#HASHTAG

#Casestudy #Paper on #Hashtags #YOLO @annakassab

When thinking about what to do for my case study paper I decided I wanted to pick a topic that I have grown up with and that my parents and others haven’t.  This would show how the social norms can change and spread throughout the world very quickly.  I therefore decided that the idea of a Hashtag would be perfect.  Not only has this symbol, #, changed from when I was younger to meaning the number sign, but now when I look at it, I don’t think number, I think hashtag.

Through Facebook, twitter, Instagram and other social media, the symbol of # has become a global phenomena that has changed the world.  Not only has the idea of the number sign changed, but when you click on it you can see peoples posts from all over the world who have the same hashtag as you.  This not only shares global interests immediately but it creates a world that is much smaller and more closely linked than ever before.  There is a whole language that has been created through social networks.  It doesn’t matter if you are from America, China, or the smallest villages of Thailand, almost every teenager knows what Facebook and Instagram are, and in turn they know what # means.

When looking at this case study, I thought Raymond Williams would be one of the main theorists I would use.  #Hashtags link to the emergent culture perfectly and show how this has helped to globalize culture.  Benjamin and his idea of popular culture as well as Barthes and how we see the # symbol and it means so much more than just a number sign.

This symbol has brought about a globalization of culture in so many ways which have both positive and negative side effects.   For example, a child in the US is now able to look on Instagram and see pictures from all around the world.  They may be able to see how their culture is similar and different from one another.  This lets people get out of their small bubble and see that there is more to the world than they may have once thought.  A child in Thailand however may see a picture of a house in the United States and wonder why their small village doesn’t look like that.  Hashtags therefore helps to spread the popular culture and Gramsci’s idea of the hegemonic bloc being perpetuated through the bourgeoisie.  Styles, clothes and how people act are also portrayed through pictures and with a click of the hashtag, many may get caught up in what you are supposed to like rather than what they were brought up to like or act.

#RaymondWilliams  #Gramsci #Barthes #Iwonderifanyonehaseverhashtaggedthesetheorist…

Also if anyone hasn’t seen this SNL skit on hashtags you really should!  I thought it went well with this first blog and my ideas for my paper! #heresthelink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuHwEIlAjCE