Self – Worth is a feeling that you are a good person who
deserves to be treated with respect. Popular Culture is contemporary lifestyle and items that are
well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population;
also called pop culture. It all comes back to psychological issues.
It may not be easy for a person to find themselves, especially, in this day and
technological age, where we are surrounded by advertisements and social media which allows us
to easily become influenced by the lives of others. When a person who might not know
themselves very well, seeing the same person and same thing over and over again can influence
them to think that is what is cool or in style and then that person would try to emulate that. I
myself have fell into that trap once before when I was in middle school. I found myself copying
my dressing style from a very famous rapper by the name of Lil Wayne. I often look back on to
that time of my life and the things I used to wear and I become disgusted because of the things I
used to wear just because Lil Wayne was popular and I wanted to be just like him. It was not
until freshmen year in high school where I started to find myself and form my own beliefs and
my own clothing style.
When we are young and impressionable, we are easily fascinated by everything and
anything we see. Cool new fads and gadgets, the latest trends, the ways and means of how our
schoolyard companions play, talk and act. We idolize everything we see, if even for a moment,
because we are still trying to build and identify ourselves. We want so badly to have an identity,
a way of communicating our thoughts, ideals, and goals, that we will grasp at anything in order
to be socially acceptable. We are confused and unstable; one minute our favorite color is pink,
next it is blue.
One minute we want to be Britney Spears, the next Christina Aguilera. As we go through
the changes in identity, we take small pieces of each experience with us, resulting in a complex
and unique individual person, personality, and history. We learn what we like; and what we
don’t. We learn what works for us, and what we’re not quite so good at. We discover our
strengths and weaknesses, and over time, we fall into a “category” that best suits our personality.
We find like-minded friends, and begin to pursue interests promoted within our social group,
such as competitive people becoming athletes and working hard to become the best in their sport,
for example. It is in our youth that we are shaped into who we shall become in the future. When
you are young, you need the “training wheels” of life to help guide you in the right direction, like
parents, teachers, mentors, and family who are a positive influence on you.
But as you get older, and hopefully more mature, it is crucial that you begin to take the
reins of your life and map out your own path, for your own sake. You must take off the training
wheels, and feel the pride of being able to hold yourself afloat. Knowing right from wrong with
mom standing over you, doing the right thing when no one is looking. Those are the moments
that help define us as mature adults, and we continue to learn and grow from those experiences
as we mature.
But now more than ever, more people would rather be a follower, and let the actions of
others develop their personality and ethics, than be a leader and develop a set of goals, ideals,
and morals for themselves. They still have a young mentality and look to celebrities and reality
shows, TV and movies, to guide them in their real life pursuits. But it makes no sense; and our
generation is suffering tremendously for it.
The biggest problem with being a follower is that those that you are following are not
emotionally invested in the outcome of your life, that you are coincidentally shaping around their
behavior. That person that you are following blindly is not looking back to see the repercussions
of your idolatry of them.
A great example that I will use is Rihanna. Yes, she’s a celebrity, but many young
women shape their behavior around this woman, her personal life and her music, for what reason
I know not. But back to Rihanna. What do we know about her? She’s famous, beautiful and
dramatic. She smokes weed. She has tattoos. She’s rather promiscuous, and is proud of it. She
was in and out of her emotionally and physically abusive relationship with Chris Brown. And her
“Navy?” Worship the ground she walks on. Repeat her song lyrics and apply them to their lives.
Dress like her. Talk like her. Sing, “Ain’t nobody bidness…” about their own toxic relationships.
Post cute black & white weed photos on Instagram, just like their leader Rihanna.
But do you know what the problem is here? Rihanna is a multi-millionaire entertainer
whose job it is to be wild and outrageous and keep her name in the tabloids. Obviously, the
police aren’t checking Rihanna for marijuana possession because she would have been locked up
already. But what happens when you get caught with it? You’ll be going straight to jail, and
“…but Rihanna does it!” will not be an acceptable defense.
We have to start coming to terms with the fact that we must be not only responsible for
our actions but be strong enough to develop our own sense of right and wrong. Set standards for
ourselves. Just because celebrities sleep with everyone on the block does not mean that you have
to. Just because everyone in your family is an alcoholic doesn’t mean that you have to follow
down the same path. Just because everyone in your neighborhood prides themselves on taking
advantage of the governmental benefits system doesn’t mean that you have to set your own
personal growth bar that low.
Hold you head up and realize your own worth and potential. I know this sounds crazy and
counterintuitive, but the media and these pseudo-celebrities that they crank out like K. Michelle
and NeNe Leakes and whoever else is on those shows are meant to keep you down. To keep your
mentality in the gutter. To stop you from wanting the best for yourself. To make you idolize
material things, and lose focus on spiritual things. And even though you sit at home, scoffing at
their pitiful personal drama, you will slowly but surely begin to mimic their behavior, their
colloquialisms, and their lifestyle.