Is "Nerd" The New Mainstream?

[Vulpes 26]

Alright, I've been thinking, so I go to school with a pony shirt, I get all compliments. I wear my sock monkey hat. Compliments. Spider-Man tie. Pokemon. Mario. Your stereotypical american nerd with Marvel comics, video games galore, at least as I have seen, no longer gets insulted. On the contrary, people seem to like it. If It's not just me, perhaps, could what was once looked down upon become something to respect? Why, I dress up as Aang (from Avatar, The Last Airbender) for superhero day, and people seem to respect me MORE.

 

Some people will respect it for being gutsy, and some people are mature enough not to be insulting, most in my experiences, so what about the people who seem to simply like it? They seem to be in great number. Has nerdy become simply ingrained into pop culture? Minecrafters, bronies, whovians, is that the modern norm?

 

Food for thought... opinions?

[Night Shine 767]

As much as I wish this was true and as much as I could believe it on the Internet, I haven't found this to be true.

 

Just about everypony at my school are into either sports, weed, or sports. >.<

 

There are certain groups and circles where this is the case, though. Those are generally the people I hang around with because they're friendlier and less, well, judgemental a-holes.

[Shiki 5,855]

I would never go that far as to say the "norm", but certainly things have gone quite in this direction. I've actually had a few conversations with some of the "jocks" in my school about classic video games back during the NES days, so yes, things certainly are veering. Which may... suck. People will start to like things for no reason, and quality will go down (CoD scenario, bro). But that's another topic for discussion.

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

I was a nerd before it was mainstream.

It's so mainstream i'm suprised this thread was started so soon, it was supposed to be a secret.

[Charming Knight 56]

yes sadly it has become the new Hip thing i was thinking about it when i was in highschool i was labeled as a Gamer Nerd and such, just cause I enjoyed what i did, now only a couple of years after that everyones a "gamer" or likes these shows and such which confuses me cause less then like 3 years ago you where making fun of me for liking them. so its sad to say its become the Hip thing now.

 

 

[ToridAkbolto 170]

yes sadly it has become the new Hip thing i was thinking about it when i was in highschool i was labeled as a Gamer Nerd and such, just cause I enjoyed what i did, now only a couple of years after that everyones a "gamer" or likes these shows and such which confuses me cause less then like 3 years ago you where making fun of me for liking them. so its sad to say its become the Hip thing now.

 

 

 

I respectfully disagree. I've always been an introvert and picked up gaming in elementary school. Many hours a day, grade killing hardcore gaming. Now I'm in college and there are a lot more people who think of themselves as gamers and nerds, and I find that okay. You don't need to have always been a nerd to suddenly decide you want to be one. If it's a lifestyle that works for you, I won't question it and am glad that we have something in common. I don't see myself as superior in any way despite the fact that I've been a nerd for longer. I'm happy to have someone to relate to and a community that won't insult me for who I am.

 

 

I would also like to point out to anyone in this thread saying once a thing becomes mainstream that quality goes down, that this is just untrue. You are looking for the wrong things and only appreciate what you've seen before. Regardless of whether or not something is mainstream, things will change. People don't like change, but in the end, it is always a good thing. Some games will lose features that the developers didn't feel was right. Sometimes this will be a lot of features. But good game developers are good for a reason. For example, look at the elder scrolls series. I'll bet none of you were with them the entire time, from arena. I know I wasn't. Look at their last year's release of Skyrim. Definitely mainstream. Topped steam charts for 3 months straight, with easily 50,000 people more than the next game over. I played Skyrim. I played Oblivion too. I can definitely say the quality has not gone down.

Edited October 1, 2012 by jwutheheadcase

[Xero1 124]

an interesting debatable Idea but I don't think nerd has become mainstream yet. I think nerds have just gained alot of respect is all.

We make things mainstream people enjoy. Animations, video games, comic books, Smart phones, computers, Television. Nerds made these things. You like it when people provide you with things you like. So what if they are bit eccentric. Wearing pony shirts or maybe never combing thier hair. you don't have to be a nerd to appreciate a nerd. Just like I don't have to be an attractive young lady to appreciate one.

[Fox 5,330]

I've gotten all sorts of thumbs up for all the silly nerdy stuff I usually wear, but your only going to get it from the people who understand the references. The branded items I possess that have gotten positive complements are:

-Sonic Hoodie

 

 

-New Era One Piece Hat

 

-Rainbow Dash Cloud Peek Shirt

 

-Full Metal Alchemist Shirt

 

Sometimes I'm sort of paranoid of wearing some clothing where people might have the nerve to insult me, except you got to realize no one should be bullying you for wearing cool pony clothing.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Fox

[Chigens and Kay 3,832]

In my experience at my school, this was not the case.

