How many of your friends are addicted to block blast? How many have owalas? What about a North Face backpack? How many wear uggs? Or sambas? How many got Birkenstocks for Christmas? Who can’t get That’s So True by Gracie Abrams out of their head? These are some of the very trends that are overtaking our school in recent months, and you can’t help but wonder where these trends start, and more importantly, what causes them to end so abruptly.
Social media apps, primarily those in which you scroll endlessly, are big proponents of growing trends. The neverending propaganda can easily influence and manipulate young teenage minds, and once manipulated, it’s very difficult to return to the innocent mind you once had.
“I think social media is my main influence, and I think it’s positive,” sophomore Ana Kim said. “Especially for brands, because they get to spread their products. People will see the pictures on social media and buy it, and most times if one friend buys something then another friend will buy it too.”
Social media’s large influence may be positive for brands, but the constant new trends and things teens feel pressured to purchase just to feel included are not good. Nobody should feel less than someone else just because they do not have the new trending water bottle or kind of jeans everybody else has.
“I usually don’t really care about the trends on social media,” freshman John Christian said. “That’s just not my style, and it doesn’t really bother me when someone has something I don’t.”
While the media is still the main way people are influenced, the people we surround ourselves with are still important. The feeling of constant need to buy something new might still be there, but when you’re around the people you love the voice inside your head telling you to make another Amazon purchase quiets just a little. This is why it’s so important to still have your friends and the people around you as an influence, and not just your circle of online “friends”.
“I really like Gracie Abrams, but also recently my friends have put me onto country music,” said sophomore Cynthia Ortiz. “So I would say my closest friends and family like my sister are my biggest influences.”
