Does society control people or do people control society?

Everybody has different opinions. I believe that it depends on the person opinion and it does not have a right or a certain answer.

I believe that both are correct. Society is a cycle.

Initially, it starts with people controlling society. In turn, society controls people.

It is important to remember that we are society. The "people" are society. We make up society. Society is not some tiny group of people controlling us and making the rules from a distant capitol out of a dystopian novel.

People control society. The choices we make are what make up the "rules of society." Trends are created by us. We choose to wear the things we wear, we choose to make famous people famous. Justin Bieber wouldn't be famous is we didn't listen to his music. Red lipstick wouldn't be a trend if nobody wore it. Therefore our choices directly impact society.

Society controls people. After something becomes "trendy" or famous, more people want to start wearing/following it, so they fit in better. They want to conform to the ideals set by magazines and tv shows. They want to do what everybody else is (it is important to note here that I am generalizing - there are people who want to be different). Additionally, society controls what is considered "social acceptable." In that way, "rules" are formed that we must follow.

So, as you can see, there are solid arguments for both sides. Personally, I believe it is a cycle. We start out controlling society, but then eventually our choices affect a greater group of people.