Popular Culture Assignment 1-2

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?

Popular culture represents those things that are widely liked by a people or prevalent among a society. Pop culture describes what appeals to the general public and can even define a particular group of people’s likes and dislikes.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

Understanding popular culture is relevant to my present career because I am an Army recruiter and it is important that I know what is going on in society, and what appeals to teenagers and adults because they are the individuals that I interact with on a daily basis. When meeting individuals that I am trying to recruit into the Army, it is important that I build rapport with them so that they will feel comfortable with me. The best way to build rapport is to not even talk about the Army with a potential prospect but to speak with them about everyday things. Knowing what is popular, whether it is sports, music, or a movie, for example, helps me to start conversations and find something in common with someone that I do not know. Even after I am no longer a recruiter it is still important to know the current trends and events that are going on in the world.

What would you consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact? And why would you choose it?

My example of a pop culture artifact is a cell phone. I chose it because cell phones are extremely popular here in America and in many other countries in the world. It seems as if almost every teenager or adult in America has one. I would often, even before this class, just observe how many people around me are talking on a cell phone when I’m driving or looking at other drivers while sitting in traffic. It is especially amusing when I am in a public place and I hear a cell phone ring and everyone, including myself, stops what they are doing and check to see if it is their phone that is ringing.