Trends in Popular American Culture

Gwendolyn M. Riley

University of Phoenix

SOC / 105

Deciding what is popular seems easy enough. It is what everybody likes or has heard about, what people are currently doing, wearing, eating or feeling. Our word popular derives from a Latin word populous which means “the people” so what is popular is what is “of the people”, it is what is as the dictionary says in one meaning, “frequently encountered or widely accepted”.

In today’s society, culture can be defined in many ways. It can refers to the following of life including but not limited to language, arts & sciences, thought, spirituality, social activity and interactions. We can understand that culture is everyone in a society. This is because everyone in a society influences individual through social, political, personal and religious aspect.

In the social trend in American culture, we can see how cell phone has changed communication dramatically. This is because cell phone is now accessible. I believe in the olden days, cell phone was not a popular thing but now in the new generation, it has changed. It is also because cell phone use can do things like surfing the net, texting and so on. Another trend that has become another popular American trend in the social aspect is networking such as: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and these other entire dating website. It has become so popular that people are meeting other people through these sites. It is fascinating to see how it has changed the American culture as a whole.

Moreover, Politics is another popular trend that has changed American culture. This is because people are now more outspoken in the 21st century. In the olden days, it was not even common to see a black person running for an office or a woman running for an office. But in today politics, we can see black people or a woman running for an office in both parties. In addition, personal influence is another trend that we engage in American culture today. As we can see, people have their own different styles through music, education, clothes and so on. We can also say that people are influence by the media as well as celebrities. This is a trend that continues to be popular because is something that American culture continues to engage in.

Furthermore, religion is another trend that is popular in American culture. Religion is opposed in schools and colleges for people to learn and understand. In American culture, everyone has the right to have its own belief about their religious status. As we can see in today society, we have the Christians with many denominations, the Orthodox Jews, Muslims and so on. This entire religious group has their own practices which affect the individual behavior about their religious belief. As a result, it is amazing how these trends have changed American culture in the last thirty years. So many things that are acceptable now, would have never been considered in the past.

Reference

“Popular”. Webster Concise Dictionary of the English Language. Trident Press International: 2000 Ed.

Catherine L. Albanese. Religion and American Popular Culture: An introductory Essay. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 1996; LXIV: 733-742