Nowadays, our society is strongly influenced by social media.These platforms have a major impact on everyday life, especially on the Gen Z.Trends that might not have had any influence before are now among the most popular ones. Social media shape the way we see the world and influence what we consider attractive, popular or even necessary.
As Couldry and Hepp argue “technologically based media of communication are bringing about the refiguring of the world in and on which we act”. This idea closely connects the concept of the culture industry (Couldry and Hepp, 2016, p. 44).
In fact, it also relates to Adorno and Horkheimer’s idea that the culture industry refers to the way mass media can have a negative effects on people (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1997).
For example,TikTok is a platform where almost anyone can post and view any content from all over the world. Between ending 2025 and beginning 2026, many people rushed to Zara to buy a viral jacket that was constantly posted on the platform. Influencers presented it as a “must-have” item in your wardrobe, and slowly it became a major trend.
References:
Adorno, T.W. and Horkheimer, M.(1997)Dialectic of enlightenment.Translated by J. Cumming. London: Verso.
Couldry, N. and Hepp, A.(2016)The mediated construction of reality. Cambridge: Polity Press.
