Do people pretend not to know who people are in order to seem intelligent?

[coulditbeme2323]

Do people pretend not to know who people are in order to seem intelligent?

This question is prompted from reading comments online re The Met Gala?

Now let me prefix this by saying I have no interest in reality tv, Showbiz mags, etc - but surely there are some people who you know who they are because everybody does!

There were people saying "who" on a photo of Kim Kardashian. I have never seen an episode of the show, have no interest in her, but of course I know who she is - because how can you not?

Another British example is Jordan/Kate Price. No interest in her, but she has literally been headline news in The UK for 20 years. If you live in The UK - surely its impossible to not at least know who she is?

You sound very narrow minded if you think people who don’t know who Katie Price is “walk around with their eyes closed”. No, they’re probably more focused on real life issues.

I didn't really pay it much attention. Just assumed actress or something.

I think the level of interest in something is more of a thing than intelect.

And there we have it.

I do know their names, if not always which one they are but I think it’s pretty good when people have no idea who they are. It doesn’t matter if they don’t.

Richard Osman said this morning, talking about Traitors “Big shout out to the “WHO???” brigade!” 😂

I don’t watch a lot of tv, I read a lot, I don’t watch celeb shows or reality stuff etc so I genuinely don’t know who people are. I know the names but I couldn’t pick them out of picture. I don’t really care who they are, what they do etc and I’m not trying to ‘look’ intelligent I just have interests that aren’t ‘celebs’ reality tv etc we all like different things.

Kim Kardashian is particularly well known so I’d be a little surprised if people didn’t at least recognise her. However, just because my experience is that most people know who she is, it doesn’t mean that it’s everyone else’s experience.

There were quite a few other people there who I’d genuinely never heard of, does that make me silly? Maybe they’re super famous to other people 🤷‍♀️

Brilliant

I have heard of Katie Price, Kim Kardashian, David Beckham and Adele.

I would know a little bit what they were famous for - some more than others - I have always vaguely followed football.

Would I be able to confidently pick them out of a line up?
Yes to David Beckham, maybe to Katie Price, no to the other two.

It's one of my pet peeves on here too.

Thread about famous person dying inevitably gets at least one response of "who? Never heard of them". Or thread about a tv show that loads of us are watching and posting along with love gets cluttered up with some morons going "Never seen it but always thought it was crap".

I agree OP. They do it to try and seem high-brow and cultured, it’s really annoying. They’re just desperately hoping no one ever busts them binge-watching the Kardashian’s by themselves with a giant tub of Ben & Jerry’s (which they’ve also “never heard of”) on a Saturday night

Out of interest which of these could you pick out of a line up.

1. David Beckham
2. Meghan Markle
3. Elon Musk
4. Taylor Swift

I can picture the Kardashian mum, but not the daughters, and I don't think I could tell the daughters apart, and I don't know if Kim is the mum or one of the daughters, and I don't know how many daughters there are. I know that one of them was married to Kanye. That's the extent my my Kardashian knowledge. If you showed me a random, out of context Pic of one of the daughters, I might well not realise she's a Kardashian. There are lots celebrities who've aged and I wouldn't recognise now. Most current younger celebrities I don't know at all. I'm not trying to be perceived in a certain way. I'm not invested in my own image to that extent.

I know of them, but I don't know what they are for.

The 26 year old I sit opposite at work has no clue who Kate Moss is!

I am absolutely sure my mum wouldnt know who Katie Price or Kim Kardashian are.

She lectures and works hard in her branch of medicine, follows very key news stories but not much more, reads nature and science journals in depth , and has lots of active hobbies

It's not that she thinks she is better, she just isn't living in that world at all. She wouldn't be commenting on a social media post either though...

My brain can’t seem to retain information it’s not interested in so for me it is about interest.

I’ve heard of the name Kim Kardashian but I couldn’t tell you watch she is famous for or what she looks like. Same with Adele, I know she is a singer but I couldn’t even tell you a single song she’s done or what she looks like.

I wouldn’t post ‘who’ in a comment section though, that’s just weird. Firstly, I’d not be on an article about popular culture but if I were and didn’t know I’d just google it.

I don’t think they are all doing that. I think celebrity culture is so crowded now that it’s impossible to keep up with everyone, especially those you’re not very interested in. I know who Kim Kardashian is but would I recognise her from a photo? I’m not sure. Same with a lot of actors, I’ll know the name but not be able to match them to a face. It’s not trying to show superiority, I’m just not that interested. Rather in the same
way lots of people aren’t interested in snooker but I could bore you to tears about it.

Katie Price I'd recognise, and of course I know the name Kim Kardashian is. But I don't think I'd recognise her and I couldn't tell you anything about her. I don't think I'm alone, and I would imagine most people over 50ish wouldn't know who or care who she is, along with most under 25. I think the Kardashians were very big with a certain demographic, but not a demographic that we all wanted to associate with ;) Didn't they peak about 10/15 years ago, associated with the explosive growth of Instagram in the early / mid 2010s?

But I'd you genuinely don't know who Katie Price of Kim k are, how do you know they aren't important? How do you know they aren't in fact part of "real life issues"?

Kim k has definitely been written about in every major newspaper, and not just gossip style news, she's been on BBC news. Talked/joked about in every comedy show/panel show/news show. You'd have to consume literally no media to have never come across Kim K

no, i don't do it to look intelligent, I've heard of her but I wouldn't recognise Kim Kardashian if she was standing at the bus stop next to me!
I've just scrolled through the BBC photos and I've never even heard of half the people featured, let alone would recognise them off a photo.

I think the fact they are even at the point of commenting on an article regarding them, says they probably indulge in media related to the person they are questioning.

I know the names. I really wouldn't recognise them - they all change their appearances so drastically, they never look the same. I didn't recognise Madonna the other day when she was singing with someone I didn't know of, but recognised her in the 80's.
And I'm really not interested in their lifestyles, so can't be bothered to keep track.

People will recognize the 'celebs' that represent their interests. I would recognise cricket players and rugby players - many women wouldn't (many men too), but I enjoy watching the sports and am interested in the players. I wouldn't recognise footballers, because i don't watch it - maybe the very top ones that engage in other areas of life.

I kind of know who Kim Kardashian is - in so far as I think she is a kind of influencer/social media personality and I assume that she was on the programme Keeping up with the Kardashians, which I think was some sort of reality TV? However, I know literally nothing else about her and I have no idea what she looks like etc. I'm just not interested.

Katie Price? I know that she is famous for her obnoxious views and that she has significant mental health issues. Possibly some kind of criminal conviction? And I think a disabled son? Again, I know nothing else about her, don't know how or why she became famous, wouldn't recognise her if I passed her in the street etc.

If you don't do social media, read tabloid newspapers or watch much television, I'm not really sure why you would necessarily know anything about these people.

I'm pretty certain my DH wouldn't have heard of either of them. Not because he wants to be seen as clever in any way, but just because he isn't really interested in "celebrities" and he is not on Mumsnet.

Surely you can appreciate that people have different interests which lead them to be exposed to different things?

That to me makes sense. She is more the generation of Kate Moss's daughter.
But what the OP means is people who act superior and just say "Who?" if they are commenting about that person.
A 26 year old saying "I don't know who Kate Moss is...what is she famous for?" is a normal conversation.
Just saying "Who?" in a snobby manner is what the OP means.