Here we go, post numero uno. Gonna be completely honest here: I have no idea what a blog really is or what it's purpose is supposed to be. All I'm certain of is that one is required as an assignment of sorts for my Cultural Psychology class and that I'm supposed to talk about my experiences and thoughts in relation to culture. Guess it's time to reopen the class syllabus and have a look-see.
Thinking about culture and how we're shaped by it is something that I've been doing long before I ever enrolled in this class, though likely never to the extent that is expected of me here. Developmental psychology is my preferred area of study within the field and the effects that culture has on child development is always something that intrigued me but I never bothered actually going out and conducting my own independent research. Culture and child development are intimately connected, as culture dictates what kind of a person a child develops into. It sets their interests, relationships, likes and dislikes, and whatever else you can think of. I've always considered myself to be a little more outside of contemporary culture than most people. I'm constantly observing other people's behaviour, thinking about why they behave the way they do, and how most people I observe tend to follow a more or less "cookie cutter" set of behaviour while out and about. I often forget that I am by no means the only person who thinks this way; in fact, I imagine most people do the same thing I do. I guess the main difference between and the general public is that while they can seamlessly interacts in all sorts of ways with all sorts of people while maintaining their observational nature, I kind of "sit outside" in a way. I find it difficult interacting with most people and when I do, I tend to think about what I'm doing and saying while I'm doing or saying it, often to the point where my behaviour comes across as awkward. Interpersonal interaction has never been my strong suit; I have few friends, though that's by choice, and I enjoy spending time by myself or with those close to me rather than spending time with groups of people. I have kind of a social anxiety thing going on, but it's been like that for as long I can remember so whatever. If I plan on going out with people, it's almost like I have to psych myself into it and prepare my "people face". It takes a lot of effort, haha. I just prefer spending time alone, with my family, and with my girlfriend. I suppose I see myself as slightly counterculture, which ironically is a culture in and of itself. Though not too counterculture, like hipsters or skinheads or whatever. Just kind of an outsider from the otherwise "normal" population.
While I see myself as an outsider from the culture we see outside everyday on the streets, in the workplace, and on campus, I do consider myself to belong to a number of sub-cultures. First and foremost, I consider myself belonging to the gamer culture; that is, I play a lot of video games. Like a lot. As in I practically eat, drink, and breathe Nintendo. Most of my free time is spent gaming, listening to video game music, and reading about video games. But besides gaming, I also consider myself somewhat well-versed in internet culture. And no, I'm not talking about Facebook, Reddit, 9GAG, or any of those craptastic bastardizations of supposed "internet culture" focused solely on the overproduction and oversaturation of memes. I'm certainly not deep web, hacker material or anything like that. As you can probably guess at this point, I'm a frequenter of 4chan. Yeah, I don't give a crap about Rules 1 and 2 (as if anyone has actually mentioned those since 2008) or that this blog isn't exactly anonymous. It's not like no one's heard of 4chan, anyway. It's like site number 5000 on the Alexa rankings, or whatever. Contrary to what I've been saying to this point, people like me who consider themselves outsiders actually do exist in great numbers and they congregate on sites like 4chan and other *chan sites. It's kind of like being an outsider of one culture makes you a part of another. No matter where you do or what you do, you're always part of some culture. Unless you literally grew up under a rock or in the woods alone. Which isn't very likely, considering that whole humans need other humans for survival thing. Besides gamer and internet culture, I also think of myself as slightly belonging to the japanophile or "weeaboo" culture. Like many solemn and angsty teenagers, I found myself fascinated with and mesmerized by Japanese animated television shows, or anime for anyone under the age of 40. Shows like Inuyasha, Gundam Wing, and Dragon Ball Z were my life. And that fascination lead to an obsession with all things Japan. Oh well, at least I learned some cool stuff about eastern culture. I'm still into anime (Cowboy Bebop and Rurouni Kenshin ftw), manga, and other Japanese stuff now, but not as nearly as much.
Anyway, it's getting sort of late and I guess I should peace out and sleep for a while. I spent a lot of time tonight talking just about me, which happens. Perhaps next time I'll actually start in on something culturally meaningful and thought-provoking. Maybe.
