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"Nerd" Society Becoming too "Exclusive?"


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It is a problem, but I think it stems from another problem. Lately nerd culture has become more popular and the mainstream parts are more accepted, people are calling themselves gamers when all they really play is the current hot FPS. I have a lot of problems with this and personally I despise the popularization of a subculture for many reasons, one of the biggest ones is that when something becomes popular it also becomes super commercialized.

The Emo subculture had this problem too at one point.

But back to the topic, why did he do it? He thinks he's defending his subculture from mainstream posers.

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It is a problem, but I think it stems from another problem. Lately nerd culture has become more popular and the mainstream parts are more accepted, people are calling themselves gamers when all they really play is the current hot FPS. I have a lot of problems with this and personally I despise the popularization of a subculture for many reasons, one of the biggest ones is that when something becomes popular it also becomes super commercialized.

The Emo subculture had this problem too at one point.

But back to the topic, why did he do it? He thinks he's defending his subculture from mainstream posers.

That's not a great mentality to have. We should be glad that our sub-culture is enjoyed and be more welcoming. If you want to get rid of posers, then take people under your wing and teach them about the sub-culture, because calling them a poser just encourages them to not want ACTUAL association with the sub-culture.

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I don't know what the meanings of nerd and geek (and the differences between the two) are in other places but where I come from its as follows:

 

Nerd: Smart and educated person with an interest in science and is also interested in a combination of sci-fi, comics, Lord of the Rings, Magic the Gathering, Manga, video games, MMORPGs, tabletop RPGs etc. (all the "nerdy" stuff)

Geek: Interest in the comics, manga, games etc. but is not smart or educated and has only a tenuous grasp of science.

 

Nerds are celebrated as being genuine since, because they are usually introverts, they only say something if it is important, making everything that they say more important than what extroverts have to say. The focus is on thinking and only when an intelligent and worthwhile opinion has been formed should anything be said. Because of their intelligence and genuine nature, they are celebrated, as are their interests. Geeks, however, still inhabit that social outcast space of society. They are usually much more insecure and romantically less successful. It is almost as if an interest in comics and the like can only be acceptable if you can back it up with learning, especially in the sciences.

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That's not a great mentality to have. We should be glad that our sub-culture is enjoyed and be more welcoming. If you want to get rid of posers, then take people under your wing and teach them about the sub-culture, because calling them a poser just encourages them to not want ACTUAL association with the sub-culture.

I'm not supporting people being treated like that, the only reason I hate the popularization of the nerd subculture is because of the commercialization of the industries we rely on.

In all reality doesn't everyone employ the same mentality? Gotta face the facts that being ragged on is part of being the new guy, trust me, I've been to 41 different schools before I graduated high school, 

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It is an unfortunate side effect of the nerd culture becoming more mainstream, it is a good thing that is is becoming more accepted but the larger a group the more jackasses. I think the majority are just people that just enjoy "nerdy" things and are relatively nice but there is the problem of jackasses tending to be a tad louder. If people want a circle jerk they are welcome to it but while I want no part of that I will not let that affect my enjoyment of "nerdy" things because I like what I like because I like not because of the opinions of others.

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(edited)

Think about it, the hipster culture is seriously a maturation of the Nerd culture of the 80-90's, when it the most insulting to be a nerd (until Urkel made it cool, accordion and all :P

 

Nerd culture is now so mainstream, it's no wonder why it's so exclusive. Now, it seems like the new type of nerds that aren't much accepted (even among the Nerd culture) are real Otaku, but even then, as Anime becomes more and more prominent in the west, real Otaku are also getting more a more accepted. Because of this mainstream-ness of the Nerd culture, there are fake nerds (people who dress and act the part because it's now a cool thing to do), or elitists (who cannot stand the fakers and will not allow anyone who is interested in what they are interested in to be respectfully allowed in that fandoms' circle {just like the story you told}).

 

I consider myself a nerd, but nowhere on the grounds of how culture now defines a nerd. I do not dress the part, act the part, nor act in denial of the part (like many nerds also do because its cool). In fact, I've already had a situation similar to Applejack in Simple Ways because what I do is so different, and I was even called a "new hipster" and everything by this small group of city people who considered themselves Nerds. I was really nice to them, but after the fact, I just was so exasperated by all these "Nerds" saying things to me that are really...ignorantly degrading.

