I don’t think we truly realize how much the concept of being a nerd has changed.
If you watched any 1980s movie or TV show set in a school, you would surely see people being teased, bullied or harassed for being “nerds” or “geeks.” Yet, in just a few decades, we remade those words into lighter descriptions of people who are enthusiasts or have a specific passion.
Media that was once thought to be nerdy — like video games and science fiction — fell into mainstream popularity, forever changing how we think about nerd culture. The “Star Wars” franchise alone made almost $12 billion in just 12 years under Disney’s ownership, symbolizing the cultural significance of media once called nerdy.
Yet there is one area where being a nerd still has a negative reputation: the technology industry.
University of Minnesota second-year mechanical engineering student Malcolm Richmond said students and young workers in technology-related fields face stereotypes about social awkwardness and mental health problems, making an existing culture of isolation and othering worse.
“All the things that people who are socially successful think about themselves in their worst moments are stereotypes that are applied onto CSE people as though it is the norm,” Richmond said. “And it’s generated this culture that is not necessarily an acceptable way to be to everyone else, but is somewhat the set standard if you are on one of these paths.”
This alienation from societal norms has led to the rise of the “tech bro” trope, a stereotype so common it has its own Wikipedia page. Even the Cambridge Dictionary has an entry on tech bros that mentions the overconfidence and lack of social skills people fitting this archetype often exhibit.
Despite this infamy, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other prominent figures who fit the tech bro image use the prospect of innovation and technological progress to justify their more controversial takes, such as the idea that the workplace has become too feminine and that aggression is a valuable workplace skill.
Richmond said while many of those who fit the stereotype of the tech bro idolize the reputations of people like Thomas Edison, they were misled into thinking innovation requires an individualistic, cutthroat and competitive industry culture.
“The ‘tech bro’ as an idea represents someone who is technically at the forefront of whatever technology there is in that they champion it and wear it on their back as a moniker,” Richmond said. “But they do not think about the ramifications. They are the short-sighted version of what the inventor used to be.”
Controversy about views on workplace behavior is just one layer of problematic tech bro culture. The stereotype has taken on a political connotation as major figures in technical industries have become more involved with right-wing politics.
No other person embodies this phenomenon as much as Elon Musk. The man who could become the world’s first trillionaire, previously praised for his work leading innovative companies like Tesla or SpaceX, gained infamy for his recent political work, such as when he spoke at a rally for a far-right German political party or when he went viral for a gesture resembling a Nazi salute at a Trump inauguration event.
University mass communications assistant professor Ruth DeFoster said our increasing social media consumption and the influence of social media algorithms have created a media landscape where isolated individuals can be led into negative internet subcultures, such as the incel or flat-earther communities.
“If you have a young man or young person who is already feeling marginalized or as if they don’t meet the status quo in some way, there are now endless algorithmic niches to reach out to them and just say, ‘Hey, you can have a community,’” DeFoster said.
As isolation and the idolization of innovation led to the rise of the tech bro, the community offered by online right-wing discourse provided an outlet for feelings of discontent and alienation.
Political figures are quick to capitalize on this trend, with both Musk and government officials utilizing nostalgic media like “The Lord of the Rings” to advocate for their political policies. This combination of nostalgia and politics proved effective for the political right in 2024, with a majority of Generation Z men voting for President Donald Trump.
“The right is the exact same as the current tech and media industries in that it is largely fueled by nostalgia and hope,” Richmond said. “But it takes that nostalgia and hope and corrupts it into something that must now be protected instead of something that can be regenerated and made better.”
DeFoster said that while texts typically associated with nerd culture aren’t always the most progressive, many people fail to recognise utopian themes in older media.
“I think there are a lot of people who are missing the nuances in some of these traditional texts, like traditional sci-fi shows,” DeFoster said. “They’ve very clearly missed the point of the texts.”
Even though they may be seen, and even see themselves, as an isolated subculture, the growing tech bro community is proving to be a substantial cultural force. The movement’s idols are among the heads of business and politics, and they are growing more controversial every day.
If we want to stop the tech bro culture from falling into more extreme ideological niches, we must address the perceived isolation people going into the technology industry face. That starts by recognising how much our view of tech culture is jaded by lingering, decades-old stereotypes about nerdiness.
Breaking down those stereotypes will be a good first step in welcoming young tech enthusiasts back into the societal fold, preventing alienation and online radicalization.
Having a bad reputation for being a nerd is so outdated anyway.
