Our culture, it's evolving.. into a Magikarp.

Growing up in this day and age, with the endless series of tubes that is the internet, there's no doubt that the things that could've easily been considered niche: a meme, underground band perhaps, have the power to spread like a wildfire. On the subject of double rainbows I feel fairly confident that we are covered.. however, what does this mean for the self proclaimed 'nerds, geeks and gamers'?

What is it that defines us as people? I would imagine most would consider the answer to that question as the hobbies that consume their daily lives, the people they spend it with and maybe even for some, the objects that they behold.

I remember when I was in high school and I was enthralled at the idea of defining myself. I spent hours upon hours listing hundreds of both likes, and dislikes on my LiveJournal profile page, flipping back and forth between tabs as I checked the current status of my Neopets.

A lot has changed since then. For one, I have come to realize that you cannot define a person with a sentence, a series of likes, dislikes.. or 140 characters for that matter. The truth is, there is no way to define a person, or, even gather enough evidence to formulate a solid opinion without getting to know them. I like to think that on the subject of nature versus nurture, growing up in town where I felt I was constantly being sized up could have been what led to me to my love affair with technology: the internet, video games. But it's more than just that.

There is no way to simply define a person in the same way that there is no way to physical shit out of your mouth. We can surely try, and we do. Social media has made it easy to throw around terms like geek, gamer, nerd.. the list goes on and on. For many, the internet offered an escape from stereotypes, but now this idea as we very know it is being threatened.

I read a particularly interesting and thought provoking article by games journalist Leigh Alexander this past week. I really hope you read it. She's awesome. It hits the nail on the head in terms of confronting the scary world in which we are now living, the way our culture has evolved as a whole, and the direction that the internet is pushing us on a social level.

Atop of this, Maxim Magazine just posted a casting call for all of you 'gamer girls' out there, which is actually proof, that it is, in fact, possible to shit out of your mouth, so you can retract my previous statement. It's not that I have a problem with the girls who are applying, just the way the situation was handled by the casting agency - don't forget to "wear your hottest outfit", and "bring a headshot".. I'll give you a headshot Maxim.

Sigh. This new 'acceptance' of nerd/geek culture is both relieving and frightening to me. And, despite my urge kick my feet up while petting a hairless cat and laughing maniacally, I really do wonder sometimes.. I'm good for it.