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Trendy Things That Used To Be Lame
If you were around in the 80s and witnessed the rise of technology that would eventually change the planet as we know it, you’d never have guessed those innovations, which were considered “geeky” at the time, would come to dominate our world, from our jobs to our livelihoods.
And while those who took up computer science, or were into sci-fi movies or engineering were jeered at the time, they got the last laugh, since these are the most lucrative industries today. Even you probably enjoy something every day you once found “nerdy.” Read ahead to see which once uncool things are now incorporated in daily life.
Glasses
It used to be that if you were unfortunate enough to wear eyeglasses as a kid you were doomed to an eternity of perpetual name-calling (“four eyes” and the like). Now glasses are considered to be pretty hip, and you can find any hipster nowadays sporting a pair of Ray-Bans or John Lennon glasses.
Computers
Computers were the ultimate display of nerd culture once they became available for home use. Hackers would spend their days figuring out coding and programming instead of getting “real jobs”. Now these computer nerds are being called upon for just about any sort of job you can think of. It’s pretty hard to be nerdy when you’re in such high demand!
Reading
You used to be a bookworm if you spent your free time pouring over a book with more than 100 words. That was before “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” came out, and kids suddenly had to read in order to stay in the loop and be cool. Today it’s considered pretty trendy to take a good novel to your favorite cafe and spend several hours absorbed in its words.
Star Wars
Chances are someone at some point has criticized you as a “Star Wars nerd” for having anything more than a T-shirt, but Star Wars is quickly becoming less geeky and more “in” as time passes. Attend any Star Wars convention and you’ll find people by the tens of thousands with a deep-seeded passion for that galaxy far, far away. You can even find a multitude of female fans as well. Just try to tell me that a room full of female cosplayers in Slave Leia costumes is nerdy!
Dressing Up
Dressing well used to be something our grandparents did in the ‘50s, but now it’s considered pretty hip for a guy to sport a classy jacket and a fedora, or a woman to wear a chic sun dress and a lavish hairstyle.
Superhero Movies
Before Marvel movies became a yearly norm, any movie with super characters was considered a Saturday afternoon flick for either comic book nerds with braces or those who had absolutely nothing else to do. But now you can find quite a few people – male and female alike – packing movie theaters wearing their Captain America and Iron Man shirts.
Comedy
It used to be that if you found yourself at the mercy of a comedian’s attempted humor you were in some sort of out-of-the-way dive just trying to see straight after your fourth glass of booze. Now you can pay top dollar to see your favorite comedian live, or even just binge watch them on Netflix.
Coffee
Coffee used to be considered a disgusting diner beverage, while all the cool kids were living it up at the bar chugging bottles of beer. Well times have a-changed, and now only the most self-respecting hipster hangs out at a coffee shop. After all, coffee baristas are considered to be artists just as much as hairstylists and graffiti artists.
Riding a Bike
Riding a bike used to be an activity restricted to your childhood days, but now people are discovering that riding your bike to work can be far more fun and less stressful than sitting in traffic (plus, you know, there’s that whole thing about saving the planet). Pack a raincoat, though, just in case.
Baking
You remember when you had to help grandma bake every time she came around? Sure, the food tasted great afterwards, but who wanted to spend the time baking when you could just buy it at a grocery store? Well baking isn’t quite so lame anymore. Many people are discovering the joys of mixing eggs with baking powder and sugar (and posting the results to Facebook!).
Gaming
Pale nerds used to have nothing on the muscly jocks who spent their weekends at the beach, but gaming becomes less and less geeky as the years pass. As more people get into gaming and the chat forums expand, people are far less likely to chastise gamers for spending their free time absorbed in a fantasy world or a gritty, war-torn map.
Comic-Con
As the hordes increase in size every year, the stigma surrounding comic-con-goers decreases. No longer are bulky dudes with lily-white skin the norm at the yearly convention; now you can find people of all types (including some stunning ladies) donning their nerd costumes and makeup.
Apple Products
Back before the iPod became a household norm, Apple products were considered somewhat elitist and far too basic in function for computer hackers to reprogram and modify. Today you can hardly find someone who doesn’t own at least a MacBook, iPad, or iPhone, while many computer-based businesses strictly use Apple hardware.
Game of Thrones
If you were into a show that had dragons and magic and killer ice people, chances are you’d be slapped with a big ol’ nerd label. But once people actually watched the show, they realized how amazing it was and went from a hater to a fan. Now you aren’t really considered cool if you haven’t seen it.
