POWER RELATIONSHIPS, POLITICS, AND THE MASSES

Definition of Power relationships, Politics, and the Masses: 

• Power relationships show who is "dominant" in certain situations or societies, this relates to politics and the masses because politics play a big role in power and serve as a source that many trust. Politics are the assumptions or principles related to a theory, power, and status. The masses, (being us the people) decide who is powerful and what they view as more important than other people or things. 

How power relationships, Politics, and the Masses apply to social media expectations:

• Power relations apply to unrealistic expectations for adolescents because certain people are looked at as higher up in society (and social media) and more important if they have more followers or likes. Yet the only thing that decides if this person is really more dominant than the rest of the people, is the masses. Everyone that is famous, we have made famous through talk and politics. People use social media to decide who is important and what a "standard life" should look like. 

•  The masses view images on social media,  then decide that for whatever reason that person has more power than anyone else (For example: Kylie Jenner is seen as an icon and important person, but for what reason?). The masses in this specific case would be the followers. 
• You follow someone you look up to or want to be like for example a famous model and then when you see their post you are inspired by them and decide that whatever they are doing, is what you should be doing. because they are the powerful human based off of what politics say.  
• Masses play a big role in social media because if everyone likes you, you’re on top, but if everyone hates you because of one thing you say, the masses will turn on you and suddenly nobody likes you anymore once politics take over to spread the idea that the person is no longer looked up to. 

Society gives credibility to influencers and famous icons who have no real reason to be credible sources. 

What kind of power relationships are formed through social media? 

The power relationships between society and the "powerful" or in this case the influencer who is looked up to go hand and hand. Without the followers, that influencer would be nowhere, but their posts provide the audience with the feeling of scopophilia (the love of looking). The relationship between society and the powerful person are direct. Also the power relationship between brands and famous icons that join together to sell product is very important to look at. Brands may use a famous influencer to wear their products in order increase their sales because they know that their followers will want whatever the influencer has. Money then comes into the power relationship because brands have to pay influencers to advertise what they want sold. So whether they actually like it or not, all of their followers will then think they need the product in order to be like them.