How social media influencers shape the youth's culture

Neha Gurram, Features Editor & Ridhi Boggavarapu, Staff Writer 

When social media launched, it mainly focused on connecting others with their long-distance friends. But as it evolved, the app filled with trends and sponsorships, with viewers getting heavily enticed by trends and flashy products they would see online. From handbags to digital cameras, what people see their favorite content creators using comprises much of the youth's favorite products. This phenomenon prompts the question: what does the influence of influencers mean for the younger generation? 

Teens everywhere are getting increasingly dependent on social media. This may be due to the influencer culture creating a fear of missing out on the plethora of trends. This was especially noticeable during the threat of a TikTok ban, which currently has been paused. 

"I saw a lot of people genuinely freaking out, saying, 'Oh my god, there's no way the government is [taking TikTok] from us, " sophomore Chloe Woo said.

However, this is not the only problem. Influencers have launched countless trends marketing products as "must-haves." Products such as Stanley drinking cups are everywhere in schools, and many influencers on social media have one in every color imaginable. Due to this, students believe that they have to have a certain product, even if this is untrue.

Woo mentions how trending clothing such as black flare pants and snacks such as True Fruit have been found almost everywhere online, which initially influenced her buying decisions. It's not just the products that influencers use that have an impact on students; the trends they create also have an effect, especially since they can create a sense of community.

"I feel like when you don't have social media, it definitely limits your connections, but it makes it harder for you to get connected. Because I feel like the culture today is so reliant on social media," senior Joshua Jung said.

Influencers truly shape the humor and language that the youth uses today whether it's coining terms such as "aura" or "rizz" or even bringing out memes that people reference on a daily basis. Those without social media can feel left out of this constantly shifting culture.

"A lot of times [when I did not have social media], I didn't really understand what other people were talking about. Just two weeks ago my friends were talking about Chopped Chin [and] I didn't understand that," Jung said. "It's like they were laughing and I wasn't invited to the joke.

This massive influence from social media is not solely from trends and "lingo". The way social media algorithms function perpetuates this problem further. In other words, rather than bringing various perspectives to a user's "For You" page, the algorithm floods the user with content or videos that they agree with or enjoy. 

“The [algorithm] adjusts to what you follow, so I think that the biggest danger for all of us is that human beings get into these echo chambers where all they see is the [extremes],” Northview US History teacher Michael Martin said.

In real life, an echo chamber is an enclosed space where sounds repeat themselves. When in reference to social media, however, an echo chamber is where a social media page reinforces ideas that the user already believes. Due to echo chambers, it's hard for people to expose themselves to various points of view, which could fuel biased perspectives. However, users can prevent this echo chamber phenomenon by actively seeking out alternative viewpoints online, fact-checking using tools like Politifact (a politician fact-checker), and asking questions to challenge preconceived notions.

In terms of education, the school faculty has been enforcing the phone policy to ensure a strong learning environment at Northview. There have been disciplinary actions in place to guarantee students are learning at school during instruction time, while also still allowing students to check these apps during breaks such as lunch. 

“I know from reports that one of the reasons that we asked that phones be put entirely away during instruction is that last year, there were a lot of discipline incidents where kids would [record] Tiktok dances out in the hallway when they should be taking advantage of the instruction at Northview,” Martin said.

It seems like influencers and trends hold a tight grip over society, especially among students, but it is possible to fight against it.

“Stay curious, stay open-minded, and realize that you're the curator of your life. And you can [either] be curating positive growth stuff, or you can be in an echo chamber,” Martin said.