College students tend to follow entertainment trends in the fields of music, fashion, television, social media and more.
Despite the crazy times and constantly changing trends, interacting with these fads is an evolving process.
TV shows, YouTube and social media are some of the most popular online entertainment trends among Lehigh students right now, especially as the pandemic forces more students to stay home and turn to virtual spheres for connections. These platforms give users the ability to browse a range of trends due to the mere variety of topics covered on each site.
Throughout the semester, students used streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ to watch TV shows, rather than cable.
Elene Amiranashvili, ‘21, said she has expanded her range of TV since new streaming platforms have become popular. She said students tend to watch similar shows simultaneously.
“Every few months there is always the ‘It show,’ for example ‘Tiger King,’ that everyone watches and talks about,” Amiranashvili said.
Amiranashvili said due to pandemic stress, students may be more inclined to watch more light-hearted shows or rewatch old shows. She said she has been gravitating toward less anxiety-inducing shows such as “New Girl.”
Some students, though, have been putting less of an emphasis on following trends and more on meeting people when transitioning to college.
Cameron MacMahon, ‘24, said when he first came to Lehigh, he found himself relying on TV shows, YouTube and other entertainment trends that he normally wouldn’t be following because they helped him meet and socialize with people in person.
“Conversation in itself is entertaining,” MacMahon said.
MacMahon said during COVID-19, he noticed some entertainment trends were becoming more individualistic as opposed to everyone following the same things at once. He said before the pandemic, he would be following the same trends as his friends, but now it’s harder to find trends that people start.
“For a while, it was, ‘I am watching this show’ instead of everyone watching together,” MacMahon said.
Melina Cawley, ‘23, said in the beginning of quarantine, she found herself on social media and following TV trends more often.
She said she had more time on her hands, but once classes started, she followed them a more “normal” amount. Although she is not accessing campus like she used to, Cawley has still been able to stay on top of the recent entertainment trends.
“A lot of the trends I have followed I would learn about from friends who I would see on a day-to-day basis rather than in class or in the dining hall,” Cawley said.
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