Throwback Thursday: Social Media Magic

I watched season 1 of Love Alarm the other day (yes, the full thing in one day) and it got me thinking about how omnipresent social media has become in society. From online dating to monitoring health to keeping up with your bias group, technology plays an integral part in today’s everyday life. Our favorite K-Pop stars are aware of this as well, with themes of social media weaving in and out of some of the most viral hits. 

“LIKEY” - TWICE

TWICE’s 2017 release “LIKEY” is about as straightforward as it gets when it comes to the way that social media can affect one’s life. In the song, the girls are pining after their crushes, hyper-focused on how they interact with them on SNS. This leads to the ladies of TWICE overthinking what they post in the hopes of impressing that special someone. It’s something anyone can relate to—after all, there’s no better feeling than being noticed by the object of your affections—but more often than not, the best way to impress is just to be yourself.

“Noir” - Sunmi

While Sunmi’s 2019 single “Noir” isn’t about social media, the music video for the track is a darker commentary on how people can get too caught up in their online image. Society’s obsession with keeping up perfect appearances can lead to people neglecting the bigger picture or, even worse, going to desperate extremes just for likes and retweets.

“INSTANT” - Park Kyung feat. SUMIN

Block B’s Park Kyung released the 2018 track “INSTANT” with the help of SUMIN. The song is less about SNS and more about the general instant gratification that has become so ubiquitous in modern day society. In the song, he critiques everything from instant food to revolving romantic relationships, lamenting that the authenticity of life has been traded in for quick results.

“Network Love” - SEVENTEEN

Though social media can certainly have its downfalls, the magic of technology in its ability to bring people together is crystal clear. Social media has allowed people to form relationships from opposite sides of the world and it’s this concept that forms the message of SEVENTEEN’s 2019 B-side “Network Love.” Even more appropriately, the song is performed by the group’s “international” line composed of Chinese members Jun and THE8 and American-born members Joshua and Vernon.

“I Like It” - BTS

BTS debuted as a hip-hop group with their heavier tracks “No More Dream” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2,” but their B-side “I Like It” pulls from R&B with its relaxed beats and honey-smooth vocals. In the song, the boys muse about the struggles of moving on from a breakup, using the motif of browsing social media, only to find their ex-lover has moved on. The group even used the theme again in their Japanese follow-up, aptly titled “I Like It Pt. 2.”