Popularization of Skateboarding Causes Controversy
TikTok is a social media platform used to create and share short videos that range from singing to comedy skits. As TikTok has progressed over time, so has its content. TikTok has definitely increased the awareness and popularity of skateboarding because of its wide variety of videos that showcase skateboarding culture, leading more people to take up the extreme sport. Some older skaters think that skateboarding becoming more popular is terrible for skate culture and many are upset because when they first started skating it was considered as more of an underground culture and not really as cool or as accepted as it is no
w. In my opinion though, seeing more people starting to skate is awesome and not a problem at all. It’s great to see this development in the skate world because it grows the whole scene and creates more opportunities to meet new people through skateboarding. It’s hard to find people who ska
te, but when you do find other skaters, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, everyone just becomes friends through skating.
The skating community is also very supportive and teaches you to push yourself and improve at everything you do which is another reason it isn’t so bad that more people are getting into it. Just the thrill of landing a new trick makes you want to do better and learn more which teaches you to persevere in all situations.
The only problem with this new popularization of skateboarding is all of the posers and clout chasers who use skateboarding to be viewed as cool or so they can impress someone or even so they can make a fashion statement. These attitudes are really looked down upon in the skate community.
A poser is someone who says that they skate but doesn’t even try to skate; someone who talks the talk but can’t walk the walk or who is all bark and no bite. People should not get into skateboarding if they don’t enjoy it, or if they aren’t going to have a positive attitude towards things.
For instance: one day when I was skating at Kanis skatepark by myself, some guys from Jonesboro came- which is a long drive just to skate. Two of them were cool, but one guy was saying racial slurs and comments, while also talking trash to everyone at the park – even though he had the least amount of skill there. When I sat down to take a break he walked up to me and asked me some questions about skating. I answered him and tried to tell him a cool story, but then he just walked away, ignoring everything I had said. He also kept trying to do a trick, and when I suggested how he could do it better and actually land it, he just talked more trash about me.
These kinds of people who enter the skateboarding world are not welcome at all and I am strongly against it because they bring negativity into skating and bring other people down, hurting the skate world. People with this terrible attitude also discourage other people from skating or starting because they judge and don’t care about the community aspect in skating. On the other hand, I think that overall if yo
u have a passion for skateboarding and a positive outlook when you do it- go for it! Whether you get into skating through TikTok, or through a friend or even just wanting to try it out, it doesn’t really matter what skill set you have, it just matters that you have fun when you do it. You don’t have to be Tony Hawk- you don’t even have to know how to kickflip or ollie, even if you just roll around and have fun that is what counts.
