Blog 2: Facebook Analysis

On the very first day of class, we were asked if we thought Facebook is popular culture. The majority of the class (including myself) voted yes, 2 people were undecided, and 1 person voted no. Now, the reason I thought Facebook to be considered popular culture is because I thought it was mainstream. If you look up the definition of "mainstream" on dictionary.com, you get:


 the principal or dominant course, tendency, or trend: themainstream of American culture.


Facebook is the dominant trend since almost everyone and their mom has one. I have one, and all of my co-workers have me added (keep in mind that I have two jobs. That's A LOT of people.) Even my technophobic parents have jumped on the band wagon. During the class discussion, someone said Facebook doesn't only cater to the mainstream audience. In the first day of class, this made sense to me, and I quietly fell into the "undecided" group. But now, after giving this some thought, I had an epiphany. Maybe I'm giving it waaaay too much thought, or maybe I am in need of some much required rest after a long sleepless night... but... doesn't having a Facebook make someone a part of the mainstream audience? Since the mainstream = the majority. So if the majority has a Facebook, then shouldn't Facebook be considered mainstream? This is just a speculation I've come up with, and I'm open to all views and discussions. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, since I am still learning much about the subject of popular culture and its components.
Another reason I voted yes was because Facebook is a tool to spread popular culture, and as such, also considered a part of popular culture. I didn't think at the time that this could be used as a reason to say Facebook isn't popular culture. I guess I was thinking of two specific definitions from our textbook, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. According to John Storey, "A third way of defining popular culture is as 'mass culture'" (Storey 8). The mass culture definition of popular culture caters to the commercial side of things, and Facebook does have a commercial side. Whether it's pages you've liked trying to get you to buy their new product, or one of those annoying addicting Facebook games that would be soooo much more enjoyable if you spent real money on Facebook credits. The picture on the left depicts the sort of commercialism I'm referring to. The last definition that solidifies my decision is Storey's fourth definition that "popular culture is the culture that originates from 'the people'" (Storey 9).


Facebook shapes popular culture by allowing the fans to be closer with the icons they love. Whether it's a person, a trendy product, a show, a movie, etc. The fans can openly express their likes with other fans and such on the page belonging to or representing the pop culture figure. They can even get updates of what's to come and what's in the works.

By simply liking certain pages, you get updates that keep you informed in the pop culture world.

Popular culture has shaped Facebook already by making it a mainstream title. Facebook was popular in its early stages, but now that it involves movies, shows, on phone apps, celebrities, etc.

Works Cited

Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 5th. Longman, 2008.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mainstream

http://www.facebook.com/ - Images