Popularity is a good trait to have for a product that is being sold. It means more people know and like the object and that usually means more money. Popularity happens because something in a popular item strikes a chord with a large number of people. Before long, seemingly everybody has seen a certain movie or read a certain book. The fact that so many people like it means it has some basic positive attributes but maybe not much else. And those positive attributes tend to be shared with many other popular things.
I find that I tend to like non-popular things more than the ones everybody says I’m supposed to like. It could be my psychological complex about being unique that drives me to not like what others like. Hopefully it’s something more. Unpopular items have characteristics that few people appreciate. I appreciate them more simply because their characteristics are different. Maybe it’s my way of supporting people who think outside-the-box, like I tend to do.
Not liking what everybody else likes has its issues. I can’t relate to what everybody is talking about when it comes to the latest book or latest Apple device. Even if I wanted to see, read, and listen to what everybody else has owned or experienced, I wouldn’t know where to begin as I am so far behind. Do I start with The Godfather or the latest comicbook superhero movie that I'm supposed to like? I get sick of the hype and the arrogance around something being so popular that I “must” see it. That’s OK, there are many other things to talk about.
The advantages to liking what few others do is that I can buy items like used CD’s for less money. Nobody else wants a CD by the Devlins or Whale… but I do. (Few people want to buy CD’s in general.) Liking what others don’t like takes you to the fringes and helps spur creativity. If I only watched what the masses did, I’d be exposed to the same things they’re all exposed to. Those stimuli have given society what we already have.
Another aspect of this tendency is that I find undiscovered diamonds in the rough. In doing so, I get the satisfaction of sharing with others something that they didn’t know about before. Finding the new and the obscure does take effort. Doing what everybody else does is mindless. It’s easy and it’s less risky.
As I’ve said before, “The road less traveled is the road more lonely.” But I’ve also said, “when you blend in, it’s as if you don’t exist.” I’ll like what I like and I don’t care who else likes it or that I don’t like what others like. It’s too late to change now anyway.
+ Atul
I like the concept of no liking what everyone expects you to like. Everyone is different and likes different things and you should learn to appreciate that uniqueness. How would someone find something popular without liking something different in the first place?
Posted by: Megan Cremona | March 23, 2011 at 04:00 PM
I agree with this guy 100%! I mean I try to be my own person, not because its cool but its because it is what I want to do. I dont care if everyone else wears pink, Im going to wear green...because I hate pink and I love green. It seems as though if I like something and then it gets popular, I stop liking it. I think there is some kindd of inner voice that says "ohhh its popular...dont like it"
Posted by: Crystal Demsky | March 27, 2011 at 01:10 PM
God did not create anyone to be just as the other person we are made to be unique and our own way that’s why we have different hair, skin, color and so much more that is not the same. I love been me an d I would not changes that for anything. I agree %100.
Posted by: Lwatkins | March 27, 2011 at 01:55 PM
What is being different? Does it mean that you are on your own solitary island of uniqueness? Or does it mean that you simply fit into a catagory of people who also thoughtfully choose to not follow trends. While it is admirable and makes life interesting to always go in the opposite direction compared to what most other people are doing it is also important to realize that some people may appreciate what is "different", but just may not have the capacity to look for it as you do. They may have families or work full time or may just not be in that frame of mind. I believe that if you choose the road less traveled it is imperitive to still be open-minded to what the masses may like and not just purposefully shut the door on their thoughts and likes. Doing this guarantees that others will not be interested in what you have to offer and also will not have the opportunity to learn the very jewels that you are speaking of....but maybe that is what you are looking for? Deliberate solidarity?
Posted by: Esmahan Rodwell | March 30, 2011 at 05:05 AM
I completely agree with him. I love movies and music that everyone has forgotten since it is no longer "popular". I like some of the same things that the masses do but to a certain extent. If everybody liked the same things, then where is the originality and the uniqueness that were supposed to have.
Posted by: A. Nichol | March 30, 2011 at 04:15 PM
Great comments everybody. They made me think more about what I wrote in my post. Yes, being unique does make you feel or actually get left out but it's not always intentional. I like to be unique but I'm not sure why. And we are all human so we are all different from each other. I guess some people try too hard to like what everybody else likes and others try too hard to like what others don't. Most of us are somewhere in the middle.
Posted by: UH2L | March 31, 2011 at 12:14 AM
I agree with what he said “when you blend in, it’s as if you don’t exist”. Everyone is special. We should not follow others blindly. But I don’t think that stressing individuality stubbornly is right. I have heard that people live in groups, and a person cannot live without other people.
Posted by: Richard | March 31, 2011 at 12:13 PM
It is a good thing about being different but not at a extent to be completely different. As he says being different has its downs which he "can't relate to what every is talking about when it comes to the latest book or apple device." I don't see how can we have a really good communication when we live in a totally different world than others. I can't imagine being in an environment where every one is extremely unique.
Posted by: Norberto Aviles | April 01, 2011 at 12:57 PM
I agree with the aspect of liking things that others don't, but I did not always feel this way. I used to go along with the crowd. Mainly, I would not see, read, or like anything someone did not tell me about. Then I started to discover bands and movies on my own, and found some what of a personal satisfaction. I like to think that I am creative in my own way and the fact that I don't like what everyone else does actually makes me feel like an individual (which seems almost impossible in todays society).
Posted by: Kirsten Dunbar | April 01, 2011 at 01:54 PM
I often find the things that are the most popular are the things I can’t stand the most. The popular movies tend to always disappoint along with the popular television shows. I find that going against the crowd is always more enjoyable. Plus I am not a fan of liking something because I am supposed to like it because everyone else likes it.
Posted by: Alex A | November 03, 2011 at 08:04 PM