Revenge of the Nerds: Is Uncool the New Cool?

What is the definition of “cool”? It may vary between schools, cities and individuals, but many people link being cool to being popular. Decisions including what music we listen to, what movies we watch and how we dress will often determine if we’re considered cool by our peers. One thing is for sure: being cool in the past has always seemed to depend on other people’s opinions.

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So I have no idea what caused the world to start spinning in the opposite direction. Who declared that being uncool was now cool?

I began to notice this shift one day at school last year. I looked around at my fellow grade nines and wondered why we were all so close. Was it because we’ve been together since the second grade? No. Was it because we all live in the same neighbourhood? No. I think it was because we are the most uncool people alive.

No offence, guys. I mean, we considered ourselves cool because we weren’t like anybody else; we weren’t two-dimensional clones. Yes, we had our jocks and our nerds, but you know what? We hung out together. We listened in science classes. We joked with teachers. Bill Nye was our hero. Cartoons were awesome. Hugging was normal. Beat It was our theme song. We were uncool and that made us cool. We were who we wanted to be.

Now that I have realized which way our world is spinning, I’ve noticed that not only has our school changed, but pop culture has turned in the same direction. Paper Heart, a recent movie featuring Michael Cera, portrays characters who don’t fit the old definition of cool. Back then you were uncool if you couldn’t get a boyfriend, and you were really uncool if you didn’t want one. And what’s up with the characters’ choice of clothing? The glasses? The baggy sweaters? That definitely wasn’t cool before. But what’s weird is when I first watched the trailer for this movie, I thought it would be a cool movie to see.

When I asked some of my friends what they thought about themselves, many of them said they didn’t think that they were cool. They’re the type of people who don’t care what others think, but just want to enjoy life. When I hang out with them, we often find ourselves doing stupid and silly things; we don’t have fun the way “cool” people do. We’ve never gone to huge parties where everyone gets drunk and we definitely do not smoke. We’re involved in things like leadership, volunteering and helping others out. Some of us like to debate in classes about world issues (e.g. global warming). And it’s funny, because when we stop and realize what we’re doing, usually the first thing that comes out of our mouths is, “Well, we’re just that cool.” Whether this statement is said sarcastically or not, it’s ironic how we all seem to say things that prove that the societal view has indeed been flipped.

I also asked them what they thought the definition of cool was. One of my friends told me “someone who’s cool is someone who you can have a good time with.” Another close friend told me that “people nowadays who are ‘cool’ are the people who are unique; people who act differently than everyone else. It makes you want to hang out with them.” I know some pretty wise people. (On the other hand, someone else very close to me told me that I am a nerd and nerds aren’t and never will be cool. I guess it really depends on who you are and what view you subscribe to – the old or the new cool.)

So the next time someone tells you that you are uncool, don’t stress out about it. Especially since you, the uncool people of the world, are already following the world in the right direction and are becoming cool yourself.