 

In fact, the opposite. If you wore stuff like that you would be made fun of or even beat up. Harsh, I know.

 

That's why I would stick to my small group of friends who shared similar interests in video games and "nerd stuff". There weren't many of us.

 

 

 

It could be true elsewhere, but my school was terrible.

 

 

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

I am nerdy and like nerdy things and have a lot of nerdy friends yet I also like sports a lot. I am the 1% percent. No Devin/Nascarfan/other sports fans, only I can be the 1%!! *runs away*

[Samurshy 708]

Alright, I've been thinking, so I go to school with a pony shirt, I get all compliments. I wear my sock monkey hat. Compliments. Spider-Man tie. Pokemon. Mario. Your stereotypical american nerd with Marvel comics, video games galore, at least as I have seen, no longer gets insulted. On the contrary, people seem to like it. If It's not just me, perhaps, could what was once looked down upon become something to respect? Why, I dress up as Aang (from Avatar, The Last Airbender) for superhero day, and people seem to respect me MORE.

 

Some people will respect it for being gutsy, and some people are mature enough not to be insulting, most in my experiences, so what about the people who seem to simply like it? They seem to be in great number. Has nerdy become simply ingrained into pop culture? Minecrafters, bronies, whovians, is that the modern norm?

 

Food for thought... opinions?

 

You have to chalk it up to location, location, location. I live in a fairly small town in idaho. We are accepting of things here, when I go to college, people there are very accepting as well. They give me compliments and no one is ever rude when it comes to me wearing merch. But I can't help but wonder what would happen if I went to say, New Jersey and was wearing an MLP shirt or even a Avatar the Last Airbender shirt. I am sure everyone would laugh at me, they would probably antagonize me until I stopped wearing my merch. I have never lived anywhere else so I have no idea, but from what I hear, Idaho is way more accepting than other places.

[Evilshy 5,090]

My highschool was kinda like that. Nerds weren't picked, but it wasn't really "cool" to be one. It was a bit annoying when some jock would see you with a DS and have one of two conversation every time.

Either:

 

"Are you playing Pokemon?"

"No, not right now, but I do play it."

"Ah yeah, I used to play it, I had like a bunch of level 100s and totally beat everybody."

 

Or:

 

"Are you playing Pokemon?"

"Yes."

"Awesome, I used to play it, I had like a bunch of level 100s and totally beat everybody."

[Sticky Apple 46]

Man, I would have killed to have the sort of environment as the OP. Since I was one of the few kids who played video games instead of sports, I was ridiculed nonstop. Then again, I think I'm part of an entirely different generation than most of you...

[jackleapp81 456]

Nope, that type of stuff was not cool where I went to school. As evidenced by my recent post in the forums about my roommate (and his friends), I'd say it's not true about where I currently go to school either. If that really is the case for you, I think you're incredibly fortunate.

 

I have met one or two bronies around here where I live (midwestern kansas, not very open-minded people), but they don't like talking about it. They act like talking about MLP (or anything that is even remotely nerdy like Legend of Korra, Minecraft, Adventure Time, etc) will get them killed or sent to a concentration camp or something...I pretty much hate it here

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 55]

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Edited April 16, 2022 by throw

[PonyEcho 1,610]

i think the meaning of nerd has been forgotten over the years.

because it originated from Dr Seuss and has all been a slang for a popular personality type that didn't have a name thus Nerd was used.

also what is nerdy and what isn't changes over time for example Science fiction was nerd territory up until we found out the everyone loved Star Wars, same deal with Comic books and video gaming has now been on this course.

but this is all due to people mistaking material for execution its always been about how you are into stuff rather then just what you like, i mean think of Thor or any other super hero people didn't get into the comic mainly because of the thick timeline of continuity surrounding them, but until a proper format was found turns out everyone could now get into it.

 

being a Nerd is mainly on how you organize, cataloging and expressing arcane knowledge on a subject usually in equation, in short nerd show there devotion to being nerd by turn things into a math problem (role playing games being a prime example) however i baffles the mind on why sports fans are never called sports nerds.

 

again its all about Execution over Material i mean when i was a kid i read a load of comic books but i was never a nerd it was until i was older and began to understand to massive waves of continuity when I was. now hopefully this has sum up what it actually means to be a nerd and why it is something that can never rely be mainstream.

