Geeks versus Hipsters, the battle of genuine and ironic, of true and trendy, and of forever and temporary. Some will mistake one for the other, although they are clearly very different. To clear up any confusion, here is how you tell a Geek apart from a Hipster.
Geeks are Genuine, Hipsters are Ironic
Whether it’s about passions, eyewear, clothing, or enthusiasm, this is a true defining difference between the two. Geeks truly love their fandoms and favorites, while Hipsters ironically embrace pop culture. Same goes for wearing glasses or graphic t-shirts, geeks wear those because they love it while hipsters wear it to make an ironic statement.
Geeks are Early Adopters, Hipsters are Trend Setters
Geeks are known for embracing new tech and gadgets early when released, and even taking time to research what they are buying. Hipsters see what is popular, and avoid that and find something different so they can stay away from the mainstream. They will even go back in time and bring back something and make it cool again, like record players and polaroids.
Geeks are Experts, Hipsters are Experimenters
Geeks invest a great deal of energy into mastering one thing, whether it’s Magic the Gathering, Five Night’s at Freddie’s, or rebuilding a computer, they will become great at their passions. Hipsters, on the other hand, jump around to new and different things to experiment with what is not mainstream.
Geeks admit their title, Hipsters will not
Geeks are open and willing to say they are a geek. They will even defend it. Hipsters are quite the opposite. They will say they are “just being themselves” and avoid the phrase hipster altogether.
So take extra care when seeing if someone is a Geek, because they might actual be a Hipster.
Ha! I’m forwarding this to my husband, who’s been a bearded, plaid-wearing, software developer for over a decade and a proud geek who HATES that hipsters co-opted “his” style. I keep telling him it’s the world’s way of admitting he and his fellow geeks were right all along!
I find this funny coz me and my partner are definitely included in both groups. We are geeks who’s bedroom is FILLED with fandom stuff but we also really love vinyl and antique collecting. We play dnd but also go to gallery openings. We both dress like some weird mashup of geek and hipster. I openly embrace my geek and I deny my hipster side :’D
Awesome post!! Time ago I also wrote about it ‘coz I was surrounded by Hipsters (and I happen to be a Geek) and I started to freak out LOL (Like… went to live abroad, returned back and all the geeks had gone…like… disappeared… You know, like dinnosaur-extinction thingy…)
xoxo
dePepi.com
Yeah I always figured that hipters is like a passing fad, while Geeks are always with us. To me, we geeks feel passionate, and hipsters just chill. Great post!