American society is currently changing very fast. With internet usage of ninety-seven percent, America is the most internet literate country in the world. Unlike common Americans who use the internet to socialize, members of the pop subculture creatively use the internet to make money. Members of this subculture also have a raised affinity for entertainment. Respected members of the group are those with a lot of wealth and not highly educated.
Millions of youths around the world use the internet mostly to socialize and appreciate such social networking sites as Facebook, twitter among others. This American group, in addition to using the sites to socialize, has devised ways of generating income from other lovers of such sites. The overriding feature of this group is their immense love for money while at a very young age.
Introduction
This subculture encompasses both females and males between the ages of twelve to twenty-five years. These young people possess similar behavior and try to live up to a common goal. The street term “hustling” is one major objective that determines their engagements of the day. They use the term to refer to the daily routine of looking for money. They need the money and would do anything to obtain this precious commodity. This big craze for money compels these young people to do several things, some of which are not indeed admirable in society while others are good and within the parameters of legitimacy.
The members of this subculture use the internet to socialize like any other teenager; however, they go further and come up with innovative ways of making money on the internet. They believe that in everything they do must in one way or the other generate money and generate lots of it. Therefore, on such social media like Facebook, Twitter, my space, youtube among many others, they are engrossed on such sites keeping posts and comments that are aimed at attracting people to get interested in certain pages and download corresponding links, videos or clips. In the process of doing it, their followers are charged with some money.
Features of subculture
These individuals are also known and characterized by their love for violence. The young men spend most of their time in the gyms building more and more muscles whose usage is never determined. They appreciate muscular and stronger bodies and they believe that the broader an individual’s chest is the sexier he or she is. They would thus give anything to acquire big and very masculine structures. This is a feature that they developed from their immense affection for the hip hop culture that prides itself in similar features. One more feature that the hip hop culture brought with it was the love for violence that has been picked up by another subculture.
The hip hop culture was at ease with hooliganism and mugging as a means of “hustling”. This other younger generation does not mug and does not indeed pride themselves in the robbery but they have been known to cause havoc in several streets in the city of Philadelphia and its environs. They disrupt trade and the general peace of the populace with their ruffian attitude. This has in some cases led to physical injury and even deaths of their victims. The flash mobs of the African American youths in Philadelphia target no race or culture, in particular, it is havoc causing spree that they beat and harass any officially dressed person that they come by on the streets.
This subculture is largely mentored by the hip hop culture, and the lives by the renowned hip hop artists are greatly admired. They appreciate street life and spend most of their time practicing rap music and doing very little schooling. Their preference for entertainment for any other resourceful activity is the fact that they do not hide and are proud of. They compose rap songs at the back of the streets and shoot videos posting them on social networking sites and persuading their friends and followers to download them. The subculture brings with it an overriding desire to gain fame, fortune, and a lot of wealth, the very qualities prioritized by several other African American hip hop artists in the country.
The subculture also appreciates the use of drugs, the young boys and girls do not think twice before using such hard drugs as heroin and cocaine. The ease with which they use them also defines how they sell it. This is the fact that has made most of them be used as peddlers; they are commonly referred to as “pushers”. This activity is an accepted one as it is a means of “hustling” and to this group, anything that raises money is a commonly accepted phenomenon.
In a nutshell, this culture is made-up of young, vile, and very aggressive individuals who have learned the importance of self-generated money. Their role models who in most cases are the hip hop music genre artists have succeeded in creating the notion that America is full of money and all it takes for one to tap that very fundamental resource is creativity accompanied by violence if the need arises.
Defining traits of the group
The final defining trait of these members appreciating this subculture is their attire; the young people dress in large outfits. They love baggy pants and t-shirts with multiple graffiti, which in most cases run very vulgar writings, in them. These baggy trousers are held well below their waists exposing their inner wares and in some extreme instances parts of their bodies. Their hair comes in a variety of forms, these forms are as varied as some of the males plaiting their hair as though females. For those who cut their hair, the styles are varied and incorporate virtually any possibility provided it is a strange style that would solicit controversy. These young people seek attention; it is only that they seek this attention negatively.
The rise of this culture has brought to the fore a lot of debates because as it has been expounded on, it does not resonate with a very attractive trend. Some of these debates scrutinize the role that the family institution plays in the thriving of this culture.
Conclusion
One can observe that the pop subculture attracts young boys and girls as early as 11 years. They, therefore, grow up with a wrong attitude on education and family values. They also start developing a thirst for large amounts of money early in life without a proper legal way of making such huge amounts of money. The wrong attitude plus other negative qualities identified with the group can easily lure young people to start engaging in criminal activities either now or the mere future.