The document discusses how social media and traditional media influence millennials' access to news and trends. It notes that millennials between ages 18-34 use various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram to learn about trending topics. Specific content can become viral by being "hashtagged" across different platforms, drawing in various audiences. Trending topics generate hashtags to promote discussion and are later picked up by traditional news sites. Three examples are given of topics that trended on social media first before spreading more widely - the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Kim Kardashian's nude magazine cover, and the blue/black dress photo debate. Social media and public relations are related in managing the spread of

1. #SocialMediaand #TheNewMillennial
By: JennaHourdajian
Social mediaandtraditional mediabothplayavery importantrole inoureverydaylives. Whenpaired
together,theybecome evenmore powerful.These mediaplatforms are able toaddressanytopic so
that anyone whohasaccess to the internetwill become aware of it. Intoday’sworld,the new millennial,
those betweenthe age range of 18 to 34, are usingall typesof different social mediaplatformstofind
out the mostrecenttrendingnews.While othergenerationsare usingstandardnewssites,readingprint
magazinesandwatch TV newsprograms,the new millennialare usingTwitter,Facebook,Snapchat,
Instagramand any othersocial medianetworkingsite andapps tofindoutwhat ishappeninginthe
world.
Aside fromthe reliance ontraditional mediathroughoutthe decades,today,most of the newsis
generatedfromthe use of social media.Whenspecificcontentisbeing“hashtagged”all overdifferent
mediaplatforms,differentaudiencesare beingdrawntofindoutwhatthat contentis about. Ina way,
the use of a hashtag,tweetpostand image isa miniature promotionof something,inthiscase at the
topicof a specificdiscussionisbeingsold.Inorderforsomethingto become “trending”,multiple parties
needtobe intriguedwithwhatisbeingposted.Wheninterested,people wantmore accesstothe
informationthatisbeing addressed.Successful PRiscreatingthe image of thatspecificcontent.
Trendingtopicsgenerate a“hashtag”,a label usedona social networkandmicro-bloggingservices
whichmake iteasierforviewerstofindmessageswithaspecifictheme orcontent. Hashtagsare usedto
promote a certaintopicpeople wanttodiscuss. Traditional new sitesthenpickuponthose trending
topicsand addressthemovertheirnewssites,televisionnewsandprintmagazinesformultiple
audiencestoview.
For example thesethree topicsbecame trendingfirstwiththe use of social media,creating somuch
feedback;they thenbecame viral acrossall differentformsof media,bothsocial and traditional.
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
The craze of summerof 2015 was the ALS Ice BucketChallenge.The ALSIce BucketChallengebecame
viral whenparticipantsraise awarenessforthe disease byrecordingshortclipsof themselvespouring
ice cold wateroverthemselveswhenfullyclothed.Whenaparticipantthennominatescertainpeople to
complete the same task,those nomineeshave the choice toparticipate ordonate tothe ALS Association
withthe videocaptionasthe hashtag #ALSIceBucketChallenge.
Kim Kardashian’s Paper Magazine “BreakingThe Internet” cover.
#BreakingTheInternetwasthe hashtagseenall acrosstwitterwhenKimKardashiandecidedtopose
nude holdingaglassof champagne onthe cover of New York basedindependentartandfashion
publication, PAPER.The premiereof the scandalous,butnotsurprising, covershootof KimKardashian
stirredupquite the reaction fromviewers,causingthe topictobe discussedforseveral days.
Color of DressDebate

2. Back inFebruary2015, a washed-outpictureof adressbeingwornto a weddingwaspostedona
Tumblrblogby a friendof the bride,askingfacebookfriendswhatcolorstheysaw,blue andback,or
white andgoldwhenlookingatthe image.Thisledto forthpublicdiscussionsurroundingthe image.
Buzzfeed,aninternetmediacompany, gotaholdof the image andpostedaboutthe topic of discussion,
includingthe image whichthenwentviral worldwideacrosssocial media,userscreatinghashtagssuch
as “#whiteandgold”,“#blueandblack,”and#dressgate todiscusstheiropinionsonwhatthe colorof the
dresswas. The dress thenwascitedby all majornews outletsandnewsprograms,suchas ‘Good
MorningAmerica’and‘The TodayShow’.
Eventhoughthose three trendingtopicswere notexactly“breakingnews”,the three partiesgotalotof
publicityandfeedbackfromviewersacrossthe globe withsocial media’shelp.Since mostpeople are
not willingtoinvesttheirtime inreadinglongarticles,thereisabetterchance theywill be more willing
to lookat somethingthataddressesthe storywithinacouple keywords asa tweetorshortpost. Social
mediaandpublicrelationsrelate toone anotherin whichthey are bothinvolvedinthe practice of
managingthe spreadof informationbetweenanindividual andanorganization.Many storiesare most
valuable whentheyare toldthroughthe rightsocial channel thatattracts the rightsubjectaudience.
Because theyare the onesmost frequentlyusingsocial media, allowingthemtobe upto date withthe
latesttrends, millennials have the mostinfluence onwhich contentis“worthy”enoughtotrendornot.