Throughout history, trends have changed rapidly to catch on in the modern era and have changed the way teenagers follow them. These trends can encourage young followers to participate in popular activities and online discussions, allowing them to express their interests and develop a stronger sense of belonging. Although widespread trends on social media are able to provide happiness and a sense of belonging, young people should deal with them carefully by reducing social pressure, improving self-awareness, and evaluating information critically.
One major reason is that changing the way they respond to trends can strengthen their endurance when facing social pressure. Changing the way young people respond to trends decreases the “fear of missing out” issue, which makes young people feel anxious when seeing people follow trends without them joining, and this creates more pressure. However, critics argue that social media trends can encourage the younger generation to fit in with the community. This is because modern technology offers young teenagers a place to keep up with the latest trends while also providing a place to stay in touch with others. While this reason is valid, it presents a limitation by influencing young people to follow trends to be part of the community, which raises social pressure and reduces their ability to make their own decisions. For instance, many teenagers may feel some stress to participate in viral challenges, such as the Ice Bucket Challenge and Brainrot, or use popular apps because their friends recommend them. Although this shows that online trends can create opportunities for young individuals to stay connected, they can also generate pressure to conform and fear of being left out. Therefore, the younger generation should follow trends responsibly instead of chasing them to keep up with others, allowing them to gain the benefits without creating unnecessary pressure.
Secondly, young generation should verify the information before posting. The reason is that social media includes much made-up information, which makes most people fall for it. Having said that, some people against this point believe media trends can assist young generation in relaxing after busy days. Trends such as Brainrot are chosen for users’ entertainment. However, it still remains a limitation that young participants only follow those trends without knowing exactly where the information comes from. A case in this point is that the young generation spends many hours online just looking at reels, which include much low-quality content. This suggests that media trends can change the way youths think and feel. Therefore, sharing those unreliable sources can harm young individuals’ thinking, so influencers should avoid spreading sketchy information.
Lastly, young people should consider thoughtfully on how they manage to trend-driven purchases. This is because the younger generation usually spends a lot of money for fast fashion, which just comes and goes in a short period of time. Many opposing opinions state that this type of product encourages individuals to stay connected and enjoy themselves with others. However, constantly buying products can lead to unnecessary spending because trends only appear shortly. For example, young teenagers buy new shoes or shirts directly due to the popularity on social media such as TikTok and YouTube, but they frequently wear them once and discard them because the trends can be replaced. Therefore, young people should consider whether they need those products or not before buying to keep up with the latest trends on social media.
In conclusion, while media trends can provide entertainment and help young individuals to stay connected, they also have negative sides when followed without any consideration. Thus, young people should reduce social strain, conform information before sharing, and shop with intention. When doing that, in the future, they can enjoy following popular trends while avoiding harmful consequences.