I was taking apart a friend’s computer the other day to install a fresh new stick of RAM, and she caught me off guard when I unscrewed the plastic case and opened up all of the chips and boards and gizmos inside her machine. She saw that I was working with little tools from my computer-modding toolset (I like to call it my utility belt, or my armory) and she shocked me when she said, “oo, that’s sexy.” Sexy? Really? Taking apart a computer to install RAM can be sexy?
Then I thought about it and realized that yes, in fact, taking apart a computer can be sexy these days. She compared it to a guy fixing the engine in her car, just with smaller tools and less grease. Both sexy. Now I’m asking myself, when did nerds transform from dorks in dark rooms with thick glasses and absolutely NO social lives to sexy geeks with skillz?
This new breed of eligible bachelor works in the garage on computers, not cars. Rather than chugging beers, he runs a website on the side that sells rare wines. He has a different playlist for each activity he does, from basketball to grilling burgers to Call of Duty 4. He flirts on gchat and facebook wall-posts more often than in person, and he likes it that way. And so do the girls.
Girls used to look at computer nerds and see pocket-protecting, socially awkward sketchballs. But something happened, and suddenly some computer nerds transformed into [potentially] sexy geeks that might just be boyfriend material. But the question is: what happened?
I’ve narrowed it down to three things: Neo, MTV, and Zuckerberg. Movies like The Matrix started it all, think about it: a computer nerd is the only hope for saving the world, and he becomes almost infinitely powerful by the end of the trilogy. Heroes like Neo planted the seed in people’s minds that there might be more behind nerds’ thick glasses than meets the eye. Then MTV began highlighting bands like The Hives and Panic At The Disco. People started associating skinny ties, black suits, and otherwise dorky attire with being hip. Combine rock and roll with (almost) anything and it immediately becomes cooler. We are one step closer to the evolution of sexy geekdom. To finish off the process, Facebook hits the scene in ‘04. People start checking their facebooks obsessively. It’s not ok to forget to post a ‘happy birthday’ message on your friend’s wall. We begin to see our computer as a means of communicating with actual people. Our laptop becomes a medium with which we can truly cultivate a relationship rather than just a schoolwork, occasional solitaire-in-class machine. Because of facebook and other social media, college students’ concept of the purpose of spending time on a computer began to radically change. Forget late-night gaming, forget programmers and dungeon and dragons, forget leaving your computer behind when you go on a trip. Laptops are college kids’ far-reaching, constant connection with all of their friends–whether they’re at home or traveling the world. And somewhere deep down it clicked with people: it can be cool to be good at computers. Somewhere between figuring out that computers connect people not motherboards, that laptops with bumper stickers on the back can be more expressive than tattoos–somewhere in there, being a geek became just a little bit sexy.
Of course, I’m not saying a that all geeks are sexy. I’m definitely lacking in the sexy-geek area (every time I try to get people to call me Neo it never really goes well). But there are some out there–and they are like heroes to all of us aspiring geeks. Take Tina Fey, Kevin Rose, Conan O’Brien, Will Ferrel, Jake and Amir, Jim Carey… All dorks, all cool.
Now, if I could only figure out how to get the girls to post on my wall, too…
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