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Communication Theory

“Bama Rush TikTok” and Co-Cultures

Last month, a cultural phenomenon occurred as students began to move back into their universities as they start back in the school year. This phenomenon occurred on the very popular app, TikTok, and was trending like wildfire for several weeks. This was known as “Bama Rush TikTok.” For most, sorority rush does not seem like a very newsworthy topic. However, at large southern schools like The University of Alabama, greek life takes a huge part in the culture, or co-culture of those schools. Many of the videos linked to this trend were “Outfit of the Days” or “OOTDs” for short. A lot of the videos linked to this trend, obtained over several million views in a matter of hours. People from all over the world were following girls’ rush week experiences, all the way up to bid day. Not only did this trend display the co-cultures within the south, but can also allow us to study the communication efforts within marketing.

People of a large culture often share similar values and beliefs. Within these larger cultures are smaller groups that are considered as co-cultures. Co-cultures can consist of more specific characteristics rather than a large culture like age, gender, common interests like sports, etc. It is important that we must educate and become aware of other co-cultures values to maintain good communication. Griffen explains communication as, “a relational process not only because it takes place between two or more persons, but also because it affects the nature of the connections among those people” (7). With the subject of sorority rush trending, it introduced characteristics of greek life to people who may have not been educated on the topic beforehand. Viewers from all around the world were liking and sharing the videos, intrigued about sororities. People already involved in these co-cultures, like greek life in general, were given an outlet to share more sorority content and values.  This is an instance of effective communication that allows others to become aware and knowledgeable of a certain co-culture.

As we communicate with messages, it is up to our interpretation to decide what we believe. However, if we communicate effectively, we can allow others to receive the messages clearly with intent, which can be beneficial to both parties. For Bama rush, these young women used short videos to expose their co-culture, joining a sorority, as well as clear misconceptions about greek-life. They were wildly successful as the views reached millions daily as well as sponsorships rolling in. The clothing they were wearing in these videos, were quickly sold out from boutiques in hours, almost creating a sub-genre of rush outfits. Social media is a huge part of communication today as we have the ability to send messages to an audience larger than ever before. Trends like these, allow us, receivers, to obtain more information on topics we may have not been exposed to before. It is important to take advantage of these powerful modes of communication as we can share our own cultures and ideas effectively.

 

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