Related Recs

🛹

Earnest participation in subculture

the social internet (and rapid, inescapable commercialization thereof) makes it so that you are what you consume, not what you do, not where you go, not who you spend your time with. before if you bought the clothes or the gear without doing it or without being in community, you were a poser. if you monetized or commercialized that interest and put those incentives over expression and connection, you were a sellout. but that doesn’t exist anymore — democratization and anti-gatekeeping as both ideas and ends of an algorithm to maximize surface area for consumption have made it so that there isn’t a distinct authority on what you can attach to your identity or how you express yourself but if the extent of our agency in a democratized landscape is to only to consume more instead of producing or connecting, or to produce only to commodify ourselves for money or internet points, then maybe it’s a different kind of “being influenced by social trends rather than authentic interest” than going to a skate park, or an open mic, or a restaurant, or whatever because we heard about it somewhere and wanted to check it out, and de-centering the internet from what we see on it and how we engage with it is a way to make that healthier or more generative for ourselves, and can create beauty without immediately thinking about how to fit into a box along lines drawn by advertisers

@alaiyo

Jan 15, 2025

1

⏳

the idea that 'Nothing has changed since 1999'

I'm fascinated with the idea that culture has come to a grinding halt in the past couple decades. It partly feels true, but it could be that the media we consume and platforms we use are self-aware echo chambers that aren't conducive to original ideas. I'm curious on y'all's thoughts.

@theclack

Jun 19, 2024

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being a poser has been normalized

I don't know how well this actually answers your initial question, I think it's more of a counterpoint to some of the stuff people have already said, but here it goes. In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time. Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.

@ruffianbandwidth

Feb 18, 2024

2

Top Recs from @kybies

🥽

Def would be the edge of seventeen!

cute coming of age movie with characters I can relate to through every struggle and the perfect amount of awkward teenness

@kybies

1d ago

😃

COOL PEOPLE!!

I’m here to improve my coolness. Some of you are being cloned in the lab(my room) and i hope that’s okay. I made a banging coffee this morning that cost me $0 and i will be working my grocery store job soon. I like the diary feelings of this app without the fear of not getting any likes. Peace ✌️

@kybies

1d ago

📖

inkheart

honestly this was a read from childhood that has always stuck with me and i will go back to. it has such a whimsiness about it that makes you feel like a child again while reading it. gorgeous details that you can envision as well as a fun plot.

@kybies

20h ago

2