Week 6: Digital Citizenship, Hashtag Publics,Political Engagement and Activism- BLACKPINK Broke the Internet Again 🌐
Welcome back to Pinkabombom’s Blog. This year, the Met Gala was celebrated the other day with the stunning theme of “Costume Art.” Once the red carpet looks were released, I noticed how my social media were filled with amazing fashion from some really artistic designers from across the world. Every person who attended the event came prepared to stun everyone with daring silhouettes and interesting fashion concepts. But the most shocking and exciting moment of the night was seeing all members of BLACKPINK🖤🩷 appearing at the event as solo artists, shining individually. I can’t believe how proud BLINKS feel when they see them there representing their incredible power in fashion and music as individual artists. Their appearances quickly became one of the hottest topics across social media, proving once again the powerful global presence of BLACKPINK.
Met Gala is much more than just another fashion show. It has already been established as a digital community event. Previously, celebrity events were covered via TV and magazines. However, today we have entered the age of digital citizenship and platformization, when fans no longer just watch an event, they become part of it on a virtual level.
K-pop fans collaborate in a participatory culture where they actively create media and take leadership roles within their fan communities by producing and promoting content on social media (Roslan et al., 2024). According to earlier research by Kim et al. (2022), pro-social and responsible actions taken by SNS members outside of their official roles are referred to as SNS citizenship behavior. Thus, BLINKS engaged in meme-making, reposting livestream footage, debating fashion elements, translating interviews, and posting updates across various social media platforms. In some cases, fans were even quicker than official news sources. Seriously, K-pop fandoms need journalism degrees at this point.
And it’s here where the power of hashtag publicity comes. Omena et al. (2020) pointed out that using hashtags can convey local or international discussions, small or large events, and contentious or uncontroversial topics. Last night, hashtags like #BLACKPINK, #Jennie, #Lisa, and #MetGala2026 totally took over all of the social networking sites. People from all across the world who had never met each other suddenly found themselves interacting together online over dresses, hairstyles, luxury goods, and interactions between idols.
The other crucial idea mentioned was platformization. Based on James (2025), platformization is the process of changing daily interactions from offline to technologically mediated. They have evolved beyond being mere applications for communication since algorithms have become essential in defining users' media and cultural consumption online. TikTok consistently pushed BLACKPINK covers on people's For You Page feed, Instagram highlighted luxurious fashion content, while Twitter enabled users to participate in trending topics. People who did not consume K-pop music found themselves well-informed about BLACKPINK's Met Gala fashion despite their unwillingness (love Jisoo🪐 looks by Dior).
To sum up, BLACKPINK at the Met Gala is much more than celebrity fashion media. It speaks how digital community, hashtag public, digital participation, and platformization play roles in kpop fandom culture and global popularity. Social media have empowered fandoms, turning them into active content creators rather than passive consumers of content🌟
Anyways, Anna Wintour, can you invite my bias Kim MingYu from Seventeen after his military term ends in 2028👉🏻👈🏻
( BTW Isuccessfully secure the Asia Top Music Festival today to meet CxM🩵)
References:
James, S. (2025). Affective participation from the In-Between: the platformization of K-Pop fandom. Social Media + Society, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251351390
Kim, J., Kim, K., Park, B., & Choi, H. (2022). The Phenomenon and Development of K-Pop: The Relationship between Success Factors of K-Pop and the National Image, Social Network Service Citizenship Behavior, and Tourist Behavioral Intention. Sustainability, 14(6), 3200. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063200
Omena, J. J., Rabello, E. T., & Mintz, A. G. (2020). Digital methods for hashtag Engagement research. Social Media + Society, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120940697
Roslan, M. A. A., Nasharuddin, N. A., & Murad, M. A. A. (2024). The social media effect: How K-Pop fans are driven by social influence and community norms. Journal of Media and Information Warfare, 17(2), 83-92.












