Discovery Project

Punk made its “first” appearance around the 1970s as a means of protest against political, social and economic status. It became popularized among the youth due its transgressive themes that allowed people to feel accepted in a community that didn’t agree with the rest of society. Along with the music itself came other traits of punk such as fashion. Punk fashion wasn’t necessarily born from anything, it was mostly people wearing old raggedy clothes since the majority of people who listened to punk often lived in poverty. Once punk became more popularized, the fashion became a staple. 

It wasn’t just clothes, it was hairstyles, piercings, tattoos, or anything that went against normal society. Punk was very popular throughout the 80s, but slowly began trickling out of style as other genres of music that were more transgressive started coming out. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, punk seemed to have died. Genres such as Nu Metal, Metal Core, Emo, and Post Hardocre started sweeping stages for transgressive youth, leaving punk behind, but in more recent years, punk music has seemed to have made its way back to mainstream culture. 

Social media has allowed punk musicians to regain popularity by sharing their original music on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Much of the content that is posted consists of reels showcasing bands playing their music either in their homes or at live venues, which gives audiences more of a connection to their music. One band in particular that gained popularity through social media is the pop-punk band The Paradox.

This is a single from one of The Paradox’s most recent EP releases titled NSFW turned into a live reel on Instagram. It was TikTok's and reels in this format that gave them their popularity. Their social media content brought them as far as opening for Green Day and having the drummer for Blink-182, Travis Barker, feature on a single and play with them live. Punk bands like this post very similar content, which aids in the revival of punk.

Content for punk fashion has consistently risen to mainstream media. The content usually consists of fashion creators showcasing their outfits through edits. The edits usually have punk songs in the background, which further contributes to the growing popularity of punk music. When popular content creators incorporate fashion and the music of the genre into their platforms, it starts reaching social media users who might be unfamiliar, further building the community.

Popular fashion creator Dimas Bazan consistently posts on Tik Tok and Instagram showing his love for punk fashion and music. In this video, he is seen in a public subway showing the outfit he most likely created himself. His video has more than 12,000 likes on Instagram and 11,000 likes on TikTok. He might be a micro-influencer at this point in his career, but the number of people he has reached with his content is actually really good for the punk community. He emphasizes in his social media bios that he is against fast fashion and supports D.I.Y. clothing, which is how punk fashion originated when the genre was first becoming popular in the 1970s.

Punk hasn’t always been the most popular genre to take on big stages and festivals like it has been lately, but social media has allowed even backyard shows to gain a lot of attention. Being able to share photos, TikToks and reels showing smaller, local communities of punk can draw a lot of attention.

Photography influencer Rob Coons recently posted a photo of the band Nosferatu playing at Oakland Metro, a smaller venue in Oakland that often throws punk shows. The photo shows the lead singer on stage jumping roughly five feet in the air in front of the crowd. Rob Coons has a following of 46,500 on Instagram, which is his main social media platform. Photographers with a big following posting primarily punk musicians and smaller local venues allow the online community to grow. Other photographers who post their local scenes are easily reached through the social media algorithm, allowing people from all over to support the growing online community. It’s positive reinforcement for the punk scene knowing that even the smaller venues and shows still get a lot of attention.

Social media has definitely aided in the growing popularity of punk. Through posting original music from the new wave of punk artists, punk fashion and smaller shows, punk has been getting a lot of attention. It has opened doors for people who are interested in the music scene but haven’t had the chance to be a part of it. New wave musicians have been taking off and gaining popularity by starting off posting on social media, while the fashion scene allows people to see what the culture is like. Influential photographers get to showcase their own local scene and share it with the online community, further growing the scene as a whole. For more than a decade, punk hasn’t had the popularity it does now. Only recently has punk made a staple both online and in the music industry, marking its long-awaited revival.