Pop culture is a major force that has influenced our daily life more than anything else in the age of digital literacy. The pop culture of the twenty-first century has broken down boundaries of age, gender and religion and integrated itself seamlessly into our daily routines. Let us first see Google’s results for what pop culture is. It states that, “Popular culture is generally recognised by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects.”
Pop culture has definitely had an impact on our generation, or what we refer to as Gen-Z. Pop culture includes a variety of genres, including those related to music, literature, cinema, fashion, and cartoons, among others. These influence people’s beliefs, trends, actions, and interests among other things. They are directed at everyone, regardless of gender or age.
People become curious about pop culture and desire the new popular thing. Many people are drawn to something new and exclusive because of its status. The first and most fundamental impact of pop culture is how it fosters and strengthens relationships with other people who share similar interests. People of many backgrounds can connect at pop culture events like Comic-con. Pop culture thus acts as a unifying agent for youth across the globe.
It must be recalled that the majority of pop culture originated in the West. Today, pop culture is not merely limited to moving from the West to the East. It has an impact all over the world. Social media’s introduction has made it simpler to spread culture over the world. The growing popularity of such new-age entertainment has been fuelled by the easy availability of data and social media. The internet and media have put everything at people’s fingertips in the modern world. Social media allows users to interact with a worldwide community, and express their opinions. People with similar interests can come together thanks to pop culture.
Every day, pop culture expands into new spheres of life as a result of globalisation, which necessitates lifelong learning and cultural adaptation. Many countries are now spreading their own cultures to every part of the planet as a result of globalisation.
Pop culture has also laid its foundation among Indian youth as well. Due to social media, there is no longer a digital divide and everyone on the earth now participates in pop culture. Youth continue to be this culture’s primary consumers, though. The kind of things they consume greatly affects how they see the world and the people living in it.
The existence of collectors of pop culture-related items shows the expansion of the pop culture phenomena in India. Sales of items based on these fandoms have increased as pop culture has taken over the big and small screens. Previously, only diehard fans of a particular genre would purchase merchandise linked to it, but today, fandom merchandise is overrunning the market. Fans adorn their homes and workstations with display cases, gadget cases, t-shirts, figurines, statues, and other artefacts from comic books, video games, fantasy films, anime and other media from around the world.
Along with this, celebrities have made a name for themselves as significant fashion trendsetters over time. Youth aspire to be just like the famous people they see in the media. There are some celebrities whose sense of style has inspired youth and it has influenced millions of people all at once.
The pop genres’ messages tend to have the biggest impact, especially on women and youth. The culture has aided women and teenage girls in developing their sense of self, forming relationships with people from other backgrounds, expanding their knowledge of numerous topics and realising their value in society. It has helped youth to be more open to changes and to be more aware of how things happen around the world. However, pop culture has influenced youth to idolise certain superstars, actors, and celebrities, which has indeed become a concern. This needs to be taken seriously as people are more drawn to get affected by the life events of those whom they idolise.
Pop culture influences all spheres of existence. With language no longer being a barrier, pop culture will grow rapidly, resulting in a new type of content environment where anything can become a trend, and before one even starts trying to replicate it, a new trend has already started.