Once upon a time, anyone who knew how to do anything with a computer beyond switching it on would have habitually been referred to as a “geek”. Certainly, if you spent any more than an hour a day using a computer for anything other than work, you would have been considered uncool. However, recently the use of computers has become something that more people do than not.
The very idea of something like Facebook ten or fifteen years ago would have set alarm bells ringing among the cool kids. Computer users socializing was like dogs rollerblading – not normal, unsettling to look at and something to be discouraged. But as computers have got cheaper and easier to use, social networking is now all the rage.
The boundary between “geek” and “chic” has narrowed in many cases to a point where it doesn’t exist. Indeed, the idea of “geek chic” has really taken off, and it is not even an issue for many kids who have grown up in an age where the Internet is fairly widespread. Now it is those who do not use computers that are considered a little bit odd.
Like any social change, there can be debate as to whether this has had overall desirable results. Certainly, someone who works in computers or just considers them a hobby need not cringe every time they are asked what they are into. With any kind of mass use, a phenomenon can attract undesirable activity and publicity, but on balance most people seem happy with the diversification it has brought.
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