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Jordyn Brounstein
Ms. Gardner
Honors English 10, 4th Period
6 May 2012
The Effects of Pop Culture
Ever heard about a thing called twerking? What about Kim and Kanyes child, North
West? Its no surprise that the youth of this era are exposed to an extensive amount of pop
culture. With over 800 usable social media sites and apps, kids, teens, and adults are exposed to
the programs, videos, and pictures that create a source for general knowledge (Social
Networking Fact Sheet). According to UrbanDictionary.com, Pop Culture simply denotes a
widely accepted group of practices or customs. This use of customs in a modern sense has been
helpful in improving the lives of youth in the educational environment in addition to their
everyday lives. Although some believe that todays pop culture is wildly inappropriate, pop
culture is actually a phenomenon that has been making improvements within the lives of people
for many generations through its ability to give kids the opportunity to learn right and wrong,
promote positive messages, and enhance learning curriculum. .
Before most people take the time to analyze the positive effects of todays pop culture,
they focus on all of the negative and provocative images obtained by the paparazzi. According
to journalist Ann Oldenburg, from the New York Times, Being a dirty girl seems to be the
newest movement in our pop culture evolution, as many of the hottest stars of the moment are
upping the sexual ante by taking the Marilyn Monroe sex kitten idea to new, lower and raunchier
levels. Messages showing such rowdy behaviors, such as drugs, alcohol, and sexual
interactions, have been recorded and flaunted by people such as Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Iggy

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Azalea, and Ke$ha. It is believed that these idolized women, for which young girls of all ages
love and admire, are spreading their beliefs and actions to their fans, showing them that the way
to be successful is through their sexuality (Oldenburg). Additionally, male figures, such as
Drake, Flo Rida, and many other singers, have used womens sexuality as a way to provide
themselves with the look of power and success through their placement of these women in their
music videos, notes Harry Bruinius, a monitor scientist from Christian University. As a result,
boys are beginning to believe that women are items to be owned--not people themselves
(Bruinius). Because of this overexpression of sexuality in our modern day society, many people
believe that our pop culture should be limited and highly controlled when dispersing it to the
youth, however, if these people took the time to look past this and see all the good thats come
from the expression of pop culture, then they might think differently.
For example, the use of pop culture in modern day items such as video games has greatly
influenced the lives of children across the country. A study by Ron Rollins, a reporter from the
Dalton Daily News, showed that the number of boys that played violent video games were
learning the difference between appropriate and inappropriate life behaviors at a faster and more
effective rate than kids who didnt. With the abundance of drinking and sexaul behavior shown
in many games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Rollins notes that boys have learned that as a whole,
Youre a healthier society when you have less of these things. Additionally, the sights of
celebrities have been showing youth what not to do in life. (Oldenburg) Seeing the drugs, the
alcohol, the flaunting of sexuality as Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, and other once famous
stars used showed youth of the terrible path substances such as these could lead them. Although
it may not be preferable to have children see these actions, it is giving them the opportunity to

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see and virtually experience the negative consequences of such inappropriate behavior
(Oldenburg).
Another benefit to having massive amounts of pop culture is the promotion of good deeds
through celebrities and well known businesses. One major example of this promotion of good is
shown through the event of Lance Armstrongs little yellow wristbands, as told by NPR. Lance
Armstrong's yellow bracelets have turned cancer awareness into the new fad accessory (Charity
Causes and Pop Culture). Although cancer awareness organizations all over the world are
working to gain money to support cancer research, the fact that Lance Armstrong is able to
promote his organization through the distribution of his wristbands as well as showing his
support on national and international podiums gives him the ability to make a larger standpoint
for his organization. (Charity Causes and Pop Culture) Armstrong uses the power of pop culture
to distribute the messages of cancer support and gain help from fans and donors to provide for a
good cause. This positive use of pop culture benefits causes such as cancer, world poverty/world
hunger, and other well deserving charities.
Even more so a benefit of pop culture within our society is the use of it within our school
systems. Jenna Ross, a journalist from the Star Tribune, researched the effects of pop culture in
everyday classrooms at St. Catherine University where like the pop-culture icons who inspired
them, the classes illuminate knotty issues about life today and place the "fine art" that came
before them in a new context (Ross). In the eyes of teachers, Harry Potter beats Jay Gatsby at
helping students see how literary theory applies to the texts they read each day, and its not
uncommon for lessons in English class to revolve around Lady Gagas new top music video.
(Ross) Through comparisons between St. Catherine University and other nearby colleges, test
scores and IQ tests in general are higher in the curriculums that use pop culture references. The

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connections made between real life actions that are shown in books and media of all kinds are
slowly proving to be more beneficial to students when trying to comprehend English grammar.
Through the input of pop culture in the lives of teens and youth, a pathway to a clearer sense of
connection between their lives and school is being created. (Ross)
Overall, the benefits of pop culture have proven to be valuable within the lives of people
after the early stages of adolescence. Even though the obscenity of inappropriate behavior may
be a bit excessive at time, the opportunity for youth to learn right behavior from wrong, the
ability to promote causes that can make a real difference in the world, the studies shown proving
that its helping the educational careers of college students have shown that the use of pop
culture within our society is positively affecting our community. Understanding the downside to
excessive amounts of pop culture is one thing, but in reality, the effects and opportunities it gives
our youth to understand and excel in life is creating an affirmative outcome for our society.

Sources
Bruinius, Harry. "Miley Cyrus, Twerking, and the 'Sexual Hazing' of American Pop
Stars."
Charity Causes and Pop Culture." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.

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Christian Science Monitor. 27 Aug. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Apr.
2015.
"Pop+culture." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
Ross, Jenna. "Make Room, Socrates, for Lady Gaga and Beyonce." Star Tribune. 04 Mar. 2012:
A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

"Social Networking Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project
RSS. N.p., 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.