rant about internet intellectuals
15/06/2026
I think we're all a bit too complain-y about everything
I'm definitely guilty of this, especially when it comes to politics. In some cases, I don't think it can be reduced to "just an opinion." Politics often feels like common sense to me, so it's hard not to complain about political ideas that don't seem beneficial for society. But this attitude also shows up in much smaller, everyday things, particularly when it comes to interests, hobbies, and personal tastes.
If you enjoy watching those YouTube video essays that somehow always get treated like groundbreaking intellectual discussions, especially the ones about fashion, you've probably heard of a youTuber called Ash Callaghan. She's from the UK and makes videos about fashion, more specifically about people's opinions on contemporary fashion. I'm only mentioning Ash as one example of a broader trend I've noticed online. Ash is, in my opinion, a good example of someone who uses intellectualism in the wrong way. Being intellectual doesn't necessarily mean knowing more than everyone else. What I mean is that Ash often places herself in a position of authority or wisdom on topics that really don't need that level of analysis.
To give some context, we're all familiar with niche TikTok communities. Every month and a half there's a new thing that's considered cool, unique, and interesting. Then, the moment it reaches a wider audience, it suddenly becomes embarrassing or overrated. I was talking about this with a friend recently, and we ended up discussing the hate towards polka dots.
Polka dots were adored by a certain niche group online, but as soon as the pattern became more commercial and accessible, people started disliking it. In the case of polka dots, I can kind of understand it because the trend became so widespread that people got tired of seeing it everywhere.
When a trend goes from niche to extremely commercialised, I get why some TikTok fashion people start rolling their eyes. You know exactly who I'm talking about: the people who call clothes "garments" or "pieces" because saying "shirt" or "skirt" is apparently TOO NORMAL for them (ffs). But what really gets me is when something leaves their little corner of the internet for five seconds and suddenly everyone's acting like it's been ruined forever. It hasn't even hit the mainstream yet and they're already complaining about it.
SORRAY but your taste isn't as unique or revolutionary as you think it is. There are plenty of people just like you, and that doesn't give you the authority to look down on everything that doesn't fit your personal aesthetic ! A good example was the micro-trend of becoming a perfume intellectual. Suddenly everyone wanted perfumes from obscure online brands nobody had ever heard of, which I actually think is really cool. I love discovering smaller brands. But then, a month later, liking perfume became cringe because now other people were buying fragrances that weren't from major luxury brands too. Right... What I'm really trying to say is that this internet mindset needs to stop immediately. Can't we just like things without having to know absolutely everything about them?
I genuinely don't understand it.
Honestly, I'd rather watch someone open blind boxes on tiktok for a couplew of minutes than listen to another person explain why something is suddenly terrible just because it escaped their niche corner of the internet. At least the blind box videos aren't pretending to be cultural criticism !! What frustrates me is seeing people dismiss things the moment they become visible outside their bubble. Most of the time, these trends haven't even reached the mainstream yet, but somehow they're already considered overdone, ruined, or uncool. It feels less like genuine criticism and more like a desperate need to stay ahead of everyone else lol
What's even funnier is the way people talk about things like blind boxes, Labubus, and useless toys. They're often treated as the ultimate example of mindless consumerism, which, to be fair, they absolutely can be (sorry). But somehow the conversation changes when the consumption is attached to a niche interest. Suddenly buying obscure perfumes, hunting down archive fashion clothes, collecting niche vinyl pressings, or purchasing products from brands nobody has heard of is framed as having taste rather than consuming. The reality is that both are forms of consumerism. One just happens to be socially accepted within certain online circles. If your identity depends on constantly buying things to prove how curated, informed, or different your taste is, you're still participating in consumer culture.......you've just given it a more intellectual aesthetic.
Everyone likes perfume. I'm not required to know every single ingredient or note in a fragrance. Sometimes I just like how it smells, and that's enough. At the end of the day, this doesn't stop me from living my life. I just wanted to write about how exhausting it is to enjoy things and talk about them openly online without someone showing up to correct every little detail or act like they're somehow more enlightened than everyone else.
