In recent years, the term “hipster” has become an everyday word to describe anyone who strays from the mainstream of culture. Unfortunately, a new mainstream of culture is forming because of such a high number of people rejecting the previous one or at least claiming to.

Before I offend anyone, let me just say that I firmly believe that most ideas based on conformity are probably not worth paying attention to anyway. Some people just don’t realize that by claiming to be “hipsters” they are falling into a trapdoor of that said conformity that they so vehemently claim to reject. True individuality is all about making choices based on one’s own opinions and beliefs- not based on the most popular item at Hot Topic.

An excellent example of this is in the video linked to this article. The fact that people would lie about knowing bands that don’t exist at a festival with hundreds of bands is not only hilarious, but also just downright disgusting in my eyes. These fake conformists owe people that truly enjoy that kind of music a public apology before they can regain any sort of dignity. Those who listen to bands that are a less popular just to seem cool or hip are just as worse than those who are mindlessly entertained by the Top 40 charts.

Probably the most disappointing point in all of this is the bastardization of the term “indie music” to describe bands such as Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers. Indie is short for independent which use to actually mean something. These new bands aren’t independent by any means. Older bands described under this term were independent from major record labels because they did not want the integrity of their music to be put in jeopardy. Now the term simply describes a style of music that deserves to be called nothing more than folky-pop- just another label to sell records. I’m sure many people will disagree with me on this, but with the amount of “die-hard” Lumineers fans whose favorite song is “Ho Hey” (one of the most overplayed songs in 2013), I beg to differ.

This so-called new scene of listening to chill music, wearing beanies, and going to coffee shops to read is actually not new at all. I’m pretty sure that if you went to cities like Portland or Seattle 10 years ago, you’d find similar people. The fact of the matter is that these people aren’t faking that lifestyle because that’s just been how they’ve lived for all this time. Unfortunately, it has become another trend that will cause the mindless majority to follow in order to fit in with the rest of society. But when being un-cool becomes cool, isn’t it a lost cause?

What’s lacking here is any sign of individuality. This is not to say that they aren’t real hipsters who truly try to do their own thing; I know plenty. These individuals would never call themselves this term, however, for they would only be labeling themselves to another strict set of soon-to-be societal norms. Labels like this are extremely infectious because they stop the ability for true self-expression. If one is a true individual, he or she can live life according to his or her own thoughts and feelings. No two minds think alike. So how does one pick out the fakes in such a gigantic crowd? That’s easy. Just wait for a year or two for the next big trend to arrive and see who flocks to that.