🔎 View Tweet
Super interesting story, I know exactly what you mean. It may help to mention I’m in Florida, so the dynamic may be different in other states. But it’s funny. When I was growing up, I was a part of the tribe. I fit into the culture in many ways. I was one of the “popular cool kids” as cringy as it sounds now. It was fun. Football games, dances, house parties… literally like the movies. But then I went to university. The culture got out of hand. I’m Gen Z so this is unique to my generation I suppose. But everything was so extreme and fragmented. I went to a school with a huge Greek life scene so frats were a huge thing, but I didn’t want any part of it. But on the other side is like really introverted pseudo-philosophers who gate keep their cliquey friend groups. And, considering my city is the least walkable in the U.S., it’s really hard to feel a coherent sense of culture. It’s just so broken and tribal. It’s like you have to “pick a side”, or “pick a sub-culture” as opposed to having a general underlying culture like in Scandinavia for instance. I studied anthropology in uni so I pick up on these things I suppose. But at least here, the culture seems fragmented. Like many, I am expressing the repressed parts of my self here on Twitter. But I have friends and a community. It just feels like I have to turn on a personality switch to completely engage, which kinda sucks, but I do love them dearly. I feel like a cultural ronin basically, moving from one cultural sub-group to the other. Sorry for the long read lol