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Is Pop Culture Really Good for You Essay

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Popular culture which has been shortened to pop culture is defined as “cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people.” (“pop culture”) Television, movies, music, art, the internet, famous people, sports, and politics are some of the major components that make up pop culture. As expected by the standards of society there is a profuse amount of controversy about pop culture being either good or bad for someone.
In an email written to Schlessinger, the writer expresses that, “...teenager had been using very offensive swear words since the age of 5 when this person saw an R-rated movie” and “...teenager had started inhaling cocaine after seeing it done in a movie.” (Schlessinger) According to the writer, the above actions are a result of children being over exposed to pop culture. Yes, it is possible that the effect pop culture can have on children can be more profound since it influences their developing morals, but that does not rule out the possible effects it can have on adults as well. In his own experience Carr states that, “[He’s] not thinking the way [he] used to think...[he’d] spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now [his] concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages...” (Carr) So it can be concluded that pop culture has a way of affecting not just the young and innocent, but also mature adults. In “Watching TV Makes You Smarter,” Johnson proposes that, “...it [TV] is largely a force for good: enhancing our cognitive faculties, not dumbing them down.” (Johnson 279) In a direct response to this article, Stevens contradicts the view of Johnson by stating, “watching TV teaches you to watch more TV” and “Johnson fails to account for the impact of the 16 minutes’ worth of commercials that interrupt any given episode...

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