Nerd culture has recently grown from comprising a small industry with a small audience to becoming an ever-expanding market with a huge audience to boast. What once used to separate “nerds” from society is now finding its way into our own mainstream lives and is growing in popularity. From TV shows to video games, comics or manga, it has seamlessly found its way into many of our lives.

It used to be considered nerdy (in a bad way) to be super into video games. “Compared to back then, games have evolved so much, and its data base of players has expanded so much that it’s sort of mainstream now,” said Freshman James Click. From old pixelated games to high-definition graphics, the evolution of video games may have broadened their range and appeal to audiences, making them “cool” today. Besides the improvement of quality, the plots of games also appeal to audiences. “

have an ever-expanding market. The highest grossing entertainment game ever was Grand Theft Auto 5, which hit a billion dollars in three days. It just destroys the competition in other markets, so there’s definitely dramatic increase of interest in video games like that,” said Sophomore Jeremy Goldberg. “Now that there’s more development of video games, I feel like it’s an expanding market, so more and more people are getting into it. A lot more colleges are teaching coding because of that,” said Click.

Movies are also a major part of the entrance of nerd culture into mainstream society. Wearing a superhero tee shirt was not considered cool back in the day. Today, totally acceptable, and yes, even cool. “Comic books started being taken seriously in 2008 with Iron Man,” said Senior Anthony Chuidian.

TV shows like Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory and Game of Thrones have also helped integrate nerd culture into society as well as daily life. It is now cool to be an intense fan of a series that once might have been considered “out there.”

Anime has also had an impact on making nerd culture more mainstream. “I think [anime] is cool because it’s unique,” said Senior Adam To. Comic books also have contributed to the acceptance of nerd culture as well. Graphic novels seem to be growing in popularity, as seen in the halls of UC High.

Conventions have likely expanded nerd culture as well. “I think conventions like Comic Con, Anime Expo, Blizzton and E3 may have influenced people who at first weren’t really into the idea of nerd culture, but once they went, it actually interested them and may have contributed to the increase of nerd culture,” said Freshman Arynn Agustino. “Personally, [conventions are] one of the best things that you can experience if you have any interest in pop culture. Aside from the crowds, it’s a great way to get to know people with the same interests as you,” said Chuidian.

“I think it’s cool how everyone’s interests have shifted, and how people don’t get put down for being interested in things like that,” said Fernandez. Despite the history of ridicule that nerd culture has suffered, society and UC High students are now embracing nerd culture with open minds, hearts and arms. “We’ve evolved as a society to be more accepting of what we used to consider minority groups, like nerds and geeks,” said Senior Christian Medina.