Has anyone taken notice of the youth culture today and how it has started to permeate the rest of our world. I got my latest issue of Essence in the mail the other day and couldn't help but be disappointed that the entire issue was dedicated to all things about black hair. Hairstyles, hair maintenance, hair politics. I was too through. The midterm elections are coming up on our asses and the house and senate may easily go Republican and the premiere magazine for black women is talking about hair.
Hey I'm a black woman and I know the hair struggle well. But there's got to be more to talk about right now instead of wasting valuable space talking about wigs and weaves. I made reference to the youth culture earlier because I think this is mostly a by-product of today's image-obsessed youth culture. Everything has to do with fashion and celebrity and what "she's" wearing. Young women focus on this a little too much to me now a day. Not that many young women (18-33) aren't out here doing their thing and making us proud, there's just a hyper-focus on all things external. There's a definite change in the attitudes about status, community, success and responsibility. For one thing, everybody thinks they're a fuckin star. It's like the saying, "when everyone is special, no one is." Most of us need to fix and build our self-esteem on the daily, but it's OK not to be so damned self-obsessed too. And really, to be special you have to do something special. Not just be "fly". There's a balance to all things in life and a time to have fun and indulge in all kinds of things from the silly to the sublime. It should all helps us grow in different ways. But to be over-committed to transient things that don't really improve our condition or contribute to one's inidividual or group development isn't a help overall either.
Also the digital era has made everything so remote, people are encouraged to air every inner thought out on the web. I mean really, go and get yourself somebody to talk to, not text to. Twittering about every stupid detail in your life to the world is some dumb-ass, self-important shit to me. And I'm seeing too many grown-ass people addressing issues on Facebook that need to be done face-to-face. Interpersonal communication has damn sure suffered. I say all this on a blog site that I indeed created, but things that are personal and need to be handled directly aren't for the web and I know and realize this. The web can be a great tool for information and connection, but it's all in how you use it and to what degree. You know the saying about candy being good, but too much will give you a cavity.
It feels like too many of our sisters are being inundated with images of Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga and Rihanna and taking their cues from them on how to walk in this world. It's troubling that Essence has seemed to have fallen off the cliff with the rest of the culture and over-dosed on the celebrity, fashion trend obsessions. Has anyone taken a look at their website lately? Full of fluff and bull sh**. There used to be more substance. I don't know who to be mad at? I mean the news media is less about news and is far more biased and subjective than ever before. Information is now little more than opinion, and bloggers are being considered part of the media. But I always saw Essence magazine as a news source and a refuge from all the crap out there. Now I can't even relate to it anymore. The constant texting, opinion based, gotta reveal every inane detail of my life on twitter or facebook society I'm now trapped in leaves me lost, sad and hungry. Wonder what'll be the antidote to this current state of affairs.
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