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Is the Maker Movement Making It Cool For Kids To Be Nerds?

Posted by Soulskill on from the make-it-so dept.

blackbearnh writes "For many adults into technology, childhood was an alienating experience, pigeon-holed as a nerd and relegated to the A/V, Computer or Gaming club in high school. But according to a Christian Science Monitor article that looks at young Makers, the next generation of tech geeks are social and are gaining increasing support from corporate America. Radio Shack is stocking Arduinos, Autodesk bought Instructables, and teens are flocking to local Hackerspaces to learn how to create their own gear. Wired GeekDad David Giancaspro thinks the desire to create things is natural. 'As we've moved further and further away from that, towards what people call "knowledge work," as opposed to producing something physical, that urge is starting to come back,' he says."

2 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Nerds are not cool by definition by badboy_tw2002 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sorry, won't ever happen. It seems like nerds who grow up to be in the media still project their common teenage fantasy that suddenly the world turns upside down and all the nerds are cool. Hint: the guy hunched over his phone/calculator or whatever and writing programs on it is still and always will be a nerd. But like most of us he's having a good time and doesn't give a shit what label you assign him.

    Also I'd love shove the guy who keeps pushing the term "Maker" in a locker.

  2. No. by devphaeton · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know i'm going to need my Nomex underwear for this post, but...

    1) IME, kids who would be 'nerds' tend to be nerds anyways. It's something that they just can't help.

    2) Kids who would not be nerds will pretty much not be nerds. Either they don't have the interest, intelligence, or what. But they'll get into other things instead (not that this is bad, it's just the facts).

    2) Kids who are on the fence might be brought in by Make or similar, but this percentage is going to be incredibly low.

    3) Right now it is INCREDIBLY COOL to be a 'nerd' or a 'geek'. However, this definition doesn't apply to the kids in #1. The 'new' nerds or geeks aren't really nerds or geeks, just those from #2 that have found a way to apply that label to themselves so that they can do whatever they wanted to do in the first place. I'm talking the cosplay/anime types who play video games as opposed to writing them, buy Macbooks instead of building a computer themselves, and get into Rock Band instead of learning to play a real instrument. There will unfortunately be little to no talk about science, computers, scifi, Make Magazine or any of the hallmark stuff that anyone GenX or older would think of when you say "nerd" or "geek". The terms have completely new meanings.

    There are many examples, but y'all get the gist.

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