How Social Media Culture Is Promoting A Stronger Connection Between Hollywood And Mainstream Society

When grandparents, and parents, talk about how different life was during their childhoods, it feels like a completely different world.

And when you think of the decades in the 90s, it can almost be hard to see the same type of drastic changes in our current world.

However, social media culture has changed our world in more ways than past generations could imagine.

On a small scale, we can see how social media culture has changed the way we communicate with those close to us.

Gone are the days where we would use landlines to catch up with friends on the weekend and hear about the latest gossip.

Thanks to platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, we can see exactly what friends are up to without any direct communication.

On a larger scale, social media culture has shaped the relationship that mainstream society has with Hollywood. Let’s explore some ways that these social media platforms have really transformed the way we view celebrities and the spotlight.

Hollywood Prior to 2010

Celebrity scandals have always been around. If you were born in the mid to late 90s, you probably remember some of the big ones, such as Britney Spears shaving her head or Michael Jackson dangling his baby off of the balcony.

However, social media culture hadn’t entered the picture yet, so how did we get the juicy gossip?

Magazines were a big way that celebrity news was shared around the world. When you’d read an article about some big gossip, that was likely one of the first times hearing about it.

Because of social media culture, and knowing about events as they are happening, the front page of a magazine could be considered “old news.”

As an effort to keep up with the age of instant news updates, publishing companies have created websites to display their articles.

This allows them to still drop the hot stories instantly as well as publish them in physical form for those of us who still enjoy reading through magazines

Connecting with Fans Through Twitter

In early 2010, Pretty Little Liars, which became one of the hottest teen dramas, was released. The showrunner decided to do something revolutionary that would shape social media culture.

Each night an episode aired, the cast of the show would be live on Twitter, communicating back and forth with fans.

According to Mashable, “Pretty Little Liars was arguably the first series to capitalize on the rise of social media as a medium for discussion, debate and obsessive analysis of a show as it aired.” 

This breakthrough really allowed fans to more connect with their favorite characters. It also allowed them to see actors as real people in a way that had never been done before.

On the more negative side, this was one of the first times that these actors were receiving direct and instant criticism from fans.

Prior to this, celebrities didn’t really have random interactions with fans except for at paid events. In a sense, this allowed them to be seen and heard in a new light.

There are always pros and cons to having new ways of doing things, but this Twitter watch party easily marks a turning point in how mainstream society connects with Hollywood and the tv/movie industry.

YouTube and the World of Vlogging

YouTube was first started on February 14th, 2005. It was created for people to be able to upload any type of video they wanted.

The original concept was thought of due to a lack of good video clips on the internet. The creators just wanted a fun source of entertainment, not knowing how this platform was going to take off.

Some of us may remember the first few silly videos such as Charlie the Unicorn and Me at the Zoo. The platform then began to transform into tutorials from regular people, such as beauty and cooking tutorials.

Celebrities from Hollywood then began making vlogs and posting it to YouTube. Shay Mitchell, one of the stars of Pretty Little Liars, began a YouTube channel where she would take fans on tours of the tv sets.

This was a big development in social media culture as it allowed people to see what really goes on behind the screen. It allows us to see that acting is a job that real people do.

It almost takes celebrities off of the pedestal and gives them a spot in the crowd.

Instagram and Influencing

Instagram hit the social media world on October 1st, 2010. It was designed to be a photo and video sharing platform.

We spent hours playing around with all of the filters and applying the “Nashville” filter to all of our favorite photos.

Just like everyone else, celebrities began creating and posting pictures of their lives on Instagram. Not only are we seeing what friends are doing at any given hour, we can also see what movie stars are doing.

This also allowed us to get information first hand from celebrities, and not through the paparazzi. 

Instagram literally broke for a short time when Jennifer Aniston created a profile because millions of people immediately tried following her. 

A big thing on Instagram, as well as other social media platforms, is influencing. Brands will pay people who have a large enough following to promote their products on the person’s Instagram page.

Movie stars as well as your classic mommy blogger both participate in this type of work.

Through influencing, social media culture has allowed a strong bond between Hollywood and mainstream society by allowing them to work on the same type of project in the same place. 

Covid and Social Media Culture

One last event that really connected people with celebrities was the use of social media during the pandemic. 

Because everyone was stuck inside, celebrities really tried to find ways that they could build community and help us get through a hard time. 

Many actors got together on Zoom and read parts of old manuscripts. Some hosted Zoom events that included meet and greets.

They really took to the social media platforms to create an environment where they could connect with others. 

It is interesting to see how social media culture really has turned Hollywood from this foreign place with starts on pedestals into another community of people a lot more similar to mainstream society. 

 ✍️ Written by Kylie Harthun