Modernity, Information and Culture

     Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade you can clearly see the stark change in how we as a overall society has been given information. Gone are the days of newspapers, magazines, lengthy articles and general spaces for people to converse and spread information naturally. I mean really think about it, when was the last time you picked up a magazine? read a article? The way humans have been fed information has been sped up to the max, we are fed high doses of information, insane headlines back to back; stories of varying importance constantly being beamed into our brains. Its something we as a species was made for. This goes further, even into the zeitgeist of culture as a whole. 

     There is no central "Culture"... that was wiped off the planet when the internet as we know it today invaded every home in the 90s, culture at that moment began to slowly unwind. You may say "Well Rusty I think you're dead wrong! culture was blooming in the 90s and 00s!!" and i would agree with you my valued reader, but i cannot shake off the fact that during this era, culture itself was very centralized, it also had offshoots of distinct subcultures. Subcultures are the foundation or roots of the general "Culture"... in the 80s-00s subcultures were very VERY distinct, if you were street punk you WERE street punk, if you were goth you WERE goth, and if you were apart of the hiphop scene, you WERE apart of it! I can hear some of you in the back saying "Rusty! its still like that! you just have to search for it!!!" And I agree with you my inquisitive reader, yes there are very dedicated fandoms and subcultures still kicking in the modern era, but take some time to think.... is there really? well of course there are, Im not gonna disregard those of you who are dedicated to your niche or subculture, what im saying is that as a WHOLE, subcultures are mostly dead. The central "Culture" of our new era is a ragtag structure compared to what it was- say 20 years ago, its not! The foundation and roots (Subcultures) has wilted away. Any semblances of a widespread, long lasting, or prevalent subcultures have either been abandoned- doomed to obscurity or shelved away to antiquity, or they have very small pockets of people still carrying the shell of a bygone era. 

     Look at all of us! we use this site to hark back to a era that Im assuming not many of us remember. A time when the internet was slower paced, a time where life itself was slower paced. The internet has come a very very long way in so little time, that "Culture" has no time to keep up and root itself. Well I can hear a good amount of you saying "Rusty! what are we supposed to do then??" and my dear valued reader i can tell you this... cling to your niche, your culture, your fandom, your hobby, anything! It is up to us to keep "Culture" around, even though it may seem like it is fleeting, like sand falling through our fingers. Welcome newcomers, show off your interest, and give way to a new era. 

     I know a good amount of people saw this blog (basically a small article) read one line of it and promptly scrolled away, but if you my dear valued reader have made it this far, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. What i say is not fact, its just the thoughts of a 20 year old guy living in LA. So i would to hear what some have you have to say.