# How "with it" are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892 "2012-03-26T23:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/61 "2012-03-27T15:58:19Z")
I think the Kevin Smith bit about “Here is the pulse. Here is your finger…” pretty well sums it up for me. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/62 "2012-03-27T16:32:19Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You’re the old lady who thinks pre-teen crap is actually cool. Nope. Not what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/63 "2012-03-27T16:49:17Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Nope. Not what I said. Oh, it must be another voguevixen who has been covering Cafe Society with her Justin Bieber obsession. CrazyCatLady is spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/64 "2012-03-27T19:44:52Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The OP isn’t “with it”. She’s like most 30- or 40-somethings who decide at some point they want to be, and who end up being wannabes. \ That’s what I’m kind of afraid of - I’ve liked Top 40/Pop music all my life, and I still do. I’m not trying to be cool by listening to current music; I just like it. Ah, what the hell - at 45, I’m also learning not to care very much what other people think. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/65 "2012-03-27T20:40:39Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m also learning not to care very much what other people think. 🙂 This is the true state of “with it” \*For values of music, hobbies and other assorted items. Not to be extrapolated to murder and merging on the highway. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/66 "2012-03-27T20:50:55Z")
Nope, not with it, never was with it, didn’t spend a lot of time in the same house with it. I can’t even pretend to be post-ironic - just clueless. I’ve seen _The Hunger Games_, along with about 29 million other people, so even that is no good for creds. I’ve given up on “hipster”. I am now shooting for “crotchety oldster”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/67 "2012-03-27T20:55:58Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Oh, it must be another voguevixen who has been covering Cafe Society with her Justin Bieber obsession. > > CrazyCatLady is spot on. Haven’t you heard? Bieber is 18 now. In other words, time to find a new obsession! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/68 "2012-03-27T21:14:50Z")
I’m with a carefully selected subset of “it”. None of which includes reality shows. I think I was last with it in 1974 or so. Most of the music I listen to today is older than the Benny Goodman my mother listened to when I was a kid. I did want to improve my musical range, but I went back 200 years, not forward 30. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/69 "2012-03-27T21:15:05Z")
Well, I finally read the Hunger Games, since I heard it was actually pretty good and I promised the 13 year old in my life that I would. Otherwise, I don’t feel the need to take much more than a cursory interest in her pop-cultural tastes, since while she appreciates my willingness to listen to her wax poetic about them, \*me \*being super-enthused about Bieber and Disney Channel fare would be creepy to her. She prefers when I tell her about cool \*old \*stuff she doesn’t know about. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/70 "2012-03-27T21:35:33Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > :: pats you on head:: > [@voguevixen](#): > > And you shagged how many birds tonight? [What’s wrong?](http://i42.tinypic.com/21o07l5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/71 "2012-03-27T21:45:49Z")
I’m 51 now, and considered myself FAIRLY “with it” (or, at least, reasonably knowledgeable about current pop culture) until I was about 38. That’s the year I first looked at the Billboard Top 20 albums and realized “I don’t know who any of these people are.” I’m “with it” only in this sense: I’m at least AWARE that I’m steadily growing farther out of touch. Or, to put it another way, I sort of know what I don’t know. I couldn’t hum/sing a single song by Lady Gaga or Katy Perry… but I know some of their titles. I’ve never seen a single episode of “Real Housewives of Anyplace,” but am aware of the titles and know some of the names of the stars. I’m certainly not cool (never was), but at least I have some idea of what I’m no longer up to date on. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/72 "2012-03-27T22:12:56Z")
I didn’t say anything about cool - I just said I’m aware of stuff. The two are completely different. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/73 "2012-03-27T22:32:41Z")
Probably would’ve been best included with my last post, but I was just reminded of [this scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pvnSMAf-N0) from Austin Powers. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/74 "2012-03-27T22:52:13Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Probably would’ve been best included with my last post, but I was just reminded of [this scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pvnSMAf-N0) from Austin Powers. Ahahaha - yeah that’s pretty accurate. ---
**Author:** ![DeweyDecibel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DeweyDecibel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeweyDecibel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/75 "2012-03-27T23:14:36Z")
I’m 31. Not at all with it in terms of reality shows or top 40 type music. I know about the popular tv shows that aren’t reality tv, but don’t watch very many. I mostly watch shows that, while popular, aren’t the highest in ratings. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. But I do watch Glee sometimes, and Modern Family regularly. I know a little bit about popular music in the rock/“indie” genres. I currently like The Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, and Vampire Weekend. And Adele. I’ve heard of the band in the OP, because they were on a magazine cover and I’m observant. But I wouldn’t know their songs. Heck, if I didn’t go to the gym, I wouldn’t know a Justin Beber song, although I would know who he was and who he is dating. I read enough random internet articles to know crap like that. I know a lot about food trends, fashion (the stuff people actually wear, not fashion week stuff, but what’s currently sold in Nordstrom), and movies. I know what movies are popular and see the ones I’m interested in. Locally, I’m with it in that I know what restaurants are good/bad/new, what stores are opening/closing, what’s coming at the arts venues, etc. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/76 "2012-03-27T23:37:23Z")
