Impact of Social Media

If someone had told me when I was 15 years old that the majority of my interaction with most of my friends would be via a social networking website, I would have called them crazy. However, the fact of the matter is that I have 929 friends on Facebook, 476 of those are in my mobile phone book, and about 350 of those I would actually call if I needed or wanted something, about 250 of those I have called in the past year, 200 of those I have at least biyearly interaction with, 50 of those I see on a daily basis, and 30 of those I would call personal friends. I am 19 years old now, and 4 years ago this social media phenomenon would have been unimaginable.

            Whether or not we realize it, social media is a huge operating point of our present day. I check my Facebook to catch up with whatever web interaction is going on between my friends and acquaintances; I listen to Pandora while studying to browse songs that match up with my interests and then YouTube the music video of the new song I discovered. In between all this I’ve also checked Wikipedia to get some background for the paper I’m writing, logged on to blogger to make a blog for my Contemporary Mass Media class and then Stumbled when I finally had some free time.

The more I look at the way social media impacts everything around me, the more I realize that it has taken over. Advertisers now utilize User-targeted advertising via Facebook, Twitter, Google and countless others and music sharing sites have causing plummeting in music sales. However I think that they largest impact of social media has been the way in which we develop and maintain relationships. Now instead of calling my Grandma on the phone to say hello, I send her a Facebook message. If I meet a guy at a party, I tell him to Facebook me instead of giving him my number, and phone calls have been reduced to wall posts and chats. Relationships are less personal and require less effort than they would be if individuals were forced to physically interact. 

TV Show Pitch

The show I am pitching will be a teen drama centering on Greek Life. It will follow a group of 8 members of a Greek community (4 sorority women and 4 fraternity men) from a school in the South. The show will specifically be about the inner drama of Greek life, following them through school, everyday social life, parties, and conflict. The drama will be extreme and further amplified by on-and-off romantic relationships within the group.

            I am pitching this to the CW because it will be the perfect compliment for their already existing shows. Targeting women 18-34 years of age (the CW’s target audience), this teen drama including deception, scandal, love, and debauchery will be perfect in capturing their interest. Many of the CW’s popular shows such as Gossip Girl, 90210, One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries, prove this. Playing off the stereotypes of college Greek life will be beneficial for this particular show. Hardcore partying, rush, hazing, scandalous sex, and inner-Greek competition will be key opponents in the success of this show. However on the other side of the spectrum, showing the positive side of Greek life will also be essential. Incorporating things such as sisterhood/ brotherhood, philanthropy, school spirit and comradely within the Greek community will be important. This will be new and exciting because this is an idea yet to be explored on mainstream TV.

            The goal of this show will be entertainment and since the lines of what is appropriate and not are often blurry these days, I think that it will be beneficial to accurately portray what goes on behind closed doors in the Greek community along side the drama. I also think we will have to be careful to make sure it does not cross any controversial lines, but if pulled off correctly this show will be a hit.