Does the spread of pop culture harm society?

Answer 1

No. Society as a whole is no less civilized, and no more corrupt, than it ever was. People love to whine about the negative effects of hardcore rap music, or heavy metal, or porn movies, or violent Video Games and Horror movies. The popular refrain is that violent music/movies/games glorify violence and desensitize our children to it, and porn teaches people that women are objects.

But centuries ago, executions were a hugely popular form of free entertainment for the public. Going to an execution was like going to a ballgame on a Saturday is today: the whole family would go and have a grand old time. Torture used to be legal and freely practiced everywhere. We used to stone people to death, and burn them alive at the stake.

Centuries ago, women weren't just treated like objects. They had almost no rights at all. At best, they were second-class citizens, and at worst, they were nothing but property. A woman's primary roles in life were producing heirs and serving as a bargaining chip to create alliances between families.

Humanity was corrupted long before the 20th century. It makes no sense whatsoever to argue that fake violence and naked women on TV are ruining our society, when REAL violence and REAL misogyny have been a major part of society since the dawn of mankind.

Answer 2

The reason that some people think that the spread of pop culture harms society, is that pop culture is advocated by the youth population of the world. When your parents were young, they had music and clothes and trends that they liked, that maybe the older generations didn't follow. And that's just the way things work. Older generations have a harder time adjusting to new ideals of pop culture. Personally, I think that some aspects of pop culture could potentially be harmful to society if taken the wrong way, but otherwise, no. For instance -- if somebody went out and trashed a hotel because that was "cool" and it was in the music he listened to and the idols he followed, then that is bad. But it isn't the pop culture doing it, see, it is the person themselves.

UPDATED TO CHALLENGE IGNORANCE:

"When your parents were young, they had music and clothes and trends that they liked, that maybe the older generations didn't follow."

That is partly true. But let us not forget WHY this occurs. As the mystery of living unfolds in the trials of parenting, business entities continue to change the trends to continue enticing and entrapping children for the sake of profit.

"And that's just the way things work."

In the business world and that of the narrow-minded population that choose to follow trends.

"For instance -- if somebody went out and trashed a hotel because that was "cool" and it was in the music he listened to and the idols he followed, then that is bad. But it isn't the pop culture doing it, see, it is the person themselves. "

That's both ignorant and naive. Even heard of peer pressure? It's a real threat to the youth. It exists mostly in public schools. But online, it exists in many places as well. Popular trends show much more intensity than in the past. Years ago, the ability to influence the youth was limited. Parents still had a major hold on their kids because there was less time to be affected. And television and radio were the only forms of media. But now, the media has the ability to stay with a child 24 hours a day no matter where they are. It has become nearly impossible to send a child into the world without he/she getting hit by it. There is much less emphasis put on family and more on "self". And that is the biggest difference between past generations in this one. You would have to be ignorant to compare this generation with the 80s or before. Thousands of years worth of wisdom has taught us that if we limited our exposure to things that exist outside of a close family community, we are less likely to be corrupted by it. Technology has now become the major weapon that has infiltrated that community. And its doing it in a way that is both sneaky and completely unethical.