Comic Books
This was the ultimate nerd pastime, until the comic book movies started gaining huge traction. Now you can find comic books of all types, while their following includes far more than just pasty-white dudes.
Good Grades
Only the uber-dorky kids with glasses actually cared about getting good grades….that is until the uber-dorky kids went on to receive high-paying jobs and the “cool” kids got jobs at McDonalds. Now it’s considered responsible and cool to boost your grades in order to get into a good college, in order to get a good job, in order to have a good life.
Vinyl
When the MP3 player came out, nobody expected that there would ever be a desire to return to those frisbees that consumed so much shelf space. But now there’s a large group of people who are insisting that the only way to achieve that true organic sound is through vinyl.
Gardening
Gardening? What is this, Little House on the Prairie? It’s true; gardening is gaining a large base now, with many people forming co-ops for the sake of trading their veggies for other natural foods that they may not have.
Being a Food/Wine Connoisseur
It used to be considered pretty uppity to be so concerned with food and wine, but people of every ethnicity and gender are discovering how to better culture themselves and be more social at the same time. There are a plethora of food and wine festivals that take place every year across the world for the sole purpose of exposure to new and trending food styles.
Staying Home On the Weekends
If you were sitting at home on the weekend, that used to mean you were destitute and had no friends. But now it’s considered an achievement to not have anything to do, because that means you now have time to read that book or watch that show you’ve been meaning to catch up on, or simply catching a few Zs on the couch.
Star Trek
Trekkies used to be considered dorkier than Star Wars fanatics, but many people are now changing their tune. As nerd culture shifts and changes, Star Trek is one of the larger components that’s widely becoming more and more accepted. The three recent movie reboots are also helping out in that area.
Exercise Walking
There used to be a mindset that true exercise could only be achieved by bench-pressing 100 pounds in the gym, but since many can’t physically rise to those enormous standards they’ve taken up going for a nice walk. It’s no longer something women 50 and older are doing!
Drinking Tea
Drinking tea may have used to be granny’s favorite pastime, but people of all ages are now experiencing its calming and soothing remedies. And with so many different flavors of tea, it’s almost impossible to not find a kind that you don’t enjoy.
Mustaches
Mustaches were all the rage at the turn of the century and then took a turn for the worst during the ‘70s. Fortunately they’re back in their original style, and looking more dapper than ever.
The Muppets
For an entire generation, the Muppets were that classic childhood entertainment that eventually fell out of favor along with everything else we loved during that time. But everybody’s favorite puppets are making a huge comeback, thanks in large part to their recent full-length movies. Now nobody can get enough of Kermit and Miss Piggy and the gang!
Spending Time With Family
Ugh, who actually wants to be around their family if they don’t absolutely have to? With the advent of social media, it has quickly become considered pretty trendy to do things together with the fam (and post the pics to Instagram, of course). Whatever the reason, it’s bringing families closer together by doing more together.
Cosplay
People who poured half their yearly income into costumes were widely considered to be the ultimate nerds. But now there’s something to be said of the masses of people who attend conventions on a yearly basis clad in the garb of their favorite fictional characters.
Crocheting
This used to be the quintessential granny pastime – well, that and bingo, but I don’t EVER see that becoming cool – but over time the younger generation has discovered its calming and tranquil effects. Focusing on one thing only allows the brain to calm itself and put itself back in order, and when you’re done you have something to keep you warm through the winter!
Cassettes
Like vinyl, the resurgence in popularity of cassettes just proves how eventually old technology goes from out-of-date to retro. Ditching the gigabytes and going with old-fashioned tape, people are falling in love with the sound quality of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Smart Cars
You may have been pegged as a treehugger if you ever drove one of these, but people are slowly realizing the economical value of these cars and are laying off the teasing. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t ridiculously overpriced, but at least you don’t have to risk the existence of your social life anymore!
Tennis
Tennis may have been considered a snobby sport for the elitist, but nowadays you can find people of all social status playing it. It’s a great form of exercise without requiring you to bulk up, and it can be played with one to three close friends.
Trivia
Trivia night used to be attended by only the loneliest of single people desperate to get out and do something on Saturday evening, but now large groups of friends are killing two birds with one stone and participating in trivia night at the pub as they down their mugs of beer.
Collecting
Whether it’s stamps, records, corks, bugs, coins, or movie figures, collecting has become quite a hobby among people of all sorts. While it may have been considered a pleasure for the oddballs in the past, now you can find many various types of collections (some of which have set world records and have gained national attention).
