Former actor turned music artist Drake recently came out with a music video that has people talking nonstop. Several memes have been created that surprisingly fit well with the lucid movements of what could be considered his dancing.
It wasn’t long before Drake’s new “Hotline Bling” music video went viral that it started to appear on all types of social media. If it went viral for a positive or negative reason isn’t the question. The question is, why did it become so popular? Is it everyone’s obsession to keep up with the most recent trends at all times?
Drake’s dance moves in the music video aren’t what someone would consider on a serious level. Memes have been able to describe what his dancing actually looked like. The video seemed to have left people in confusion as to what he is actually doing. Whether those who have seen it actually enjoyed it or were repulsed by it, it appeared on everyone’s timeline and received ample amount of coverage.
Drake’s new music video is only one of several examples of events and situations that have gone viral. When is it appropriate to stop giving so much attention to something that hasn’t made a big impact in the lives of those who view it?
Besides dance moves that people love to imitate, words and phrases have been created through videos that have surfaced on every type of social media. Day to day routines have changed because of this social media frenzy.
Has this had a negative effect? Perhaps.
An example of new phrases that can be heard through everyday conversations is the use of “on fleek.” This came from Vine, an application where videos that are less than seven seconds long are posted for the world to view. A video was shown of a woman expressing how her eyebrows were “on fleek.” It wasn’t long before this saying was imitated. The true meaning of this phrase still remains undefined as there are several meanings to what this means and what it refers to.
This phrase usually means that a person’s appearance is pleasurable to the eye. It can also be used if someone has done something that will get them noticed in a good way, as in making up a new dance move, scoring points in a game, etc. Whether the word “fleek” is a word is still up for debate.
This is what the American culture has come to. Creating words that can’t be considered words or have a real definition to express what someone is feeling. The consequences of this is what it does to youths. Imagine an 11-year-old in middle school receiving an assignment to describe a book they are reading for class and all that student can come up with is the novel was “on fleek.”
However, there are things that have taken the nation by storm in a positive way but are not being recognized as they should be. According to fox5sandiego.com, a man, Steven Hildreth Jr., was pulled over for a broken headlight while carrying a gun on his right hip. Hildreth did have a permit. He was let off with a warning for the headlight and sent on his way. He described the police officers as being respectful. There have been many accounts of police brutality, and Hildreth’s story has brought another perspective.
Is it enough to overpower the “Hotline Bling” video or prevent those from saying “on fleek?” It’s up to the rest of society to decide what can really be considered worthy of becoming viral.
