Applying Pop Culture Theories to Social Networking Websites

            The popular culture theories I feel best relate to social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, My Space, etc. are: the cult of the celebrity, fads, and rituals.  The cult of the celebrity is a very good theory to relate these social websites to, because there are now so many celebrities that tweet about whatever is going on in their lives and their fans read and follow them on Twitter.  In this growing trend not only celebrity actors tweet, but the President and news shows tweet too.  It seems as if the majority of people are now members of Twitter.  The cult of the celebrity does not just apply to Twitter, but I think it also applies to other social networking websites as well.  As I’ve stated before, I feel so many people choose to befriend hundreds of people on these social networks because it makes them feel a little closer to that celebrity status by making them feel more popular.  I think the theory of fads also relates to social networking websites because participating in them has become the new “in” thing to do.  It appears that if you do not have a profile on at least one of these websites then you are just not keeping up with the times; you are just old-fashioned.  Another theory that relates to social networking websites is the theory of rituals.  I say this because there are so many people that make it a daily ritual, or a necessary part of their lives, to login to their profile every day to see what people are saying or doing and to post the details of their day also. 

            One interesting finding that I uncovered in my analyses of this topic is the truly ritualistic feelings people have towards these websites.  If it becomes so important to you to have to post to these sites every single day, or for some people multiple times a day, it almost seems that some people become addicted to it.  It may not be a physical addiction but maybe a psychological addiction, because people feel they “have” to check their profile to see what has been going on within their world of friends. 

            I don’t think much differently about social networking websites now than I did before conducting my analyses because I have always felt this way about these websites; I now just know that there is a theory behind this vastly growing trend.