Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few weeks, the release of Pokémon Go has quickly taken over the world, or at least the countries it has been released in so far. As someone who grew up watching the original cartoon, collecting the cards, and playing the video games, to say I am excited is an understatement. However, like most things that gain popularity, there has been a counter movement against the game and people coming out of the woodwork everywhere to declare how much they hate the game, how childish they think it is, and how cool they are because they don’t follow the trends. I know some people reading this article will automatically think I am referring to hipsters, but you don’t need a label to be a jerk to other people. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m all for individuality and the right to one’s own opinion, but I don’t understand this new wave of using apathy and ridicule to raise your own social standings.
Pokémon Go is just the latest in a string of new popular things that have become the target of people’s ire. Young women are especially targeted by this idea of “something popular must be insulted;” as soon as October comes around the whispers of “stupid basic girls and their love of pumpkin spice lattes” begin to swirl, memes dedicated to shaming are shared across social media, and tons of articles about the obnoxiousness of Millennials who just want to drink their coffees in peace begin to surface. We live in a society now where you almost have to censor yourself from expressing happiness in something as simple as a band, piece of clothing, or coffee drink for fear that someone will immediately talk about how overrated they think it is. That’s no way to live when life can be so short and joys, even the small ones, are so few at times. It feels as if this idea of stifling one another’s happiness has risen only in the most recent years. Words like “overrated,” “basic” and “sell out” have become the norm when a decade or so ago they were not used as common insults.
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I think a large reason for this rise in apathy and ridicule of the popular comes with the confusion of the times we’re living in. Many people in my age demographic have grown up in a not-always-kind world, and we see the worst parts of humanity daily through our TVs, phones, and computers, so we begin to let our own actions reflect this. For some, the pursuit of being accepted and seen as cool is more important than the self-esteem of others. The internet has also allowed these same people to hide behind a screen in anonymity and release their insults without repercussions. All of this may seem like a small annoyance in the long run and can never really harm anyone, but it is not only young adults attacking other young adults for liking things. This has also spread to younger kids who are not emotionally prepared enough to deal with such intense ridicule. For some kids their favorite music, TV shows, video games, movies or books are helping them form their future identities, but when they are constantly being told how overrated it is or how stupid they are for finding happiness in these things they begin to internalize and believe these criticisms. So whenever something becomes popular and it annoys you maybe take ten extra seconds before speaking badly about something and think to yourself: “Is this really harming me in any way?” And if the answer is no, then don’t worry about saying or posting anything. Just continue on with your life with the knowledge that you have chosen to be a good person.
