Whether you’re “cool” or not is totally subjective. Some might say Sabrina Carpenter is cool, others might think middle-aged radio hosts are even cooler. (Seriously, we have a couple fans.)
A new study looked at what “cool” means to the average person. They polled 6,000 people in a dozen countries around the world. And it turned out that where you live doesn’t actually matter much.
Coolness, and what MAKES you cool, is fairly universal.
They found it comes down to six core traits. If you score high in all of them, you’re definitely cool, at least to the average person. (Important to remember: people are idiots.)
The six traits that make us think someone’s cool are: Being extroverted, adventurous, open, autonomous, hedonistic, and powerful.
You probably know what the first three mean. For the other three: “Autonomous” means you’re independent and don’t try to fit in, “hedonistic” means you can enjoy yourself without feeling guilty about it, and “powerful” means you’re confident and don’t let people push you around.
If NONE of those six traits fit you well, it doesn’t mean you’re not a cool person. You just might not fit the cookie-cutter definition of what “cool” means in 2025.
They noted that “coolness” is a social construct. And everyone polled had to be familiar with the word “cool” for their vote to count. Meaning that movies, TV, and social media have TAUGHT us what “cool” means. So, they were kind of just repeating that definition.
Past studies have found that being friendly and competent are also seen as cool traits. And authors of the study were also quick to note that being “cool” doesn’t mean you’re a GOOD person.
Many of the “coolest” people in history, maybe even most of them, were total jerks.
(For example: Until recently, one of the “coolest” people around was Kanye West.)
