Uggs. Summer Fridays. Stanleys. Cheetah Print. What should I post on TikTok today? Does this Instagram post look good? What is the shoe of the summer? Pop Culture, as a teenage girl, is my whole life, but I hate it. I wake up every morning and fall into the same routine of waking up, opening TikTok, and watching the latest Get Ready With Me (GRWM) posted. I listen, I follow, I consume the drama of people’s lives on the internet that I do not know. I have grown up on the internet, this is normal…right?
We have normalized that we have to get what influencers are posting about, or we have to keep up with the newest celebrity drama, when in reality, we do not. Pop culture should be bringing people together, allowing us to express our love for what is in the media, but instead, we have turned it into a cancel culture whirlpool.
We’re stuck in an endless current of wanting to fit in while simultaneously drowning in pressure to fit in. The joy of discovering new music or binging a new TV show is overshadowed by the need to post it all for social media. We’re so busy trying to keep up with the trends that we forget to just enjoy them.
But what if we could reclaim pop culture? What if we could focus on the things that genuinely bring us joy, without worrying about likes or followers? It’s time to break free from the cycle and redefine what pop culture means to us.
Ways we can reclaim pop culture:
Support different and diverse voices
Call out problematic content
Create your own positive content
Support ethical brands
Promote mental health awareness
Let’s bring back the fun, the connection, and the genuine love for the things we enjoy, without the constant pressure to fit in all the time.