Let me explain a bit. I partake in traditional Blacksmithing Demostrations, at town celebrations and at reenactments, and a lot of the younger people who are attracted to such things are predominately hipsters. Many treat these crafts as whatshisname treated Applejack in Simple Ways. I highly enjoy doing these things more for the families that want to bring their children (for a mini vacation with education), but the hipsters are not interested in the actual WORK I do, and yet act like they know everything about the crafts that I am replicating (or they just oohh and ahh which is my normal expectation).  The small group of city people who talked to me, went on about organic farming (predominately CSA's), Green energy, and the like treating me (a farmer's wife, and old world reenacter) like I knew nothing about any of the stuff that is quite popular among modern hipsters. It was so aggravating,  I wanted to drag them to our home, show them our wood stove, our cannon, my garden and everything that we do WITH OUR OWN HANDS!!!! :okiedokielokie: :fiery:

 

Now I know that many hipsters are not Nerds that are into card games, comics, and the like...but many of them are, because it's cool and a big part of being a hipster. But I consider hispters the mainstream Nerds who may (or may not) act like elitists. Elitist Nerds are just was they are, and those kind of people appear in any fandom, any cultural group, and everywhere in the world. We once came across a blacksmith elitist who REALLY rubbed in my husband's face how much better and how much more he knew, and this guy had to be in his 50's. My husband got really depressed (he almost outright quit his dreams) after encountering this guy and to this day, I want to give that man a big piece of my mind. :angry:

 

There are not just "incidents" and this problem is sparse and not very common.It's everywhere, from the local card shop to the video game aisle to the girls toy aisle!  Again, it happens everywhere, and in many sub-cultural groups. Nerds are one the bigger ones because it is becoming such a mainstream thing, and a lot of that is due to the video game industry.  Due to the Video Game industry now becoming more powerful than Hollywood, this problem is only going to get worse. Nerds are becoming the majority due the biggest "thing" in nerd-dom becoming a financial and entertainment powerhouse all over the modern world. Cards (like Magic), D&D, and other longer lived aspects of Nerds is dying out, being overshadowed by video games. Heck, even those two genres have the largest grossing, most popular video games made because of them (WOW anyone?)

If you don't see what is going, than you are being ignorant. If you deny what is going on, then you are not someone is going to make this problem better and will actually be helping in making this problem worse by doing/saying nothing. People are greedy and selfish, and its just sickening....

Edited by Treble Bolt
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Alright, first of all I apologize for a slightly aggressive approach. 

 

However, my opinion is still the same. 

The problem exists only for the people being constantly (i.e. several times a day) bombarded by it. 

In my case - it does not exists. Neither I claim to be in any group anymore, nor any of those people have any power in my realm. 

My answer to them is in essence the same as in post #21

 

Some people are just caring too much about things.

And some like to prey on that to get attention. That's all there is. 

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(edited)

Alright, first of all I apologize for a slightly aggressive approach. 

 

However, my opinion is still the same. 

The problem exists only for the people being constantly (i.e. several times a day) bombarded by it. 

In my case - it does not exists. Neither I claim to be in any group anymore, nor any of those people have any power in my realm. 

My answer to them is in essence the same as in post #21

 

Some people are just caring too much about things.

And some like to prey on that to get attention. That's all there is. 

 

It's different from place to place. More populated areas with higher chance of having nerd-specfic storesand have a higher likelihood of having this problem due to increase in people in any specfic area, compared to rural areas like where I live.  I honestly never thought we'd come across elitists in our line of desires. It also depends on how you interact with any part of nerddom. Being an anime fan, I watch a lot a know a lot, but for the most part, I stay away from the Otaku fanbase IRL and online, and thus I have not run into any problems this thread presents. I have not come across elitists in the Brony community because I avoid talking about reviewers, I avoid a lot of topics on this forum that may contain elitist, degrading remarks and so on and so forth. But that does not mean we can deny the existence of this problem just because we do not see it for ourselves.

A prominent area where this is a recurring problem in my life is in the religious sector. Talking about Nerd elitists is one thing, but religiously induced verbal wars is something everyone can relate to in some way, and it's extremely hard to avoid lest you ignore the subject all together.

Edited by Treble Bolt
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I think it's getting out of hand.. One thing I noticed too are all of the "nerd" things for girls.. It makes me really mad that they can say, "Haha, look I'm such a nerd lol #yolo" and they're jerks to kids that are actual "nerds" as in people that study, work hard, etc.

 

I'm sorry if I sound mean.. I don't mean to.

Your not, it's true, a real nerd is usually someone who studies their ass of in school to get excellent grades, and then as recreation may sit down and read a few comics or game!

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We could see this from two sides, people pretending to be nerds just to get girls and nerds that don't want to demean themselves just to prove a point. Exclusive? Maybe, but we're accepting of others.

Edited by Scootalove
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I'm not a nerd, but I do really like the Sonic comics and have most of the Universe mini-arcs and some of the main series. I've been reading them since I was about 9 or so. Anywho, I see this around a bit. I'm not a 'nerd' (Totally not a cool kid either, I honestly can't fit into any catagory, I'd say I'm the awkward kid that hangs out with her 3-5 awkward friends. Not saying O have anything against nerds, one of muh best friends is one) so I don't have tons of knowledge.

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Well nerds are becoming mainstream so much that the actual nerds from a decade ago are today's hipsters. I mean, there are different subcultures of nerdom. There's gamer nerds, book nerds, cartoon nerds, anime nerds, superhero nerds you name it. So it causes some people to be knowledgeable in one subject but not so much in the other. And yes, that guy is a jerk to a kid just getting into comics. It's funny because the stereotype used to be that the nerds would be the ones to get bullied.

