Constructivist Exploration of Cool [HW #23]

Aside from the typical "to be cool means to be: different, original, popular, fresh, attention-grabbing, etc.", one thought that have come to my mind about being cool is that the older you get, the easier it is to be cool.

Being cool, of course plays a big role in teenage life, but it seems that its role slowly becomes less and less important. And since it plays such a big role, people just have this high standard of what being cool is. There are certain clothes you wear, have certain way of speech, hang out with certain types people, do certain activities, intake certain types of substances,etc. Of course, all of these varies based on the environment you are in. But it seems that regardless of what the specifics are, if you are older and you do any of those things, you will be instantly be called cool (by teenagers, of course). People have this mentality that old people are "lame" or "wack." So if they do anything remotely cool up to the teenage standards, then they are super-cool, because they are different and breaking out of their roles.

When we talk about coolness, a lot of people say that people are always trying to be cool. But I don't think being cool is what the people are so concerned about. Like people don't try to be cool for the sake of being cool. I think that people act "cool" or "different" because they want to get acknowledged. It goes back to how we are constantly trying to make meaning in our lives- reassuring ourselves that we are a significant being and that we really matter. If someone acts cool, and draws a lot of attention, then they are momentarily significant to the people who are noticing him/her, because that is their current focal point.

If there are cool people, then there are of course losers. Recently, I've noticed that the stigma of being a loser is not as great of an impact any more. Less people are being made fun of because they can keep up with the trend. It might be that I'm maturing and so are the people around me. It might also be that people are just becoming nicer and nicer. But I suspect that it also has to do with the whole cool act. People used to make fun of the losers and were considered cool. That is just what people did. But if everyone is mocking the loser, then the person that stands out would be the one that did the opposite- the person that accepted the loser and talked to him/her. Accepting the person for who they are, and talking to them when no one else will, are both very nice gestures. But if the person is, in fact, doing this because they want to stand out and be cool, then I'm not sure if that's even remotely nice. The "cool" person would be treating the "loser" as though he/she is a tool.