It seems that in our world of social media, the party lifestyle is alive and glamorous, especially when it comes to the consumption of cannabis. Celebrities like Miley Cyrus have built up their bad girl image by openly smoking weed at their concerts and on Instagram, creating a new trend of pot culture with young females. Yet while weed may be gaining legalization nationally, it is up to debate whether these ‘role models’ should be capitalizing on the marijuana lifestyle and spreading this message to their young fan base.
Miley Cyrus gained immense fame off of the Disney show Hannah Montana, becoming the most successful tween icon the world had ever seen. After departing from the Disney show, Miley experimented with broadening her musicality with songs like ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ and ‘Party In The USA’, but her image was still very squeaky clean and she wasn’t reaching her own age group with her current image. So Miley decided to re-invent herself, and a twerking, tongue out, wild child Miley was born and since then her status as America’s Sweetheart gone ratchet has exploded.
And with her new image, Miley has openly expressed that she smokes weed and has even gone as far as making it a part of her brand. While Miley may have grown out of her Disney roots, young girls still follow the singer which brings speculation to whether Miley should be advertising her bad girl ways as an entertainment in the spotlight. It is easy to judge Miley on her rebellion, yet many forget that Miley Cyrus is a young twenty something and that breaking away from the rules comes with the territory of being young. If you were to go on a college campus anywhere in the United States, girls would be smoking weed because it’s just a thing that you do when you’re young and want to have a good time. Then again it is a completely different story when you’re a public figure with millions of Instagram followers.
Although not only are female celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna advertising their interests in marijuana on social media, but in recent years the number of smokers among young women on social media has gained popularity. More and more young women can be seen smoking weed on social media, making a point that ‘pothead’ is not just a term used for guys. Smoking weed has become a trend among young girls and from the looks of it, many post their daily fixes to build a social media following. Everyone these days appears to be looking to boost their page’s popularity and #girlswhosmoke is a hashtag that will get you followers. And not to discount these women, but should they be ‘followed’ for trying to gain popularity off of a bad girl image like Rihanna and Miley?
Of course a girl can smoke without trying to gain attention from guys or the media, but it’s debatable whether posting on social media is a necessary step to get high. And of course this doesn’t just go for females, guys do the same to come off as the new Bob Marley of the marijuana community. Social media is becoming such a huge part of our lives as young people of the Internet age, where posting every ‘exciting’ moment is a habit. But at what cost do we regular people pay for wanting to be like Miley?
As college students we are preparing to go into the job force and social media is one of the first things that employers look at when deciding who to hire. Even though our world is becoming increasingly liberal to weed and legalization, we aren’t quite at the point where smoking a joint is the same as have a cocktail at the bar. In no way should young people feel stifled by the pressures of the older generation because these are changing times, yet it is extremely important to keep it professional. Think before you post, because every tweet can be traced back when it comes time for an interview.