POP Culture: Interaction of and Influence on the Youth

Abstract

In today’s world of digital literacy’s, popular culture is considered to be a ‘central force.’ It has made inroads into our lives like nothing else has. The 21st century popular culture significantly changed our ways of life and impacted it and has transcended the barriers of age, gender, class, color, religion etc. and has become a part of our daily patterns and its impact on the society is best seen and felt among the youth. It is understood that the youngsters of any era are most susceptible to changes brought by the society. The 2000 s has brought in a new hang-out place for the educated mass - online venues. The advent of computers, internet and the World Wide Web has led to tremendous advancement in technology and thus we are able to access all kinds of documents, databases, bulletin boards, electronic publications like newspapers, books and magazines in all media forms (print, audio-oral, visual) via internet and can create our web pages to publish individual art, writings, videos, movies, etc. on popular websites or on personal blogs. Popular culture is irrefutably connected with commercial culture like movies, television, radio, cyberspace, advertising, fashion etc that is available for online purchase. The popular culture, which is very popular with the youth, and their aggressive indulgence in the social media, mass media and other media like mobile phones, English cinema and English music, this paper examines and understands the ways by which popular culture forms can be used .This study looks at how popular cultural forms like internet, social networking sites, television, popular music, cinema, newspapers, magazines etc. Influenced the language of today’s youth and in this process a ‘new’ language style is emerging among them. If we look back to the 20 C, we find that various youth identities have emerged, with their unique styles in music, dance, clothing, hairstyle and language, assisted by the corresponding progress of the mass media and the interactive digital media such as the internet. In the midst of such cultural dynamism, language undeniably takes a new form used in communication that is mediated through numerous agencies. With the mushrooming of television channels, social networking sites, blogs, music and film genres, video and computer games etc. the youth of today’s generation lives a life that is completely dominated by technology and pop culture. The pressure to fit into the group, be one in the crowd, is so overpowering for the youngsters today that most of them live their lives dictated as seen in movies, TV serials, and fashion tips from popular magazines.