Alex Montanile

The influence of Social Media on the World of Cars

Cars have been a large part of human life for the better part of a century now, and are a cornerstone to our culture as a society. Without the development of automobiles, the right to individual travel would cease to exist, therefore eliminating the possibilities that come with such a wonderful advancement. Cars allow people to work far from home, move around economically and efficiently, drive crates of goods to a store to sell them, and the list goes on. There is an entire economy surrounding cars, from cars made on an assembly line that the average american household would buy, such as a toyota corolla, nissan altima, kia optima, etc. However, there is a massive market for high end vehicles, spanning from antique vehicles, to sports cars, luxury, modded cars, and straight up lighting fast ones as well. With cars being such a large part of society, the automobile appeal also has a sizable community online. Through platforms such as Youtube,Facebook, and what we will be focusing on, Instagram, cars are maintaining their status as a highly valued commodity. This online community is so large, it is very possible that it is influencing the car community in general. What cars people buy, which cars people tend to see as cooler, the style of vehicles, and what to look for.

There are the obvious ways to detect influence upon the car community from social media, and one of those ways is seeing car meets being posted. Car meets are when people who own high end vehicles(often modded cars), meet up and show off their vehicle. One page with over 10 thousand followers called “car_meets.nyc”, posts when and where many car meets around the city are taking place on any given night. This allows for people online, following similar pages to link up and see what they are scrolling through in real life. Pages such as “carlifestyle” and, “modded state”, have hundreds of thousands, or millions of followers. Not every single one of their followers have a beautiful vehicle, like the ones being posted. The posting of the car meets is a good way for the online car community to come to life. Many of the people interact only with the page, as when carlifestyle posts a picture of an Italia 458, there isn’t much else to say other than “nice car”(people may replace the word car with “whip”, as this also means car), a fire emoji, or some comment of that sort. Some share their individual car, on their own personal accounts, and that is when more interaction tends to happen. People asking what mod for the car is coming next(ex:Are you going to put a spoiler on it?Are you going to lower the suspension?etc), complimenting what they like with a thank you from the owner, and whatever else people feel like saying.

Many people who follow these accounts are enthusiasts of the automobile industry. The types of people who have watched the first couple fast and furious movies countless times and almost know the lines, and play video games like need for speed, or forza horizon obsessively. Following these pages and being a part of this community influences many of these already car obsessed people to make certain decisions in their real life. Such as going out and buying that skyline r34 they’ve always wanted, as they see other people making their car their hobby, so people think “why can’t I?”. This is the cycle of the high end car community, and how being online is pushing it forward into a new generation of car ownership. There are multiple guys who have car Youtube channels as well, where they buy and drive their cars to essentially show them off and give their personal review on the motor vehicle. People watching the channel like the vehicles, and are interested in seeing someone drive them. These content creators often make Instagrams and post many of their cars there too. One main person like this goes by the tag,”Omi in a Hellcat”. His name has Omi in it, and a Hellcat is a type of car. He has just over 1 million followers, and a very large collection of vehicles. The judgements he makes about certain automobiles may influence his viewers in their decisions in their buying process. His opinion matters because it has a large platform to be shared upon. Many may make their next car related decision based on what he has to say. They may not buy a car they had in mind, or they may sell a car he says will depreciate in value. His word holds power over the market of vehicles. Which brings me to the point of what the online car community is like. As there is no base model on what a page should look like or who will be owning it, as it can literally be anyone. Someone with 1 follower posting their vehicle is a part of this community, which makes it unique. No outside contact is needed, only sharing the love for the hobby and or lifestyle of cars.

In essence, social media has a huge influence over the car community. Considering the car community has such a large following online, the influence on the real life car community,market,etc, was bound to be big as well. People in America have been obsessed with cars since the Model T, giving any excuse to use one, such as a drive in movie or a drive through restaurant. Teenagers tend to set the newest car trends, as they are the youngest legal car owners, and the young people of society always determine what comes next. More importantly, young people make up the majority of the online community we call social media, therefore will have a profound influence on the online, and offline car community of the future.

Works Cited

Keenan Wells.(February 21, 2018). Car Culture and Social Media. Algonquin college social media certificate program.

This first source comes out of Algonquin college, and is about the heavy influence of social media on car culture, and what car culture may look like on social media such as Facebook. Starting with a basic intro, bringing forward the ideas of the importance of a motor vehicle and the rapid emergence of technology and our little online world we call social media. It then goes on to talk about how there are organized car meets that promote themselves and others through the powerful outlet of social media(in my case Instagram). How there are organized groups online who share a similar hobby or interest. It also touches on how now people can join a community to talk about similar interests, such as an interest in a certain line of cars or brand. Now there is a massive amount of vehicles people can see, as opposed to only seeing the cars in their neighborhood.

Tom Merola.(July 2, 2020). How the Automobile Shaped American culture. Tire Knowledge.

This source is meant to be more of a background source, giving information on cars and really what they may mean to any particular American, and it does just that. This article talks about the importance of cars throughout American history and the effect they have had on American culture. Starting with drive in movies and drive through restaurants, as drive in movies used to be a common thing for people to attend, and drive through restaurants may be more popular than ever in today’s society. He then goes to talk about the classic American road trip, which has been glorified in movies, and countless stories. The way in which a car is symbolizing a thriving household, being economically healthy enough to afford one. The sports to have come out of, such as NASCAR, or F1. The large market cars opened up, and the advertisement that came along with it, and the youth generations’ abundant interest in the newest and loudest cars.

ViacomCbs Global Insights.(October 14, 2014). How Money and Social Media Influence hobbies and activities. ViacomCbs insights.

The content of this article is very self explanatory and is evident in the title. It is directly about how money and social media are affecting people’s hobbies and favorite activities. Since the ownership,liking, or obsession with motor vehicles is counted as a hobby for many, this article is quite helpful. Stating that without money, hobbies or activities become difficult to maintain, and that there is an absolute need for capital if someone is interested in something like this. However people can improvise and adapt to their hobby of choice without a lot of money, but this takes industrial smarts and improvisation. The article then shifts to speaking on social media’s influence on hobbies and activities. How people may be influenced by others doing the same in social media, to act differently. They use the example of a chef, seeing other people’s kitchen creation dishes on social media platforms, and then attempting it themselves.