Nowadays, with our advanced technology, popular culture has been appearing everywhere. Young people are exposed to popular culture more than ever and there’s no question that popular culture has been a strong influence for some young people, but for the majority of the population, popular culture acts as a minimal influence over a young person’s identity. Popular culture definitely plays a role in lesser parts of our identity, such as what we wear or what music we listen to, but there’s much more to our identity than music and clothes. Things like religion and heritage remain unscathed by popular culture.


No matter how influential popular culture may be, the defining parts of our identity will always stay the same. Even if we are infatuated by a celebrity, there is nothing that celebrity can do to change our culture, for people are proud of where they come from. Celebrities have countless fans that come from a myriad of ethnic backgrounds and religions that differ from that of the celebrity, yet none those fans would convert their religion just to match the celebrity. Although celebrities are thought of as role models and heroes by most young people, they are rarely influential enough to have any measurable impact on a young person's identity.


However, this is not to say that all people are the same. There is a minority of people that are completely changed by celebrities, and may even go as far as to change their last name. Although these people do exist, they are the extremes of society. The majority of people are not nearly as influenced. Despite popular culture influencing minor factors of young peoples’ identities, other factors, such as nationality and ethnicity are not affected by popular culture, and it is these unaffected factors that are the most crucial in defining one’s identity.