The portrayal of social media in this article so far has been rather negative, however there are examples of social media being used for more than just promoting the superficial idea of ‘perfection’, but rather being used as a tool for good in the hands of todays youth. These platforms can be used to very easily spread messages amongst masses of people in a short amount of time. Subjects have ‘trended’ on Twitter pertaining to racial, gender and sexual inequalities involving the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter, #FreeTheNipple and #LoveIsLove respectively. These tags spread the awareness of social issues amongst vast numbers of people and can encourage solidarity amongst the youth. As seen throughout this journal, the teenagers of a society can often be a great force in political rebellion; this is further seen in the current era in which young people are united by their liberal views and collaborative effort to challenge the government.
Whilst I have explored this idea of ‘perfection’ that is circulated around the younger generation, there is simultaneously a paradoxical ideal that todays youth are getting more and more progressive in their political views. By this I mean that they are more accepting of people of varying ethnicities, sexualities, religions, genders, and shapes and sizes. Perhaps this marks the new upcoming ‘era’ of general acceptance and equality and a move away from the image of perfection. Arguably then, this idea of being perfect is not self-developed but rather forced upon the youth of today by the older generations, and to some extent, the youth have succumbed. But there is also a degree of resistance to this conflict created by the generational divide and consumerist culture. As is often the case in youth cultures, the younger generations are revolting against the dated views of their parents, impressing their new, more liberal views upon society in a political revolution.
Millennials.