It was a steady development, but now it’s plain as day: we are in a knowledge epidemic. Everybody wants to learn, and this hunger has shown up through numerous outlets, whether it’s a resurgence of age-old items or the rise of new online spaces. These days, it seems everyone is itching to read more, to start a new hobby, to listen to podcasts, and, in simple terms, to educate themselves.
Everyone wants to learn: A Trend
Now, this could just be an interest, a reminder of the value of books and learning that has spread like wildfire through a generation. But with the sale of commodities that “enhance” your reading, promote your blog, and lock away your phone, it’s more than a widespread interest; it’s a trend. From encouraging one another to design “DIY curricula” to recommending Substack articles and Spotify podcasts, along with actual learning comes the public sharing of said learning, through social media mainly, but also through platforms like Substack and Goodreads.
More than just learning, people want hands-on learning. They want physical books, crafty hobbies, hand-written notes, and a perfectly imperfect junk journal. To reconnect with the real world, an e-book on your phone on the subway is not going to cut it. You need something real, grounding, and physical.
INfluence on other trends
This thirst for knowledge doesn’t stop with books and articles, nor does it stop with consumers. Corporations are striving to satiate consumers’ new interest in all kinds of industries. It’s no coincidence that office siren attire like mini glasses and suit pants are trending, nor that recent headliner movie releases include film adaptations of classic novels, such as Frankenstein or Wuthering Heights.
And beyond apps like Goodreads, Internet users are looking for other mediums to prove they are cultured, whether culinarily, on Beli, or cinematically, with Letterboxd.
Not just learning, Sharing
Not only do people want to learn new things, but they also want to share their learning with others. More than just sharing their intellectual accomplishments, they look to actually dispense knowledge. Online users are becoming “hobby influencers”, posting helpful “how-tos” for beginners. Others are starting blogs and podcasts, dispersing their thoughts, reviews, and ideas to the masses.
These innocent and ambitious projects can be helpful, inspiring, and even help their audience as a force for self-improvement. Personally, a vested interest in putting down my phone and picking up physical learning has helped me change many habits I resented.
On the other hand, not everyone is an expert, and nearly everyone is acting like one (including me, right now!). Media literacy is declining. No longer are people thinking skeptically like their elementary school teachers once coached them to; the threat isn’t misinformation on Wikipedia, it’s opinions under the guise of intellectualism, taken at face value. While it’s great to broaden your perspective, hear others’ ideas, and broaden your horizons, these ideas should be taken with a grain of salt. One should consider their own thoughts and try to reconcile whether they do or do not agree.
One problem is that it’s difficult to see this trend for what it is: a trend. Maybe you made the conscious choice to get back into reading or to listen to a history podcast, but that choice was not made in a vacuum. It’s easy to feel a sense of superiority for reinvesting in your brain, but it also can make you blind to others’ qualifications and motivations.
Many people have begun to note this, calling out a steep spike in “pseudointellectualism,” with a new trend emerging of critiquing its predecessor, calling many of the hobbies it encourages “performative.” The issue is that this topic is infinitely meta, and criticism can go round and round.
A response to the political climate
It’s not a difficult jump to see how this movement presents as a response to the, yes, I’ll say it, current political climate. In the United States, we see a movement towards knowledge as citizens face an increasing lack of individual control in tandem with an increase in state power abuses. Additionally, as Gen Z reaches adulthood and their 20s, we become more and more aware of worldly issues. It’s easy to get swept up in the current of concerning world affairs, and these two events in conjunction can make it feel like everything is going wrong. People may be interested in educating themselves, becoming more informed, and focusing on exercising their brains in order to combat these negative forces.
On the other hand, one could ask if reading a fiction book or learning how to sew might be a mechanism to feel more informed and educated without facing the realities of politics or the actions they demand.