"Nerd" Culture

[Master_Craig]

I'm sure all of you have seen the very weird uprising of "Nerd Culture" over the past few years. I saw a post from the "Nerds do it better" Facebook page regarding this and it got me thinking...

I remember back in high school, it was considered a sin to be a geek/nerd. I was bullied often and didn't have many friends, due to how much of a "loser" I was who apparently spent all his free time drawing and gaming.

Nowadays... it's suddenly "cool" to be wearing big thick black glasses, a CoD t-shirt and bragging about all the phat loot you scored in D3, or how many n00bs you pwnt in whatever online game you're playing.

Has anyone else noticed this? What do you think?

I think it's weird, man.

 

[danielrbischoff]

"Popular" nerd culture is a fad.

We're still all losers. Don't let them fool you.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

It's annoying, because the popular stuff and the good stuff aren't always one and the same.

I could rant for hours about this, but the Giants are on. So I'll do it later.

 

[Master_Craig]

"Popular" nerd culture is a fad.

We're still all losers. Don't let them fool you.

Haha, yes we are. I need to upload my figurine collection sometime... few years ago I uploaded a photo, however... my army has grown.

It's annoying, because the popular stuff and the good stuff aren't always one and the same.

I could rant for hours about this, but the Giants are on. So I'll do it later.

I could join you in such a rant in time.

 

[WickedLiquid]

I remember when social networking became popular with Facebook. It felt like everyone you knew IRL became an online friend. Before that online friends were people you only knew online, not your chums from Middle School. I think that was part of the nerd culture hitting the mainstream.

Also the casual gaming thing turned non-gamers onto gaming. My cousin who is 12 years older than me would always make fun of me for playing video games and never understood the appeal. Then she got a Wii for motion control games and Wii fit, then she gave Mariokart a chance and was hooked on Mario games. Now she has a 360 and plays those awful Kinnect games like Just Dance. And when she visits she wants to play LBP and Sound Shapes. It's the most bonding we've ever done in my entire life. I never thought I'd see the day. Go figure.

 

[danielrbischoff]

"Popular" nerd culture is a fad.
We're still all losers. Don't let them fool you.

Haha, yes we are. I need to upload my figurine collection sometime... few years ago I uploaded a photo, however... my army has grown.

That's the odd thing about this rise in "nerd culture." Your original points were based twice on shitty fashion trends. I think you can spot a "real" nerd if you are one, but in the mean time they'll all prance around like morons.

Sorry if it seemed like I was writing off your topic in my original post, just my kneejerk reaction

 

[Master_Craig]

Haha, no worries.

Yeah, it's funny how nerd culture is like that now...

The only reason it bothers me so much is because when I was younger, being a nerd/geek was a bad thing for your social life. When I was in school - not many friends and bullied a lot for being a nerd (it didn't help that I was fat - "He just sits around playing video games all day" etc). Now being a nerd is like... "cool" and "sexy", especially the fashion of it.

Being a little off topic, don't get me wrong. I am attracted to nerdy females, but not the ones who slap on a pair of thick black glasses and hold a "I'm a nerd" sign in their hand. It doesn't work like that!

I feel like a hypocrite in a sense, as I own a few gaming t-shirts... Batman: Arkham Asylum (the Joker), Pac-Man, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Penny Arcade etc... but I love those franchises.

I need to draw now.

 

[UghRochester]

"Popular" nerd culture is a fad.
We're still all losers. Don't let them fool you.

Haha, yes we are. I need to upload my figurine collection sometime... few years ago I uploaded a photo, however... my army has grown.

That's the odd thing about this rise in "nerd culture." Your original points were based twice on shitty fashion trends. I think you can spot a "real" nerd if you are one, but in the mean time they'll all prance around like morons.

Sorry if it seemed like I was writing off your topic in my original post, just my kneejerk reaction

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we call these people "hipsters?"
Also, I haven't seen a change my area. The popular people walk about revealing too much skin and carrying their smartphones with them thinking it's cool to be a photographer with instagram. The populars to me, when I was in high school, we the cheerleaders and football players. The girls wouldn't know who Link was, but the football players would try acting like they know video games. It's not just video games, but computers as well.