[Xero1 124]

 

 

being a Nerd is mainly on how you organize, cataloging and expressing arcane knowledge on a subject usually in equation, in short nerd show there devotion to being nerd by turn things into a math problem (role playing games being a prime example) however i baffles the mind on why sports fans are never called sports nerds.

 

I call em sports nerds all the time. Course they usually say i don't have any room to talk in the nerd department. Since i'm the guy who studies animation and carries around a clipboard and the 30lb art bag everywhere he goes.

 

But you're right nerds will never really be mainstream. we can simply gain acceptance and sometimes even appreciation by society. This doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Even If nerds were mainsteam I'm not really the hipster douchebag who'd just switch to something else cause thats mainstream now. I never cared for fashion trends. I've always been a nerd. mainstream or not, accepted or not its just what I do. I can rant for hours about useless factiods and strange subjects most people never think about. I don't think outside the box, I think outside the tetrasact. I have solutions for things that shouldn't be problems in the first place. But I'll make it a problem if that means I get to solve it. Socially thats unacceptable I know but I enjoy that sort of thing.

[Sticky Apple 46]

I have met one or two bronies around here where I live (midwestern kansas, not very open-minded people), but they don't like talking about it. They act like talking about MLP (or anything that is even remotely nerdy like Legend of Korra, Minecraft, Adventure Time, etc) will get them killed or sent to a concentration camp or something...I pretty much hate it here

 

Woah. Really? Man, you could live within an hour of where I do. That's crazy. Strangely enough, where I live now, it's starkly different and I live in a fairly small town. Never had any trouble with my brony-ness out here at all. Back in my early school days though, being a nerd was a bad thing.

[Tol'Satha 163]

I think the main reason is that nerds arent really what they are shown as on TV.

Take me for example:

-I'm a brony, i sit at a pc all day, i play and constantly talk about videogames, i can build or fix close to anything (especially electronics), i know 3 programming languages, im good at math and physics.

 

Judging by all that, i would be the king of all nerds. Yet im 1 meter 80 with 75 kilos (muscle, not fat, thank you ), i work out, im in great shape, i have a girlfriend, i go out, i party etc...

 

Im not saying those complete and true nerds dont exist, but most of them (us) fit into society quite nicely. And never in my 18 years of life have i seen anyone who looks even remotely like this:

 

Edited October 1, 2012 by Tol'Satha

[AegisReflector 886]

My school was pretty laid-back on the whole "nerd" culture, mainly because it was a small school. Yeah, you had the people who would come up to you and be like, "Aw, look at that [cuss] playing Pokemon!", but it wasn't nearly as bad as some other instances on this thread (getting BEAT UP for dressing like a nerd? Aw hell nah).

 

In fact, for Spirit Week, every Thursday is Nerd Day, and has been a staple for my high school for as long as I can remember. I remember dressing up as Batman, Ash Ketchum, Squall Leonhard, etc. I would go all out, baby!

 

But to the answer to your question, I don't think it's going "mainstream", but it's certainly now a popular kind of culture.

[Cocodrillo 1,565]

It´s like that because of shows like Big Bang Theory and shit like that... not mentioning that it distorts the whole view of nerds. And not mentioning the worst results - People wearing wayfarers, saying "ermahgerd I´m so nerdy"...

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

Not really. Many people who call themselves nerds aren't really nerds at all, it's just a fashionable thing to say. The real nerds are too busy playing Magic to think about it.

[AegisReflector 886]

It´s like that because of shows like Big Bang Theory and shit like that... not mentioning that it distorts the whole view of nerds.

 

That's for comedic purposes though. It's different when you are trying to make humor out of the culture than blatantly just stereotyping it.

[Zalgo 593]

Video games, sci-fi, comics and such are definitely becoming more mainstream and popular.

 

 

But not at my school.

 

Everyone except my best friends are obsessed with sports, and find video games and comics "stupid" and "immature". Especially the teachers... They hate it when their students "destroy brain cells in front of a computer screen instead of playing sports". .__________.

 

Okay, maybe that's only a few of the teachers, (the principal included)

 

Everyone seems to like sci fi and super hero movies though...

[Driz 1,552]

Nowdays, people call themselves "nerd" just because they played Super Mario once at someone else's Nintendo Wii. This is ridiculous, if you ask me. I know I'd have to through the whole definition of what a nerd is, but it seems to me like people enjoy calling themselves a nerd (even though they're not even close to being one).

 

It's a huge mystery to me if the real nerds are being accepted by the society yet, but one thing is for sure: Through the years, the definition of "nerd" has been considerably twisted.