In 2015, rapper Yo Gotti released “Down in the DM” which rose to the top of many music charts. And up until now, there has not been a song that more accurately depicts today’s new “Snapchat generation.” Millennials are growing up with more forms of technology and communication than ever before. But is that a good thing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXSpXO4N-tI
Lets take a look at this chart topper from last year. For those who don’t know, a DM is short for “Direct Message” which can be used to send discreet messages on Twitter and Instagram, which are popular social media sites that this new “Snapchat generation” is using. In the song, Yo Gotti, who’s real name is Mario Mims, raps about how things “Go down in the DM” just like the title of the song. But what is in fact “going down?” After quite a few listens to the song that many members of todays youth find popular, it’s clear to me that Yo Gotti has been sexting (sexual texting) people through these popular social media sites.
And not just on Instabook for Facegram either. The real culprit in this song is Snapchat itself. In the song Gotti says “snapchat me that p***y if it’s cool,” foul language aside, it’s very clear that he wants women to send him sexual photos of themself, but only if its “cool.”
This new generation that has grown up with so many forms of technology that something as personal and private as naked photography is now being tossed around so casually that it's not a big deal anymore. And this song by Yo Gotti is a symptom of a much larger problem. That larger problem is that these Snapchat users have become too cavalier in their social lives, and as a culture we need to start to recognize the differences in this new generation than in the older one.
This song embodies everything that the youth culture stands for. You can learn everything you need to know about the next generation by just listening to the lyrics, or reading them online, sometimes Yo Gotti is a little hard to understand. But it’s not just Yo Gotti who raps on this song either. Former American Idol judge Nicki Minaj takes part in this direct message nonsense as well. Minaj, who is also a rapper in addition to her American Idol fame, is featured on the remix to Yo Gotti’s song. Minaj has over 20 million followers on Twitter. That’s a huge influence that Minaj might hold over people. There hasn’t been many studies that show how much influence someone has over their twitter followers, but it’s probably a lot, I mean, they are called “followers” right?
Today’s youth culture is going to have bigger cultural gap from their parents’ generation than another gap we’ve seen before. And boy, are people going to have to be ready for it because the Snapchat generation is about to enter the work force. So you might become coworkers with people who know what “goes down in the DM” or someone who sends lewd snapchat’s of themself. So be ready America, the Snapchat generation is coming and they’re going to change everything. Be prepared.
