Trending

Today I have been thinking about why I am interested in watching things, or as some would like to call it, "fangirling."

"Its crazy how much my gut
 opinion of a movie/song is
swayed by what other people
 say, regardless of how I felt
coming out of the theater."

First of all, I honestly don't think that I am as bad as some people, because there are some crazy folk out there with posters covering their walls and cannot control how much they talk about their fandom, etc. But I am not like that.

I realized though, that unlike some of my friends who may be considered "hipsters" (because they "liked them first!"), I actually find interest in things only after someone tells me about them.  I didn't realize how often I did this until this past summer when I became interested in the British TV Series, "Doctor Who."  My cousin actually introduced this to me, and I admired how much he was enjoying all of the bits of this show, so I began to watch and enjoy it as well.  I'll admit, I don't know as much as other people do, since quite honestly I only watch it when he comes back from college or when I am free for an hour on Amazon Prime, but I do consider myself a slight "Whovian."

This is where I get to today's interesting theory.
Typically, as you can see, humans tend to take interest in the same things our friends are interested in.  If someone sounds really excited about a subject, other people will be more willing to hear what they are so excited about and take a chance to find out for themselves if it is enjoyable.  The same goes for the opposite.  Someone announces in class, "This book is boring," and no matter how much you enjoy the book, it is quite the challenge to overcome that feeling that this book is going to be really boring when you read it.

This is where 'trending' happens, and why it is important to be careful how you talk about things.  Think about it: when you or someone else throws out a negative or positive comment on a new topic, watch how it shapes the way people around them treat that topic.
Maybe this is just me, or it could be for the "follower"-type personalities, but it could be true for everyone else at some point too.

Interesting thought: Is it really possible to remain above the influence?