Episode 4: Gen Z and The Rise of Social Media
Episode 4, Gen Z and the rise of Social Media looks into pop culture, social media, and also conspiracy theories and the misinformation it can provide. Olivia Spicer, Olivia Barnes and Sarah Lavelle. In our first story, Olivia Spicer tells the story of the late rapper Juice WRLD and how he has impacted her life and inspired her in her music creation. Olivia Barnes shares the story of Influencer Emma Chamberlin and how she has stayed so relatable to a Gen Z audience and been a support network and offered comfort to her fans. In our third story Sarah Lavelle looks into how social media is spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, and the effect that’s having on GenZ, particularly during the current pandemic. We all came to these stories as we feel as though we all connected and were extremely interested in the topics at play. As a team we all learnt a lot through our research and creative processes and developed some great new skills form this semesters studio.
Juice WRLD is an American Hip hop artist who sadly passed away at the end of 2019. Juice Wrld was a very popular figure within music and hiphop culture. He was highly respected for his great lyricism and his ability to connect with his fans. Listen to Olivia Spicer who tells the story of how his music affected her and Generation Z and how it has influenced her passion for music production and how his legacy will live on forever within music.
Olivia’s story takes a look into the famous You-tuber Emma Chamberlain and her rise to fame in being a relatable media icon for Gen Z. With 10.9 million subscribers, Emma has established herself as a successful You-tuber with an incredibly loyal fanbase of subscribers. What’s interesting is how she has gained so much attention and success from doing nothing very significant or special. Olivia discusses how she has simply been herself and created daily vlogs that include nothing more than making an iced coffee each day, sitting in her bed and going grocery shopping. Olivia focuses on how Emma reminds her audience that the mundane things are okay and there shouldn’t be any feel pressure to be doing anything extraordinary if you don’t feel like it.
Sarah Lavelle tells the story of misinformation and conspiracy theories and the affects they have on the Gen Z community and our wider society. She specifically focuses on the rise of medical misinformation on social media platforms such as facebook and instagram regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Because these platforms are lacking in any sort of ethical principle it allows for information to spread from one person to the next, typically Gen Zers, like wildfire. Unfortunately, misinformation about the pandemic is like COVID-19 itself: highly contagious, destructive, and with no known treatment, allowing for people to be brainwashed. In saying this, Sarah has interviewed 2 people who represent the different sides of this debate as we consider how to separate truth from lies and stop the spread of bad information.