It is often used by the young people to justify taking risks or do something that they normally wouldn't do. Using "YOLO" is a good technique to try to persuade your friends to do something they don't want to, peer pressure--it works.
Although this type of phrase has been used in many different contexts for literally hundreds of years (ex. "enjoy it while you can," "live like you were dying," etc.) by every age of people probably dating back to some Socrates theory or a quote from Abraham Lincoln, it has been recently popularized by Drake and Tyga in their song "The Motto."
YOLO's popularity is a classic case fad, often being blown out of proportion by users hash-tagging it pictures on Facebook or getting it tattooed on to their bodies in a futile attempt to become trendy.
But what do we actually know about fads? They fade. They become unpopular as quickly as they became popular and people shed them for the new latest trend. Let's take for example the Beanie Babies trend in the 1990s. Everybody had at least 30 Beanie Babies which they thought would become collectors items within the next ten years. Newsflash: They didn't. Beanie Babies are now popular in thrift stores for 1/4 of their original price.
Or how about skateboarding shoes? Everyone at my middle school jumped of that bandwagon looking like little teenage punks and proliferating the bad image adults give teenagers. Thank God that's over. Nike shorts will come to an end. The feather in your hair that looked so cute this past summer now is outdated and you WILL get dirty looks for wearing one. Crackle nail polish, hippy headbands, high waisted skirts, and plaid will all phase out eventually. The RZR phone has been replaced for the iPhone, the gameboy color for the Kinect, and flip-flops for sandals.
So as a word to the wise: Fads are fun while they last, but don't get them tattooed on your body.
No comments:
Post a Comment