> [@DeweyDecibel](#): > > Heck, if I didn’t go to the gym, I wouldn’t know a Justin Beber song, although I would know who he was and who he is dating. I read enough random internet articles to know crap like that. Yeah - I’m always surprised when every so often someone will say something like “I couldn’t pick Justin Bieber out of a lineup.” He’s like, EVERYWHERE. He’s on a toothbrush for cryin’ out loud! I’m stunned there isn’t a Bieber cereal or something. (Oh! I gotta tweet Scooter! I’m gonna be rich!) I get not liking him, I just think it’s odd that someone could be so oblivious to something so everywhere. > [@](#): > > I know a lot about food trends, fashion (the stuff people actually wear, not fashion week stuff, but what’s currently sold in Nordstrom), and movies. Oh this is interesting, I hadn’t thought about that. I am way way out of it in regards to movies, which is odd because I worked in the exhibition industry (oh! that sounds dirty - movie theaters, I mean of course) for like 15 years. I just got really burnt out on movies and things relating to movies and hardly ever see them now. It’s strange - my husband worked in the business twice as long as I did (his first ever shift was when Grease opened: the first time) and he still goes to a couple movies a week, easily. I go maybe once a month or so, usually to see something based on a book, haha. Loved **Moneyball** , and saw **TinTin** three times\*. What exactly IS a food fad? I can think of two, and these are both fast food related: ciabatta bread and chipotle anything. \*ETA: Oh THERE’S a big fat one right over the plate I guess. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/77 "2012-03-28T00:12:55Z")
Since I have no life, and spend hours on the internet every day, I “know” an awful lot of who and what is ‘in’ and why. Not that I’m particularly interested in the ‘with it’ stuff - like actors, I can’t tell one Ryan or Jennifer from the other Ryan or Jennifers, but I recognize their names, and the names of some of the movies they’re in. I watch a handful of TV shows faithfully, and I recognize the names of others that are ‘with it’ like New Girl, but that doesn’t mean I want to start watching. I haven’t been to the movies in years, but I know which movies are playing, which movies are hits, which are flops, and who is in them (I prefer TCM and have a vast knowledge of classic old-school film: give me a gaudy 50’s musical on Sunday morning and I’m thrilled, but you couldn’t drag me to a rom-com or a comic book movie, though I know who’s in them and what they’re about.) As for music, I’m basically stuck in the 80’s, but I have a wide range of likes from big band to classical to jazz to lounge lizard stuff. And Lady Gaga. I adore Lady Gaga. Even some (admittedly old) rap. And yes, I buy, burn, and listen to old-fangled CD’s. If I didn’t have them, I’d have to drive around listening to the car radio! I also have a VCR, so there. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/78 "2012-03-28T00:35:52Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > And yes, I buy, burn, and listen to old-fangled CD’s. If I didn’t have them, I’d have to drive around listening to the car radio! I also have a VCR, so there. HAHAHA yeah I want to hold something in my hand and say I OWN THIS DAMMIT! (Which is odd, since I have a Kindle. Hmmm) But yes - I downloaded the most recent Big Time Rush album because I had amazon song credits and it was on sale on top of it or something but I still feel like it’s the album I don’t actually have. I can’t shove it into the CD player in my car or loan it to someone without burning a copy and that’s just an extra step as far as I’m concerned. Clicking “download” on something is so anti-climatic. When you open your screen door to your sad, lonely apartment and an Amazon box plops at your feet nothing compares to the furious slicing of the box, the peeling of the cellophane, that FUCKING title strip, then FINALLY the CD. \*\*Exquisite! \*\* ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/79 "2012-03-28T01:00:15Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > 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. Agreed. The long tail phenomenon means that one doesn’t have to be into whatever’s broadcast to be “with it” to a significant number of people. I listened to that One Direction video and I’m amazed at how you’re interested enough to get a CD, let alone a signed one. Just not my cup of tea, and it seems like it’s a really age-specific pre-teen girl thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892/80 "2012-03-28T01:03:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m 51 now, and considered myself FAIRLY “with it” (or, at least, reasonably knowledgeable about current pop culture) until I was about 38. That’s the year I first looked at the Billboard Top 20 albums and realized “I don’t know who any of these people are.” > > I’m “with it” only in this sense: I’m at least AWARE that I’m steadily growing farther out of touch. Or, to put it another way, I sort of know what I don’t know. > > I couldn’t hum/sing a single song by Lady Gaga or Katy Perry… but I know some of their titles. > > I’ve never seen a single episode of “Real Housewives of Anyplace,” but am aware of the titles and know some of the names of the stars. > > I’m certainly not cool (never was), but at least I have some idea of what I’m no longer up to date on. You know, the instances of the word “titles” in your post looks a lot like “titties” if you don’t look too carefully. Just sayin’. 😃 > [@voguevixen](#): > > I didn’t say anything about cool - I just said I’m aware of stuff. The two are completely different. But why would you care about being aware of things if you weren’t concerned with appearing cool? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-with-it-are-you/616892.md?page=5)