Culture is regarded as a potent element that influences many peoples’ actions and behaviors in many areas of life ranging from the economic to the social. Characterized by shared beliefs, traditions and language, social norms, customary values, passed through generations, as well as varied material artifacts that denote specific social, racial and religious groups, as identified by Damen (1987), it is easy to understand how culture can influence people. Popular culture can be defined as a distinct sub-culture existing within mainstream culture comprised by specific ideas, attitudes, memes and viewpoints, among other elements capable of defining groups of people. The major trends in popular American culture include watching reality television, increasing participation in social media and the massive consumption of social-oriented publications especially magazines, among others. The contents found in the associated mediums, have been, and continue to heavily influence and change the American way of life, which indicates potential influences on personal decision making.
Popular American Culture and Decision Making
The trend in the increased number of Americans watching reality television is most observed in the ensuing influences such as preference for certain clothes, ways of life, manners of speech and overall behavior as well as change in future aspirations. From a personal perspective, my consumption of reality singing competitions especially American Idol and The Voice reflect the increasing trend of reality television watching. My consideration for singing and preference for casual wear especially jeans, reflecting actions and preferences of various stars in reality television; activities also preferred by my friends, reveal how popular culture affects personal decision making. As Weber & Morris (2010) agree, culture does influence personal judgment and decision making through conformity to observable patterns of normative actions in society as well as the prevalent forms of interpersonal interactions. My reasons for watching the American Idol and The Voice is because I love music and singing along to popular music which highlights a unique and unifying personal preference in relation to my friends’ popular culture preferences. This also goes for the trend in massive consumption of social-oriented publications especially magazines, with my preference being the People Magazine.
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With people magazine providing important information on daily activities like food and nutrition, health as well as current lives of various celebrities, many people, including me, are fascinated by such current events which include glamour and interesting tidbits of celebrity life. The need to keep informed of current popular culture-oriented events especially about celebrities also highlights why participation in social media especially Twitter and Facebook, has increased tremendously. Personally, I prefer participate on Twitter and Tumblr which not only enables me to stay informed and get involved in my friends’ life activities but also about current events especially involving celebrities. The distinctly different preference for particular casual wear and behaviors, which I have observed among my friends, further reflects how popular American culture influences personal decision making. In this case, the effect is quite personal and independent which seems to be confirmed by Pascale’s (1978) study which found out that American culture is defined by individualistic tendencies and independence especially of thoughts and actions; seemingly transmitted to popular culture.
Conclusion
That culture, including American popular culture, influences many peoples’ actions and behaviors in many areas of life especially the social aspect, is undeniable. In line with this, the three major influential trends in popular American culture include watching reality television, increasing participation in social media and the massive consumption of social-oriented publications especially magazines. The contents associated with these mediums continue to influence and change the American way of life, including personal decision making where many people mostly teenagers can be seen emulating popular American culture icons especially with regards to behavior and aspirations.
- Damen, L. (1987). Culture Learning: The Fifth Dimension on the Language Classroom.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. - Pascale, R.T. (1978). Communication and decision making across cultures: Japanese and
American comparisons. Administrative Quarterly Science, 23, 91 – 110. - Weber, E.U. & Morris, M.E. (2010). Culture and judgment and decision making: The
constructivist turn. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 410-9. doi: 10.1177/1745691610375556.
