An Observation on The Seperate Effects of Two Shows on Youth

Reflecting on my earlier school years (namely early high-school and prior) I have realized certain turning points on how my peers behaved, and these turning points were induced by television. (Note that this post is based on the personal observations of my friends and I, so I fear objectivity is out of the question. However, no offence or any attempt at a definition of socially correct behavior is intended.)

One of these turning points is the dawn of Kurtlar Vadisi: The show that suddenly spawned incredible numbers of mafia wannabes. Prior to this show, I recall many boys around my age to have different interests, in their youthful quest to develop a personality. Given the inclination of a certain aspect of Turkish culture, many sought to establish themselves as culturally appropriate badasses, however the traits they displayed, the way they dressed and such were relatively diverse, and many held a variety of interests. It all changed with the popularization of Kurtlar Vadisi - A Mafia Dizi.
All of a sudden, around 80% of the boys in my school, and - based on observations - around 60-70% of boys in Ankara - started to wear black, woolen trenchcoats, started tapping their heads together, instead of the usual kiss on the cheek, were heavily invested in arabesk music.... The most striking aspect of their transformation however was that they actually formed miniature mafia-like communities. They found it offensively odd when someone didn't fit their expectations of a "proper man" (mind you that we were but children), and they mercilessly spurned - and even physically assaulted - their own, had they had done something out of the "ordinary". I remember a boy, who was a fan of a Turkish rock band, that was being chastised by his "gang" for it, and I remember him denying his fascination with the band as if to save his life. This group of would-be mobsters were a friendly bunch just a few years before, who were open to new things, and tolerant towards varieties of ideas. They had suddenly become different people, as if possessed by spirits of the Turkish mafia: Ubi sunt? Many of them, if not all, have still not formed personalities of their truest inner thoughts, because any developing aspect of their youth has been assimilated into a glorified mafia culture. I say this, because I've known the persons that they were, prior to their alteration, I remember how they used to be.

The girls around my age group were similarly effected by a tv show - though not on such a grand scale as the boys - and by a specific character in said tv show, that seemingly altered their personality almost irreversably. This character was Selin Yerebakan from the sitcom Avrupa Yakası. Defined as "Tiki" by society, many girls, who had even a slight inclination, suddenly had a drastic change in the way they dressed, and the way they acted, but above all, the way they talked.
Aspiring to the manner Selin conversed, their speech became the most exaggerated form of articulation possible for the Turkish language. They warped words into forms that sparked an irritatingly unnecassary amount of pink heart shapes floating around a person's mind, their stretched vowels pierced the ears of those that were not too busy trying to "earn their favor".... They were also the epitomy of conformity. They were the ones who'd follow what was supposed to be popular, and behave like popularity was the only virtue a person would need. Like princesses turned queens by Selin's example, they would wear the latest fashion, own the latest mobile phones, and constantly compete in an unforgiving social competition based on superficiality. What seemed interesting however, is that this didn't seem to cost them a single penny. They had mafia money.

A somewhat pleasant side to observe in all this, was that there formed a harmony between the "mafia kids" who had their parents' money in their pockets, and their demanding "Tiki" girlfriends. The boys would have a popular girl around their arm to show off their social status, and to hold as a reason to pick a fight with another potential candidate or rival, and the girls would have a bad boy who'd give them his undivided attention, and buy them an unnecessary amount of expensive things. Some of them even got married.

Luckily -seemingly -, these changes mostly influenced those who were born around 1991-1995. I say luckily because, even though these masses of specific TV incuded personalities are still around, things seem to have levelled off in later born individuals, at least, to my knowledge.

The question that comes to my mind is, what kind of people they'd be today, if not for those two shows? Would they have been the same indiviuals of a herd, but in a less intense level? Would they have diversified, and have learned to independently practice a sort of non-conforming personality?

I at least take comfort in the fact that - as I said in my previous post - some things like Fox Kids still reside in them. Yet it saddens me that, where they would talk of Fox Kids, or video games, or such pleasures prior to their mental takeover when alone, they will deny any knowledge of such things should but a single person from their world be present.

They may have always had inclinations towards becoming the persons that they are today, or perhaps they were just young people going through youth. However, it seems clear to me that TV gave them - at the very least - a truly powerful push.