I spend a lot of time talking to engineers, most of whom are *generally* around my age, some younger and some older. At a company happy hour this week, I was talking to two more and a fellow PM, and the topic of engineering, Gen Z, and the concept of “being a nerd” came up. The group of us were all nerds to varying degrees growing up and still today. Whether we were playing around with computers, spending time reading, playing video games, or something else - the label remained.
Something we observed though, is that the definition of a nerd is changing a bit. The ~vibes have shifted~, as the kids say. Gen Z actually seems to be embracing what we previously considered being nerdy. People are beginning to code at younger and younger ages. Games like Roblox force kids to create and design (and actually in one conversation-member’s case, his nephew learned an entire new language from playing with friends!). Technology like Reddit, Twitch, and Youtube enable people who have particular interests that might not be popular among their local friends to find camaraderie online. The internet has enabled these niche communities of “nerds” to branch out past the extra tiny group of people in their community to a new world. No longer are youths fanboying over rebuilding a computer on their own in their basement, but engaging with online groups to learn more.
So what do online groups have to do with being a “nerd”? Everything. It’s not that they’re just accepted, they’re now expected. It’s being embraced by a community where otherwise you might be rejected. But what’s more is that “nerds” of old were ridiculed for enjoying computers and the internet. But especially coding. Now, tech jobs are all the rage, being online is to be alive, and Gen Z just doesn’t tolerate assholes. They’re blunt. If you like to code and you’re not an asshole, you’re not a nerd, you’re just a person. People who can build cool things are respected, not shunned. Everyone should be a nerd. Everyone can be a nerd.
We could have been totally wrong. Bullying might be rampant still and nerds still looked down upon, but we all felt a similar shift in the way that we see younger people growing up. In the 70’s to 90’s it was about being physical engineers due to the Space Race and 90’s to 2010’s it was about finance due to the gobs of cash. From the 2010’s on it’s about building cool shit, having a life, and being curious due to connection.
This was a shorter post because of a crazy week of work and personal life. Back to our regularly scheduled programming next week!