Teens: Anti-Cool is the New Cool

A few weeks ago, one of my teenager daughters came home from a shopping trip with what she calls her "nerd glasses." They were a cheap, non-prescription, non-sun-blocking, entirely non-useful accessory for her wardrobe. I must say that she looks awesome in them. And while you might wonder why a normal American teenager would want to buy and wear "nerd glasses" (and she's probably my most image-conscious child), I think it reflects a significant shift in teen culture.

While most adults from my generation can reflect on our teen years as a time that we desperately wanted to be "cool," we're seeing a post-modern shift away from that today. It's almost as if cool has spent itself out, been shown to be lacking, or is simply too much work for the average teen. Anti-cool has become the new cool.

I just read a great business/marketing article this morning that articulated this movement very nicely. See what Matt Britton has to say on the subject...

Shaun White, Glee and the Rise of the Anti-Cool