How "with it" are you?

In My Humble Opinion
1

And as a subset:

How “with it” are you ACTUALLY
and
How “with it” do you see yourself?

For some inexplicable reason it’s bizarrely important to me at my advanced age to remain “up” on things in order to interact with people socially both online and IRL.

There is stuff I have zero interest in but I recognize is expected to come up in conversation at any given time: Kardashians, Jersey Shore, HIMYM, American Idol, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Glee, yadda.

But the music is HARD WORK. There are approximately 10,000 bands/singers out there right now who are the NEXT BIG THING and I cannot even. I’m force-feeding myself as much as I can and will never catch up.

How “with-it” do I see myself? Pretty with-it. I’ve seen Justin Bieber, Big Time Rush, and One Direction live (BEFORE their US debut on the Today show, ahem.) I know The Wanted but don’t especially like them because they look like Dick Tracy villains and I know LMFAO and you do too, even if you think you don’t because they’re the song in that hamster commercial.

How “with-it” am I actually? I would’ve said 100% NOT AT ALL until I had this exchange a couple days ago:

Me: (meandering disdainfully around the music section at Wal-Mart)
Pimply Teenaged Employee: “Can I help you find anything?”
Me: “I’m looking for the One Direction “Up All Night” Yearbook edition?”
PTE: …
Me: “They’re a band?”
PTE: “One…band? I don’t think we carry that.”
Me: “No, One Direction - it’s a Wal-Mart EXCLUSIVE?” (No Joke.)
PTE: If we had it it would be over there? ::waves hand::
Me: (It’s…only the number one album in America? They’re on the cover of Rolling Stone? You don’t even have the REGULAR CD. WTF?)

So in a nutshell, I’m more “with it” than the 17 year-old boy at Wal Mart. And the entire Wal Mart corporation in general apparently. Which may or may not say something.

Oh, also: does anyone get what I say when I say “with it” or am I so old that’s not “with it” anymore? That would be the sweetest burn ever.

2

Being in my mid20s, I’m pretty with it.

I don’t own a tablet or even a laptop, but I have a smartphone and do regularly read technology-related websites.

Music and TV I couldn’t care less about staying “with it” since it’s all a fad anyway and isn’t changing the way we live our lives like say vast technological improvements.

3

“I was with it. But then they changed what it was. Now what I am with isn’t it and what’s it is new and scary to me.”

  • Abraham J. Simpson
4

I was never with it.

The fact that I am still not with it does not make me feel any older.

5

LOL - right?

But though a lot of it is dreck I’m really into a lot of it too. I’m not scared though. I’m excited…but overwhelmed. Does that make sense?

6

I’m marginally “with it” with music, because there is so much good music available these days, but that’s about it. I watch some tv that is hip and trendy, but because I like it, not because it’s hip and trendy. I wasn’t cool when I was still young enough to be cool; now it’s physically impossible. :slight_smile:

And now I’m off to listen to One Direction.

7

If I do stumble onto something that’s hip or cool, it’s usually by accident. I stopped being “with it” when I stopped watching cable tv (I passionately despise commercials). I haven’t owned a tv in years, and I never voluntarily turn on someone else’s. So, since I don’t encounter commercials on a regular basis, I learn about new shows online and watch them online (through Amazon Prime). Maybe an SDMB post or Facebook friend or a random youtube video will motivate me to try out a new band or tv show or movie. Sometimes it’s a real stinker, but usually it’s worth checking out. It may or may not be cool, but I don’t care about that anymore.

Real-life example: on Friday night, my sister mentioned she had gone to a midnight showing of Hunger Games with all her colleagues (they’re young teachers), and I was like “wtf is that?” So I read up on it online, and decided I wanted to see it. The next morning I got up for a 10am showing (only $6!) and checked out the movie. It was good enough that, upon getting home, I obtained the trilogy and had read them all by Sunday afternoon. And now I feel like I’m pretty much a Hunger Games expert, even though my knowledge of the series didn’t exist 72 hours ago.

That got kinda rambly, but my point is: in order to be “with it,” one must consume one’s media in a hipper way than I do.

8

Never, ever, ever been anywhere close to “with it.”

My idea of really hot music is a Vivaldi concerto!

9

Musically, I’m with it.

Culturally and otherwise, I’m not … and that’s fine with me.

10

“With it”?
My dear, I am the trend-setting innovator. People catch up with my tastes and interests. I am ahead of the curve, and by the time the “With It” people catch up with me, I wil have moved on to something more awesome.
I was wearing bow ties before Dr. Who declared them to be “cool.” I was drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon thirty years ago. When the Big Band sound comes back, people will be asking to copy my playlist.
I do not try to emulate what others think is “with it,” and I am happy that I have reached the stage of my life where I honestly do not give a damn whether anyone else watched the same thing on TV as I did.

11

I think I am a pretty hep-cat,

Daddio.

12

Yeah, I’m down with a social networking site where the first rule of said social networking site is “never mention social networking site” but then on Twitter Justin Bieber’s manager links to Tumblr so whatever. The cat is out of the bag.

I play violin, so fist pump at Vivaldi. (And Mozart - Mozart is SO fun to play!)

That having been said, at a recent fanfic competition wherein the prompt was a song someone asked “can it be classical?” Nice!

13

If you’re still buying music on CDs, you’re not with it.

14

What if he was a hipster though? Not knowing who is #1 in the charts is totally hip. You knew, which exposes you as completely un-hip.

Didn’t think of that now, didya? :wink:

15

Yeah, at any given time iTunes will blurt my music I legally uploaded from a hard disc (AND/OR legit paid download) is not available for no reason.

You bet your ass I buy the CD.

And yes, I BUY shit. Sue me. If I respect/enjoy bands/people I will give them money to keep doing what they’re doing.

16

I’m not with “it”; “it’s” with me.

17

You’re not with it.

18

Thing is, pop culture has massively expanded, particularly with the Internet and explosion of social networking. There’s so much that it is literally impossible to know everything currently popular. Everything is much more segmented than it was before; look at how many articles have been written about the lack of “common experiences” to share as a culture. With more ad more options targeted at more specific groups of people, the Pop Culture Venn Diagram has a lot fewer intersecting regions (though they still exist, of course).

Hell, even “Internet pop culture” has massive divides, where you will randomly see some meme that you had never seen before that moment, but has been around for months or years and is apparently really well known within other groups.

19

Age 36. Never been “with it,” never gave a rat’s ass.

I personally find it more inexplicably bizarre that somebody would waste their time on TV shows and whatnot they’re not interested in rather than just finding people to talk to that are into stuff they’re actually interested in.

20

Oh look - Zayn signed my CD - You?