Normally you might see me here writing articles for various “picks”. Ranting about movies I watched recently or video games I felt compelled to play. I was surprised when the editor (or Chief as I call him) approached me and wanted me to write an editorial.
“Hello Tom, we need to talk” he said.
“Hey Chief” I replied.
“Stop calling me that” He said. “Your material is getting dry. We’ve been getting emails from various groups of upset readers that they want you removed from the site”
“Groups of admirers are begging for me to expand my literary horizons? That’s great news chief!”
He grunted and buried his face in his palm, “Look, just do something else okay? Don’t bother with the video game pick just do something about media okay?”
“I won’t just do the video game pick, I’ll write something on media too!” I replied.
I think he was really impressed because he started to cry tears of joy. I think that was joy anyway. I gave him a pat on the back and reassured him that one day, if he tries really hard, he might come close to doing as well as me.
My topic of focus right now is then,
How Multi-Media Is Making Nerds Cool
Alright now don’t rush off to throw on your anime headband cat ears and C++ T-shirts. Society is slowly making lesser
known “nerdisms” more acceptable. It doesn’t mean that you can walk around in your Darth Vader costume and expect to pick up chicks. It just means that a guy in a Darth Vader costume driving around in a low rider might not be the weirdest thing in the world. What I am arguing is not that people are no longer alienating geeks, what I am saying is that most people would see Darth Low-Rider cruising and actually think it was pretty amusing. Dare I say, even cool.
Slow down tubby, you’re not on the moon yet!
So where am I getting this conclusion here. What evidence am I basing this off of? Well if you’re looking for hardcore statistics and data… Why are you even reading this? This website has stuff for video games and comic books, this isn’t a thesis paper. This article isn’t worth extra credit so you’re out of luck Mr. Facts-ahoy.
This is just an observation and if you bear with me I think I make a damn good case. My main points are that: Technology is making digital communication more prevalent in today’s society thus making it less obscure and arcane. Once media becomes more accessible those who have access to it are the ones who will likely be atop the social order. Those who understand media or technology may not have the social skills to become accepted into the order on their own power (aka nerds aka you and me) can at least be respected for our knowledge of it. Nerdy people may not be social kings and queens but we understand something that those people need, therefore we gain a respect of sorts. Most importantly, when people begin to understand nerdy behaviour they begin to understand the people behind it.
Hey baby, I'm a level 25 mage.
Not to be sexist, but let’s take a look at the normal dating scene. A woman is looking for a man, and in her search her mind she considers the positives and negatives of each potential date. Back when technology was mostly limited to fast cars and the fledgling internet, knowing stuff about cars was important. A car meant mobility, and a mate that knew things about cars would be more likely to have a better car.
Though mobility is still desirable it now competes with text messaging and the robust power-house computers we have today. Sure the car jockey might be able to change a flat, but what happens if your cell phone stops working. You might be late for the party, but not having that ability to communicate 24/7 is like going through withdrawal. Comic books may still seem obscure, but most people can really get into these modern video games. If some girl gets really into Call of Duty or Bad Company, in some way, she might be attracted to someone who is good at it. At the very least, being good at it won’t be a turn off.
Once the nerd well has been opened, people may try looking into other nerdy things. After-all, if video games are actually cool, maybe comic books will be fun to? If comics are cool, why not try a table top role playing game? You’re already in this deep.
To further demonstrate my point about respect, I want to use an example from my life. I know life experiences don’t count as “evidence” but, who the hell asked you anyway? That’s what I thought, no one.
Anyway, I used to live on campus at my University. Safe to say, I was the token floor geek. What really convinced me that being a nerd was no longer a social stigma was the day several of my friends were talking about their computer science course. A few of them were frustrated with the concepts, they weren’t overly difficult only time consuming. I listened to their conversation further and was able to identify what was going wrong. Not only was I right about that issue, I also explained how one of them could change the registry expiration date on a program. I wasn’t met with awkward glares. I was actually met with impressed smiles.
In conclusion, we were once called nerds because we enjoyed using the internet or because we enjoyed different forms of media. One of the biggest changes to society is how readily available media is. When media becomes just one button push away, it’s easier to get into it.
