Ryan Dunn vs. The Media

Ryan Dunn has always been known to the public as one of the daredevils that performed on the popular show Jackass.  While some people don't like him because of all of the antics and jokes he plays, I feel that most people my age look at him as more of a funny guy and actor, having grown up while the show was popular.  Sadly, he passed away about a month ago in a car crash that took not only his own life, but his passenger's as well.  Ever since this happened, the media have swarmed over why he was driving that night as well trying to figure out what really happened.  This skyrocketed his image all over the world as some people put him down as being just another drunk driver, while others celebrated his death with memorials and tributes.  Also, probably the biggest part about this story is that through media and social networking, there is a rumor that his death was faked and he and the Jackass crew were trying to get everybody's reactions to put in a new movie.  I don't think this is true as it would be a cruel joke to the public and would result in major backlash against all who would be involved.
     Social media didn't really seem to affect Ryan Dunn's image before websites like Facebook and Twitter, and even after those sites became popular, him image was still pretty much the same.  The only difference was, was that he had a little bit easier of a time communicating with fans and he could talk about what he wanted.  Social media didn't seem to affect Dunn's image a lot until his untimely death back on June 20th.  After news of his death got out, media outlets all raced to figure out what happened and tried to explain their own thoughts and opinions on what happened to the daredevil.
     I think that social media does make it easier to become a celebrity, because once someone gets on a television show or has a song come on the radio; it is very likely that a large quantity of people will see or hear them and become interested.  This would be followed people telling their friends and family about the person, then which would be followed by more and more people becoming familiar with the person, creating a celebrity out of them.  Without social networking, the world would not have any celebrities.  Ryan Dunn probably wouldn't be a celebrity without any kind of social media.  This is because if he would have never been on the show Jackass, then no body would have seen him on it and no body would even know who he was.  He would be just like any other average person without the help of these media outlets.
     Our definition of a celebrity has been changed immensely due to the growing media outlets and what is considered popular by today's standards.  Before Facebook and Twitter, fans just heard about celebrities from news broadcasts or live events.  However, now that these two modes of social media are as popular as they are, the celebrities can communicate with their fans and post interesting information about themselves or their hobbies online for everyone to see.  Also, with Youtube becoming so popular, a lot of kids, music acts, and comedians have come to be hugely successful just from the help of Youtube.  I feel that Youtube is one of the most important media tools in the last 10 years, as it can launch someone's video for the whole world to see, possibly making that person very popular.  If Youtube never existed, then a lot of today's popular celebrities would never have been as prominent as they are, because without that gigantic form of social media, nobody would have had any idea that these people even existed or could do what they can.  Also, I’m sure that a lot of things that have become popular recently, weren't popular until somebody introduced the world to them.  So if something was never introduced, it is very possible that a lot of the general public would never have known that they would grow to like whatever it is.
     The role that social media plays in our world is probably one of the most important things that has ever happened to mankind.  This is because now as a culture and society, we have the tools to find whatever we want, or to show as many people as possible something new.  If somebody has an idea, they could just post a video on Youtube, or post something on Twitter or Facebook, and everyone that was connected to them would see the post, which would pass the idea along to thousands of other people.  This could all happen in a matter of minutes, which makes this form of media, one of the most useful forms ever.  I think that the beauty behind social media is that anyone can participate in it, and everyone who does has the capability to say whatever they want to, while sharing with the rest of the world, just from the click of a button.