Guadalupe Cumplido

Dr. Santosh
English 113B
23 February 2016
The Dark side of the Social Media Empire
The biggest breakthrough in the internet has being Social Media. There is nothing like a big
worldwide community that shares and communicates on the daily basis with this tool. The
biggest social media outlets of the internet are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Although social
media has provided an easier way for people to share information, build relationships and
communicate emergencies with an ease; people have turned social media into a space to stay
updated with the latest trends of popular culture. It has become more like an empire where the
elite are the most famous and the users are ordinary people. Most of Reality TV celebrities or
music artists govern over the social media game. They influence the lives of young adults with
social trends, beauty standards, and lifestyle; all of this is bad because people are no longer living
their authentic selves.
Most of the youth population focuses on the new trends of social media. The latest
articles, shoes, clothes, and cosmetics has become the identity of many young adults. According
to the Oxford Reference Dictionary of Media and Communication, popular culture is defined as
the everyday life and or artefacts seen as reflecting the tastes and values of the masses (Chandler,
Daniel, and Rod Munday 1). Artefacts are posted and promoted by celebrities on their social
media accounts. People that follow them will spend a lot of money for what they see online
promoted by their favorite celebrities. The effectiveness of celebrity featuring advertisements

has often been attributed to the fact that consumers generally regard famous people as highly
dynamic, appealing and likeable personalities, which, in turn, attracts their attention to the
products promoted (Atkins and Block 3). People dont release that while celebrities get richer
because of these type of deals; they are adding more to their debt, depending on their financial
circumstances. Since social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were invented,
everyone tends to want what is popular in there. Woman focus the most is on cosmetics and they
tend to want to have the look most girls have on Instagram. Men focus on the latest brand of
shoes and articles. People that always stay updated with the latest trends fit in and tend to be the
most popular ones. They live a life of filters, creating their lives around artificial items always
trying to fit in.
Beauty standards are in another level because what is posted in social media. Most of the
woman people define as beautiful on social media are the ones that have a glamorous makeup
and hair. People are so use to see woman with make up on pictures that if they dont see them
dolled up they dont look pretty anymore. Also, people admire the famous because they are the
ideal human bodies (Atkin, Charles and Block, Martin 57). People have always want to alter
their image to fit in the spectrum of the accepted culture found in social media. Last year alone,
there was a big popularity in big lips and buts. These body parts are considered to be attractive if
they are bigger. This ideology was projected all throughout social media and music. Music was a
big influence; famous artist made songs about big butts such as the Anaconda song by Nicki
Minaj, Booty by Jennifer Lopez and more. Trends all over twitter and Instagram where
displayed about big booties for days. This later became a big effect on social media when girls
would post more selfies with their backs displaying. Another big event on social media was the
viral challenge called The Kylie Jenner Challenge, where many teens tried to plump their lips

up to look like kylie Jenners with a glass shot or anything they could suck their lips into,
however the cruel reality was that many harm their lips by bruising and swallowing them, some
even end it up in the hospital. Most of the news outlets cover the Kylie Jenner challenge because
it was a viral challenge that started on a Sunday night on twitter with the hashtag kylie Jenner
challenge. This challenge on social media is a reflection of what people observe and imitate on
celebrities. Kylie Jenner seems to be the ideal image for many for most young adult teenagers
and seems like there is an aim to look like these celebrities. Many people look on social media
for the new trends when it comes to beauty, but the reality is many feel out of place when they
cant look nor be like the famous people on social media.
Social media has become a lifestyle for many young adults. On any given day, youth in
the United States spend about nine hours using media for their enjoyment (Wallace, 2015).
Many use social media as an escape. They are able to observe how the lifestyles of others are.
Others use social media as a way to show a different lifestyle than their real lives. They tend to
show off what who they are with or what latest items they have purchased. They focus on their
cloths and physical appearance. Andy Bennett explains in the opening of his book Culture and
Everyday Life that as with culture, everyday life can no longer be regarded as an homogenous
term that bespeaks any essential truth about the ways in which individuals experience the world
around them (Duncan, Derek, and Dimitris Papanikolaou 307). Many young adults on social
media tend to live a superficial life. They focus on the extravagant, going out, partying.
Social media is great way to communicate with others, but it has become a whole
different world where the influence of the famous rule over the decisions of young adults. Social
trends are ways teens stay updated with what is popular. Beauty standards are defined differently
in social media and the way of life style has become very unrealistic of what life is really about.

Works Cited
Atkin, Charles and Block, Martin. "Effectiveness of celebrity endorsers." Journal of Advertising
Research, Vol 23(1), Feb-Mar 1983, 57-61.
Chandler, Daniel, and Rod Munday. "Popular culture." A Dictionary of Media and
Communication. : Oxford University Press, 2011. Oxford Reference. 2011. Date
Accessed 7 Feb. 2016
Duncan, Derek, and Dimitris Papanikolaou. "Popular Culture." Year's Work in Critical and
Cultural Theory, 16.1 (2008): 302-324.
Ed. John Woodward. "Preface to 'What Values Does Popular Culture Promote?'." Popular
Culture. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2016.
Mazur, Allan. "U.S. Trends In Feminine Beauty And Over adaptation." Journal Of Sex
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Wallace, Kelly. CNN: Teens spend a 'mind-boggling' 9 hours a day using media, report says. 3
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