Jonathan Gershuny wrote that “nerd is an English term of art previously used to describe 1960s optical astronomers during their night-time observation phases, collectors of locomotive numbers, and other solitary and technologically oriented obsessive personalities” (Gershuny 141). The media portrays nerds and geeks as individuals lacking social skills, needing makeovers with overly developed intelligences and careers in science or engineering. From the discipline of sociology, geeks and nerds are evaluated in a social context and how they fit into the greater realm of society, whether in be peer groups or in the wider world.
In an article written by Lori Kendall, she cites Wajcman who pointed out that “an obsession with technology may well be an attempt by men who are social failures to compensate for their lack of power. On the other hand, mastery over this technology does bestow some power on these men; in relation to other men and women who lack this expertise, in terms of the material rewards this skill brings, and even in terms of their popular portrayal as ‘heroes’ at the frontiers of technological progress” (Kendall 261-2). This shows that men, even those who lack the confidence in social situations, can still master some heroic qualities through their skills in the technology field. The idea of being a social failure is one that labels many people geeks, because they might not be comfortable in certain social situations. The power they gain through this type of work, seems to me, a very positive thing. These geeks or nerds have a marketable skill that is desired and extremely necessary for some people. This parallels the media’s idea of geeks giving tech support and lacking social confidence, but shines it in a very positive, something that I don’t feel the media is consistent about. In the same article, I found it really interesting that “the self-perception of MIT students as nerds by virtue of their connection to technology; she argues that MIT computer science students are ‘the ostracized of the ostracized’ and ‘archetypal nerds’” (Kendall 261). If nerds studying computers at MIT feel ostracized, then where else can they feel safe?!
David Kinney wrote an article in 1993 that states “some adolescents who were labeled by their peers as unpopular nerds in middle school were able to embrace a more positive self-perception in high school that centered on defining themselves as ‘normal’” (Kinney 21). If students are able to move past the geekiness and nerdiness that they labels them in middle school, to become successful and social young adults, this is the type of behavior the media should be showing teens. These teens are embracing a positive self image and are redefining what it means to be normal, so that it fits their realm of normalcy. Kinney also noticed that “social and psychological reality changed because they were able to surround themselves with peers who provided positive reflected appraisals and more favorable social comparisons” (Kinney 30). Supportive relationships and friends who have things in common are what create a group of people who rely on each other. In “The Big Bang Theory”, the four main characters have sought each other out because of their commonanlities and they rely on each others’ positive feedback, albeit sometimes witty and sarcastic banter, to maintain a strong feeling of identity and what is normal to the.
Normalcy is such a relative term and I feel that each social group has its own definition. Media, I feel, has very defined views of what is normal and what isn’t based on race, class and gender. What I think is normal, as a white middle class woman who is a self-proclaimed Star Wars and band geek, is not what my 12 graders at St. Paul Central H.S. would think. I don’t think it’s even a difference in our age, though that is a barrier, but over all, I think it is the social groups that we’re apart of. They help to define how we view media and ourselves.
Overall, the sociological view on nerds/geeks is very interesting and I feel a complimentary one. I feel that geeks/nerds would be a very interesting group to study in a case study because it would be hard to define who is a nerd, unless you really examine the social structure in a school, a mall, Target, or wherever the information is being gathered.
Works Cited
Gershuny, Jonathan. "Web Use and Net Nerds: A Neofunctionalist Analysis of the Impact of Information Technology in the Home." Social Forces 28 (2003): 141-68. JSTOR. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Kendall, Lori. ""Oh No! I'm a Nerd!": Hegemonic Masculinity on an Online Forum." Gender and Society 14 (2000): 256-74. JSTOR. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Kinney, David. "From Nerds to Normals: The Recovery of Identity among Adolescents from Middle School to High School." Sociology of Education 66 (1993): 21-40. JSTOR. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
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it is so interesting to see that the people who were proclaimed unpopular nerds in middle school were seen to have a more positive self perception of themselves. Is there a way that we can get this information to reach middle schoolers while they are still that age? I know I felt the pressures of being "popular" and not nerdy in middle school but when I reflect back on that now, being myself was clearly the way to go. I think it would be useful if we could apply that way of thinking while students are that age and not much later, as was the case with me. All the media that is aimed at teens seems to emphasize the idea that being "cool" is a goal to achieve.
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