Demolishing Demographics

In this brief Video by Johanna Blakely: Social Media and the End of Gender she raises the argument that social media has begun to distort the lines of gender. For years companies have intentionally catered to the demographic rather than to the individual, simply because it’s easier to presume that a certain demographic would be inclined to watch or use a certain product because that’s what people of that age group or gender are accustom to seeing, doing or using. Social Media has helped change that by giving the individual their own personal voice to say or like or favorite whatever interests them, rather than conforming to the social norm. While watching the video I agreed with a lot of what was said, but I was somewhat surprised to see that women “dominate the social media space” probably because I had never thought about it with respect to gender. I do however agree, simply because it makes sense. Women are understood to be better communicators than their male counterparts and all the more likely capable of keeping in touch and conversing with others through the use of social media and social networking sites. It would be somewhat of a no brainer that women would lead the statistics in social network use. I really liked Johanna’s response to the idea that companies will hire more females in reaction to the rise of what seems to be a feminist movement in social media. She believes that women will shoot down the idea of producing more chick flicks that cater to the stereotypical demographic that women have been put in. Assuming that women or any demographic for that matter, would want to remain in the box that was placed around them is the easier option but is proving to be ineffective. For a long time the lines of gender have been drawn to show that men are supposed to be naturally attracted to anything that explodes and women will be taken with prince charming on a white horse. However, in a society that constantly pushes us to think out of the box or reject any kind of conformity, I am not at all surprised that the lines have become blurred. It would be rather small minded to think that everyone who is applicable to a certain demographic would appreciate being lumped together as if everyone of that demographic mindlessly listens to the same song, while watching the same show, in the same clothes.