POP Culture

I'm a bit of media whore. I admit it freely.

The first things I do in the morning while sipping my coffee are check my email, my social media outlets and then People.com and PerezHilton.com. I follow celeb news and gossip. I tend to know the latest fad, the latest hot song, the latest social buzz. I know both the teenybopper idols as well as most of the hip hoppers.

I guess you never realize until you are living it, but I never thought I'd see some of my friends, some people MY age not knowing this stuff. Remember how your parents always seemed out of tune with "the now." It was the "older folk" that didn't stay up on things that had us chuckling to ourselves and shaking our heads in amusement.

Umm, dudes, that IS some of you!

Now, many of these friends of mine would say that knowing about celebrities is not important. They'd say that music is subjective and they don't have to know about Justin Bieber. In my humble opinion though, it IS important to stay up to date because it makes you more relevant. That's a big statement huh?

I think staying current keeps you young, keeps you abreast of societal movements and norms and trends, and heck, just makes you look fly in front of your kids or grandkids, yo!

Though it may seem that it's "just media buzz," I think the media has a large impact on the social climate and expectations on North American society as a whole. Sure, it doesn't matter "specifically" that Heidi Montag had 10 plastic surgeries in one day, but it does set a new standard for young women out there that worship such celebs. It sets a stage for the preceding up and coming "wannabe's." What will be too excessive 5 years from now?

One thing I know is, I'll be up to date on it all.

It helps that I have a curiosity about literally everything out there, but even if I didn't I think I'd still be watching for that next big thing. My Mom is 65 and compared to her friends has a whole encyclopedia of knowledge about the top books, music and clothing for kids on up. She's always reading the new top novels or scoping out the newest jewellery fad. She just got a Kameleon ring with the pop outs-something I just saw teen girls and Moms on the block in my neighbourhood discussing and planning on purchasing, if not already wearing one. I don't think there's anything more ageing that not being somewhat in the know or up to date on current affairs, whether they be CNN worthy or more ET worthy.

It doesn't mean, either, that we have to buy into everything that we're reading or being shown. Of course not. I'd hope people have an internal radar that filters out excessive garbage. I think what I'm trying to recommend is "keeping a finger on the pulse."

My finger is always poised and ready!