Pop Culture – Ecosystemic Magazine

29Jan

By Eyob SisayNo Comments

The Power of #Paid

By Eyob Sisay As the field of influencer marketing quickly becomes one of the hottest industries in the world, how will social media creators hold up against the demands of their eco-conscious fans? In 2022, 58% of the world was active daily on social media (Mohshin 2022). For brands, social media is prime marketing real-estate. As a result, companies are more than willing to shell out billions of dollars to hire social media creators with significant platforms to promote their products;. According to Osborne (2019), 49% of social media users depend on content creators’ product recommendations, thus validating the “influencer” status of some social media creators. Therefore, there exists a symbiotic relationship between social media creators and brands. In many cases, the Earth doesn...

This Article is More Than an Infographic

28Jan

By Julianne ParkNo Comments

Pop Culture

This Article is More Than an Infographic

By Julianne Park Big bolded words. Vivid colors. Catchy phrases. What better than a simple yet eye-catching infographic to hook the reader, or social media user, to the idea you are trying to convey? Recently, infographics have grown drastically to become one of the most widespread and popular tools on the internet, especially on social media. Visually appealing posts, often accompanied by data or striking statements, are a medium of storytelling that help users reach their target audience faster. Around 56% of queried businesses said to have used infographics and found them effective (Conner, 2017). Marketing strategies have increasingly employed infographics because of the human brain’s ability to absorb more information through visuals. So, where does the climate move...

Misinformation and Performative Activism on Social Media

28Jan

By Stella StoneNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Pop Culture

Misinformation and Performative Activism on Social Media

By Stella Stone Misinformation and performative activism, often intertwined, are potent forces that undermine climate movements across the globe. As you mindlessly click through Instagram stories, you may see a cheery-looking graphic discussing dying polar bears. While your first instinct may be to repost this, first consider– what are the motivations of the creator? Is the information factual? And most of all, how does this even help? While misinformation can have varying definitions, a 2020 study from the University of Exeter states “[a] common theme is that misinformation pertains to information that is false, inaccurate or misleading,” (Treen et al.). Across all categories of social media, a Statistica study found that 67% of Americans have encountered fake news on social media a...

Patagonia Takes Control of the Fight Against Climate Change

10Nov

By Quinn LaudenNo Comments

Pop Culture

Patagonia Takes Control of the Fight Against Climate Change

By Quinn Lauden Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, recently made a monumental contribution to the fight against climate change. Chouinard, the rock climber turned environmental entrepreneur, gave away 100 percent of Patagonia’s equity to the earth this past September. With 98% of the stock going to the Holdfast Collection, a non-profit, and the other 2% of stock and decision-making transferred to a trust, Chouinard has made the earth the only shareholder of the $3 billion company (McCormick, The Guardian). This act does not come as a surprise to many. Patagonia, a clothing company specializing in outdoor apparel, has been recognized for supporting numerous causes, especially their support of the fight against climate change. Patagonia announced the transfer of ownership throug...

5Nov

By Amelia PNo Comments

Pop Culture

Patagonia and Ethical Consumption

By Amelia Petty Patagonia, a popular outdoor clothing company, declared this summer that it will be devoting 100 percent of its profits to charities combating climate change. Founded by Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia is known for its attempts to be a sustainable and environmentally friendly clothing brand. This recent step only furthered their commitment to combating climate change through encouraging sustainable fashion, ethical consumption, and hopefully setting a precedent for other companies to do the same. However, even with this progress, is it ethical to still buy from a large company like Patagonia? https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/patagonias-anti-growth-strategy Yvon Chouinard transferred ownership of Patagonia to a nonprofit organization and a designated trust ...

31Jul

By May ChanNo Comments

Pop Culture

Making Barbecues More Green

By May Chan Throughout Independence Day weekend, American magazines and newspapers across the South are full of barbecue recipes. Celebrating the holiday with grilled food has been an American tradition that dates back to the 1800s. After the Revolution, many people marked the national holiday with public dinners which quickly grew into large outdoor barbecues in many areas. Later on, the celebrations became standardized, and many states in the South similarly held Fourth of July barbecues. Despite the popular tradition, barbecues often have negative environmental impacts when done all at once by a ravenous and patriotic population. Artwork by May Chan In much of the world, barbecuing is done with charcoal, as it gives the food a particularly smoky flavor. Traditional charcoal is...

The Media Snubs the Youth Climate Movement

16Apr

By Quinn PatwardhanNo Comments

Pop Culture

The Media Snubs the Youth Climate Movement

By Quinn Patatwardhan On March 25, 2022, Fridays For Future staged hundreds of rallies around the world to protest the wealth disparity surrounding greenhouse gas emissions. Despite attendance from thousands across the world, the media largely snubbed the event. Large outlets published very few articles covering the strike, and those that were written were mostly allocated to each paper’s “local” section. One of the few exceptions was an article published in the New York Times, which highlighted why coverage of the strikes is vital. According to a New York Times project that surveyed 10,000 people between the ages of 16 and 25, 75% of respondents said they thought that the “the future is frightening.” Strikers at the March 25 events were mostly within this age demographic...

Be an Activist, Not a Celebrity: The Problem With Social Media-Based Activism

16Apr

By Leia NeilsonNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Pop Culture

Be an Activist, Not a Celebrity: The Problem With Social Media-Based Activism

By Leia Neilson At a climate strike in 2018, I saw a woman stiffly posing in front of the United States Capitol building, holding a sign inscribed with a catchy message about climate change and beaming into the camera. An hour later, I noticed her scrolling through her phone in the middle of a speech meant to encourage action to combat climate change. Though inattentive and seemingly uninterested, she had created the illusion that she was committed to fighting climate change, which her Instagram followers surely believed. Political Cartoon by Elson Bankoff This facade of caring about global movements is not uncommon, and has attracted lots of negative attention since the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020. Many so-called activists at these protests posed in fr...

19Mar

By Amelia PNo Comments

Art & Multimedia, Pop Culture

Social Media in War

Political Cartoon by Amelia Petty

Parenting in the Time of the Climate Crisis

19Feb

By Vera KimNo Comments

Pop Culture

Parenting in the Time of the Climate Crisis

By Vera Kim As the climate crisis continues to escalate, with global temperatures rising and natural disasters becoming more common, many parents question how to educate their children on environmental issues and how they can best advocate for their children’s futures. Often, parents feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start. In an interview with Ecosystemic in Nov. 2021, Harvard Professor Dan Schrag discussed the organization Vote Like A Madre. During the 2020 presidential election, Vote Like A Madre encouraged Latina women across the country to vote for presidential candidates with strong climate action plans. Schrag stated that, in Arizona, 35,000 more Latina women voted in the 2020 election than in past presidential elections, partially due to Vote Like A Madre’s effo...