I am attracted to nerdy females, but not the ones who slap on a pair of thick black glasses and hold a "I'm a nerd" sign in their hand. It doesn't work like that!

I like women that actually knows what my conversation is about and can relate. I don't go for the attractive ones, like Sara Underwood, because I feel they're a phony.

 

[Master_Craig]

^ Agreed!

Ha ha... the people of your high school sound totally different... when I was in high school, all the "popular" people consisted of sporty cocky party-type guys, and cocky-party type girls.

People tried to pretend video games didn't exist, but I'm pretty sure most people would have owned an X-Box or PS2 back then...

Ah yes... "hipsters"...

 

[Bretimus_v2]

I was unpopular before it was popular.


Speaking of which, I went out to a huge pumpkin patch (the kind with rides, events, etc) over the weekend while wearing my Borderlands 2 shirt (thank you, Anthony). I had a bunch of adults (20-40), male and female, compliment my shirt. It was rather bizarre. Weird modern world we live in.

 

[Master_Craig]

Borderlands 2 is a cool game... the shirt sounds cool, it's nice people liked your shirt but yeah I agree, strange modern world huh?

Your signature is boss by the way.

 

[WickedLiquid]

The Simpsons have also taught us the internet was ultra nerdy in the 90's

Marge: "What's wrong with this phone?! It's making crazy noises!"
Nerd 1: "Those 'crazy noises' are computer signals."
Nerd 2: "Yeah, some guys at M.I.T. are sending us reasons why Captain Picard is better than Captain Kirk."
Nerd 3: "Hah! they're out of their minds!"


We've come a long way!

 

[Green_Lantern]

a CoD t-shirt and bragging about all the phat loot you scored in D3

To be fair...These two still aren't cool.

 

[Master_Craig]

a CoD t-shirt and bragging about all the phat loot you scored in D3

To be fair...These two still aren't cool.

Yeah the CoD shirts are pretty lame.

I thought D3 was cool, until I realised it was the exact same game as D2.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

Yeah, and neck beards will never be sexy.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

I actually use "neckbeard" instead of "nerd" because of how much nerd has been misused as a word.

But yeah, I can usually tell who's serious and who really isn't. Like, there are a lot of "entry level" (for lack of a better phrase) games that when people obsess over them, I know they're less serious.

 

[madster111]

I once wore a MW3 shirt when picking a friend up from a public high school and walked around, looking as fat as i could and breathing loudly uncomfortably close to girls with obvious boyfriends. I'm pretty sure i said 'noob' out loud once or twice, too.

I didn't even get punched once.

It was then that i knew this world is doomed.

 

[intoTheRain]

its never been uncool to be geeky/nerdy. it's just that most nerds are socially awkward introverts. which is what makes them uncool.

its more like it's always been uncool to be a socially awkward introvert, and it just so happens most of the socially awkward introverts like nerdy things. so nerds being uncool became the stereotype.


personally im an introvert, but not socially awkward. never had a problem getting along with people despite loving geeky/nerdy things. i just always preferred my alone time. never liked to party, but would occasionally just because i felt i had to. always preferred just chillin with a few friends and gettin drunk/baked and having fun. or being alone period.

but yes. i think it is becoming more cool, and the reason it's becoming more cool is geeky things are becoming more mainstream, and the cool kids are now doing, and loving, all the things only geeks and nerds used to.

carrying their smartphones with them thinking it's cool to be a photographer with instagram.

lol.. so classic. so many professional photographers taking photos of flowers and food on facebook.

 

[Master_Craig]

I really never understood the whole food photography on Facebook with mobile phones.

Reminds me of this girl on my Facebook, posts one day ranting that people who use "Instagram" are losers and wannabe photographers.

And now she uses Instagram.

And takes photos of food.

 

[Wes]

its never been uncool to be geeky/nerdy.

I wish I went to your highschool.

Anything technology related was once considered to be nerdy. But that changed once the tech was mobile. Chicks love their phones and once texting took off it wasnt long before mobile technology was introduced to girls. Then smart phones became popular and now we have "gamers" who never would have touched an N64 in the 90's