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Reference rule
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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On one had, responding like that is definitely a sign that it's not going to work. On the other hand, that's a perfectly normal feeling for a person who doesn't live their life on the internet.
I mean, how is it any different than referencing movies, music, TV shows, stand-up comedy, or any other piece of pop culture?
Would referencing a movie somebody hasn't seen before make you terminally in-theater or something? Though, having said that, I am now going to take every opportunity I can to work the phrase "terminally in-theater" into my daily life anytime somebody mentions a Marvel movie or something.
Twenty plus years we could have shared pop culture. If it was on the radio or popular cable TV, maybe many people saw it. But now there's too much information, period. Everyone specializes. If you expect people to know their memes, you're pressuring them to consume the same media they do. Not cool.
So, float the meme, why not. But expect it to flop. Be happily surprised when it doesn't.
This is true but also the way her date phrased the response was pretty rude af. If someone references a movie I don't know, I don't go "La-dee-da, look at Mr. Film Buff over here," since that would be fucking rude (and I also like films, but that doesn't mean I know most of them).
I would probably instead say, "Is that a movie you like? Should I watch it?"
Indeed, play it as a conversation deepener
Sure, and it's fine when a meme flops. But this person was apparently being an asshole about the entire concept of memes.
My wife is into things I'm not into. Sometimes she even drops references to those things into conversations that I don't get. You know what I don't do? I don't say, "So, I'm supposed to memorize all these TV shows in order to have a conversation with you?" That's being a jerk, and completely unnecessary. I just kinda politely smile and nod, and move on.
I agree, you shouldn't expect people to understand every reference you make. My statement was more about how the quote in the pic and, to a much lesser extent, the comment above both seem to view being introduced to a new thing by someone you like as sort of a bad thing. The quote in the photo especially is a red flag of not caring about the things the people you care about are into.
Obviously not everybody is going to be familiar with the same media as you. But if somebody gets upset with you because you quoted a joke from a source that they're unfamiliar with, that's on them, not you.
It's not. If you're really into pop culture and you frequently make such references then someone who is not will have a hard time communicating with you.
It's not about internet culture being bad, it's about the communication gap between people with very different cultural references.