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We could see this from two sides, people pretending to be nerds just to get girls and nerds that don't want to demean themselves just to prove a point. Exclusive? Maybe, but we're accepting of others.

I think you have it backwards... Don't you mean girls pretending to be nerds to get guys? I seldom see girls going "man, I just wish I could find a guy who likes comic books!" I mean I'm sure they exist, but they certainly are not as common.

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I think you have it backwards... Don't you mean girls pretending to be nerds to get guys? I seldom see girls going "man, I just wish I could find a guy who likes comic books!" I mean I'm sure they exist, but they certainly are not as common.

Usually it can go both ways. But, like you said girls pretending to be nerds to get guys is more common at least.

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The way you put it almost makes it sound like the "nerd" society is turning into some sort of criminal gang. If you're a poser and not down to represent, then you're excluded and shunned upon.

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That is why I believe there is such thing as knowing too much. When people are super educated about certain topics, they tend to be ignorant about it. Going around boasting about how smart they are in their line of interest.

 

I'm glad the nerds where I live aren't like that. When I went to the comic store, the nerdy clerk was really nice.

  • Brohoof 1
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I think the "I'm going to bestow my knowledge upon you" nerds are really annoying. Honestly, I classify myself as a huge nerd and the fact that I've read every issue of Captain America since the 60's revival is sort of a badge of honor for me. However, I don't ram it down people throats. The only time I ever whip out some intense knowledge about stuff I'm into is around people that are on that same level or somebody who genuinely wants to learn about it and I don't give them more than what they ask for. I had a friend who had never read any comics but he wanted to get into them, I recommended he start out with one of the major ones that he knew and gradually work his way into the universe. There's people who know too much and want to make sure everybody knows it in just about everything though and they end up ruining it for everybody, even nerds who like the same thing as them, I think nerds just get the brunt of the attention because there's such a wide variety of stuff and everything can go so much deeper though

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Oh my Celestia... I see this a lot in online games. An elitist punk would tease, bully, and harass new people who clearly are trying to be friendly. "Stupid noob!" "Haha you stupid noob lol" "noobs suk lol" I see this way too often. I try to welcome and help new people rather than make them feel unwelcome and just generally make fun of them. One time I was called a noob by some people because I was better at the game and they would lose to me. I'm definitely not a noob. They should look at my online profile achievements before they start calling me "noob"

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I myself am a pokemon nerd with a fair bit of comic and general game know how under my belt..

Do i like mainstream stuff..

not really...

Will i try new things even tho they are main stream?

yes

 

ive ben playin pokemon sence it came to the states way back when..now if i meet a new player gods im so excited to help someone get into something, to share what i love about a specific game/comic/show/anything really..

 

i dislike when people have an elitist personality this happens alot, they believe they are better than the new commer for no other reasoning other than said person is new and therefore worthless to thier fandom..

 

I myself am an avid cosplayer and enjoy meeting new ones to the herd of many and offer friendly advice to them on how to improve the next time while pointing out what they excel at.

this goes for anything i do this with be it animation,art and general sewing.

 

Im an old hat at alot of things so when someone new shows up to anything i do I try and welcome them the best i can and set them up for sucess like many of my kind friends have done for me before.

new things can be intimidating and just because you only know the mainstream version of something dosent mean you wont learn to love it for the whole that it is and appreciate it more sooner.

 people have to remember new people are good friends you havent met yet.

  • Brohoof 1
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That is why I believe there is such thing as knowing too much. When people are super educated about certain topics, they tend to be ignorant about it. Going around boasting about how smart they are in their line of interest.

 

I'm glad the nerds where I live aren't like that. When I went to the comic store, the nerdy clerk was really nice.

 

I don't think the problem is knowing too much in itself. I think the problem is people who happen to know too much having certain character flaws, such as lack of humility, and pretentiousness. I think people who have acquired a large store of knowledge can be an asset in the communities and groups they are involved with. They can use their knowledge to help introduce newbies into the community. They shouldn't use their talents and potential to be self-aggrandizing and pompous. They just intimidate newcomers, and help paint all people who love to amass knowledge with the brush of arrogance.

Edited by OmniaVincitEquorum
  • Brohoof 1
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I'm not really a nerd in the sense that I like comic books and am very game savy. I'm more of like the socially awkward smart guy in the room that everyone either doesn't know exists until a group project is started (because they think I know everything), or constantly makes teasing comment towards. For instance, calling me 'Wizard [Last Name]' for several days because I did exceptionally well on a question game that the teacher started.

 

Or, of course, this could be the definition of a geek. I don't know, the terminology has gotten scrambled over it's lifespan.

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Nah, I think the term "nerd" is "hipster" now. Being nerdy is supposed to be a trend now a days, and the way they portray it is ridiculous. Wearing big, black 3D glasses does not make you a nerd, or a hipster...in fact, it's just...no. Just no.

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