Hipsters, Trends, and Friends

Isn't the trend of "hipster" rather strange? I mean, my understanding of "hipster" is wrapped up in four words: Before It Was Cool. That might just be the joke, but I feel like that's where it started out. Glancing around the Internet, it sounds like "hipsterism" as we know it started in the '90s as a reaction against... something. Hipsters created their own look by not looking the way everyone else did. They popularized hobbies that no one else did. They listened to certain types of music that weren't popular. So... hipsters did stuff before it was cool.

When I look around, I don't see that at all. It seems like recently there's been a new wave of hipsters (or maybe it's finally reaching me. The joke is that Christian culture is about 10 years behind secular culture, so it would make sense.), but they're not those original pioneers of "before it was cool". Instead, I look around and see a lot of people that engage in "now that it's cool". Maybe I'm being too picky, but it's an observation that I've made.

“Although friendships can start and be sustained through trends, they shouldn't end because of trends.”

But why does it even matter? I mean, a lot of hipster fashion looks good, and they're getting people to use bikes (even if they're fixies) rather than drive everywhere, so it's not a bad thing, right? I don't know. I mean, looking at things like that, I suppose not. I guess the idea that's sticking in my mind is the question of why people follow trends so closely. Now, maybe you're tempted to dismiss my opinion. "You're just angsty because you can't pull off hipster." And maybe I am, a little bit. But maybe I'm finally stopping and thinking enough to realize that trends come and go really quickly.

Remember Pokemon? What about yo-yos? My groups of friends have gone through so many trends. Skate boarding. Hacky-sack. Cars. Facebook. Halo. DotA. League of Legends. Listening to certain preachers. Reading certain authors. I've even got some friends that are really obsessed with Forever Lazies (which, let the records attest, I find completely ridiculous).

I don't have a problem with trends, necessarily. We just need to be careful with how much we value those trends. I've seen friend groups splintered because of trends. "Your parents only bought you a Butterfly? Mine got me a Fireball. You loser." "You play _________? We play _______." "You wear/listen to/like that? Uncool."

Although friendships can start and be sustained through trends, they shouldn't end because of trends. Author Timothy Keller writes "There are two features of real friendship-constancy and transparency" (The Meaning of Marriage, 112). Notice that trends don't fall into either of those categories. Now, to be fair, Keller continues to say that friendships are drawn together by common interests or what CS Lewis calls a "secret thread" that connects two individuals. But I feel like constancy and transparency are the things that deepen friendships, hold them together, and make them worthwhile.

Your Turn
What were some of the trends that you and your friends went through? What are some of the things that draw you together with your closest friends?