<p>Sorry if this offends anybody, it is not my intention at all. I'm just giving my perspective. </p>
<p>At the insistence of some associates and college classmates, I sometimes pencil in time to watch television, watch movies, or read celebrity gossip. Many times they will talk about actors or talk about media memes that I don't know about. </p>
<p>I sometimes pencil in time to watch movies or read celebrity gossip in my schedule because I don't know many actors or popular culture memes, but then I think to myself, </p>
<p>"How does knowing who this actor is or where this line came from help me reach my goals? How does it aid in the development of my skill set, power, or leverage structural exchange to my advantage?" </p>
<p>Then I end up doing something I perceive as more productive. I don't see how knowing who Adam Sandler, the Beetles, or Mel Gibson is helps me reach my goals. I want to tell people this, but I'm concerned that it will be perceived as rude and my social influence will decrease.</p>
<p>That is interesting because I would rather have conversations about politics or a discourse on science using evidence-based arguments and logical inferences from primary and secondary source data. Perhaps I just haven’t found my “group” yet.</p>
<p>Meh, 90% of my conversation is just silly inane unimportant stuff. Once the whisky and hookah starts rolling around then sometimes the topics switch to heavier matters. </p>
<p>The reason most folks don’t regularly discuss politics or science or religion is that everyone is very highly opinionated about those topics and will never ever admit to being wrong. Tempers flare pretty easily. It just ain’t fun. For instance tonight I was talking to my roommates about our plans for the weekend. They’re all goin home for Easter which kinda bummed me out since I’m gonna be all alone in the house (although I’m probably just gonna go home as well and enjoy waking up at noon on Sunday while they’re all at mass lol). I could have started a debate about religion but why? It’d just end with everybody ****ed off. I wouldn’t walk away a born-again Christian and they wouldn’t walk away new-found atheists.</p>
<p>Hah, “the Beetles.”
There’s nothing wrong with not being interested in pop culture, but not everything in life should be focused towards developing our skill sets or leveraging structural exchanges to our advantage. It’s something lighthearted and fun to talk about, but you should feel no need to partake if you’re not interested in it.</p>
<p>Conversations and relationships are a two way street-- it’s not all about what YOU like. Don’t watch tv if you don’t want to, but don’t make a big show of it or you might risk sounding arrogant.</p>
<p>While there is no reason to be obsessed with celebrities, you don’t want to be completely in the dark about what is going on in the world. Popular culture is something that grabs and keeps the attention of a massive number of people. It influences what a lot of people want to and do wear and often will drive people to change their opinions about some important subjects.</p>
<p>It is silly to obsess over famous people the way that some folks will. It is a nonsensical waste of time unless it is something that drives your income. There is a huge business side to the whole thing. The “stars” do something to get noticed, the various magazines and TV shows tell the story, the fashions that the “star” is wearing become more popular and salable, the star gets more work offers…It goes on and on. It boils down to a ton of revenue.</p>
<p>If you know absolutely nothing about the whole thing then maybe you are missing out on a part of society that you should know something about. It isn’t going away and probably never will. Being completely clueless about what is out there will also mean that you are a little out of touch. Staying just informed enough so that you have an idea of what people are talking about and what is changing in the world because of it, doesn’t hurt and it might come in handy one day.</p>
<p>OP, I think the biggest lesson here is to partake in what you enjoy while also respecting what others like… Most people like mainstream but if you don’t enjoy those things, that’s ok too.</p>
<p>Anyways, there’s nothing wrong with preferring to have intellecutally-based discussions or whatever. If that floats your boat, join a debate club or form a group of your own. But in reality, college is already stressful enough, so most students prefer to talk about something fun during their leisure time rather than more academic topics. Nothing wrong with that either.</p>
<p>No, there is no underlying, deep reason to follow popular culture in college. Or at any time in your life. It’s helpful if you want to be able to make some small talk, but that’s about it. </p>
<p>Is there an underlying, deep reason to do anything? Life is fleeting. You should use it to do what you enjoy. </p>
<p>You don’t have to follow pop culture for the sake of fitting in if it doesn’t appeal to you, but here’s a tip: don’t be pretentious. Maybe you don’t talk this way in real life, but many of the things you wrote seem like weak attempts to impress (for example “evidence-based arguments and logical inferences from primary and secondary source data” is just redundant). Most intelligent people (i.e. people you would prefer to befriend) will easily be able to tell that you’re speaking from a false persona.</p>
<p>I follow pop culture out of my own enjoyment. People are always surprised because I’m a geek/nerd/political junkie, but I keep up with all the hot TV shows, movies, and music. I would prefer political discussions any day of the week, but not everyone can or wants to keep up an intense conversation for long. I’m literally able to befriend anyone I want since I can find some way to relate to them. It’s potentially useful if you plan on doing anything that may require social pandering or networking. If not, it’s probably not necessary in the practical sense; that doesn’t mean it lacks any other benefits, however. Pop culture is great for me psychologically. It’s unproductive, yes, but entertainment helps calm my anxiety and keeps me sane amidst stress.</p>
<p>Considering you say you have to “pencil in” time to do anything regarding exterior culture, you’re marketing yourself as being uninformed. I’m guessing you don’t sit around watching C-SPAN either so without any outlet (whether it’s pop culture or what have you) you’re over time doomed to become sheltered and blocked out of what’s happening in the world. College is a time to opwn your mind and become informed and if you remain ignorant to that, A. nobody’s gonna like you and B. you’ll be one sheltered adult.</p>
<p>OP, may I ask why you are worrying about this?</p>
<p>You could be doing something intellectual instead. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about the opinions of people that you do not care about. And please realize that no one is paying attention to what you like or how you spend your time…they are involved in their own lives and likes and dislikes.</p>
<p>Academic conversations don’t tend to lead to bonding in quite the same way as goofy, meaningless conversations. But, if you’re not the person who enjoys having those, then you shouldn’t force yourself to read about things you just don’t care about. </p>
<p>Eating sweets doesn’t lead to anything productive, but some things are just enjoyable. Find what you enjoy, and you will find people to enjoy it with you. But don’t for a second look down on people who do enjoy celebrity gossip - these people may have a lot to offer (such as being better entertainers themselves, great lovers, faithful friends, etc.), even if it’s not what you enjoy.</p>