I decided to change this week up a tad. I will be drawing this analysis from an article about naming babies from Time Magazine and an article about hipsters from NPR.
Coming from two universally respected sources, these two articles may seem worlds apart at first, but they both mirror a growing sentiment in America today: the need to be unique in a flattening and internet-based world. "The Hipsterification of America" speaks mainly about the spread of the hipster ideology throughout America. Once on the outside of society, hipsters have become almost universally accepted and widespread as the internet has spread their message. Now, more and more being a hipster is -- ironically -- popular. It speaks to trying to be an individual in a large population. The article from Time Magazine on naming children follows a similar thread of individualism. Part of the article is written about how people will judge children based on the spellings of their names. "Alexandra may be spelled Alekzandra; the "kz" combo is almost never seen in middle-class families" This then, would promote people to treat the child with less respect because it is a "lower class" spelling of the word. The article mostly, however speaks to the increased role of the internet on choosing names. When choosing a name parents look specifically for negative associations to the name and the uniqueness of the name.
What struck me the most about both articles is the desire to be unique so much that people are willing to alienate themselves and their children. Both articles continually stress this growing American sentiment. To this end, both articles show a large knowledge of their audience and current culture.
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