So, remember recently when Seth Rogen was all over the news because he is awesome spoke before the Senate about Alzheimer’s?
Well, as a long-time fan of Seth (Jew power!) and of his laugh (one of my favorite things in the world…it might even hold a place on MY LIST, just above a man in a suit and just below Yes Jude Law Still Stop Judging), I had a conversation that was just a wee bit Hipster Ariel about how my long-time love of his was better than the hop-on-the-bandwagon fans of his.
And then I felt like an asshole.
Because who cares? It doesn’t make my love for him better because I knew about it first. It doesn’t really mean anything, other than the fact that I have seen This Is The End more than the average person should.
But we see this behavior all the time. In conversations. On Facebook. In comment sections of blog posts, mostly.
“OH THAT’S NOT NEW…I have been doing that for ages.”
“OH YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED SCANDAL…I watched that years ago. Before it was popular and mainstream.”
“OH YOU JUST STARTED EATING SUSHI…I have been eating it since Claire did on The Breakfast Club.”
“OH YOU LOVE A CHEVRON STRIPE…I have loved that since I was a toddler.”
Why do we feel the need to say that we liked something first? Or knew about something first?
A friend recently told me that she started watching Mad Men. Now, here’s a response I see all the time on social media: “You are just watching now? Have you been under a rock? It’s so amazing. I watched it from the beginning. I am an expert on everything Mad Men.” My response: “I’m actually so jealous that you get to watch it for the first time—I wish I could do that. Enjoy every minute.”
We could all be a little less Hipster Ariel, don’t you think?

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