Crowd on in
We generally enjoy being a member of a crowd. Maybe not physically anymore but certainly we like to belong to a group that shares an activity or a value of ours. As babies, our parental units started us out understanding our need to belong by dressing us in the style of the day, reading to us from the books that were highly praised, planning our birthday celebrations to mimic those of our social circle and giving us the technology to insure that we didn’t fall behind our peers. We kept up with the crowd. That way we didn’t stand out too much and expectations were understood.
Teen Crowds
As a society, we often talk about the need for teens to find others to blend in with so that they don’t stick out. There seems to be an issue with being different although most teens feel inside like they are the oddball. Many movies have been made about the aspects of belonging to the right group in high school. Nerds, prom queens, bad kids and jocks all stand out by adhering to certain dress and attitude codes. The majority of teens don’t end up in any group and they are left without a label or get called by some other limiting label that they didn’t choose. It is believed that these groups give teens some security because they get a chance to fit in. Oddly, adults speak about this passage of time as if they have grown out of it. In reality, the clothing choices may have changed but the need for association didn’t. We follow the trends of our social circles and know what kind of clothes to buy, food to eat, technology to consume and how to decorate our living spaces. We look like we fit in nicely.
Crowdsourcing
The reluctance to be considered different is the result of the fear of being bullied or having our oddity noticed. It is easier to follow the crowd and just do what everyone else is doing. We figure that everyone must know better and if they are buying a certain dog or car, we tend to follow that trend. The homogeneous nature of our lives gives us comfort. We are keeping up with the Jones’. The danger in this practice is the squashing of our own choices to think for ourselves. The rapidity of information sharing has increased our knowledge about what is in fashion. Sadly, this response could bury our own choices and desires. It could also keep new thought in the dark because it could be in conflict with the groupthink. That explains why those who dream those big ideas seem so removed from the average little guy. Just ignore the influencers.
Insource
To combat the habit of just following the crowd, consider your own wishes carefully. It is perfectly acceptable to sit back and wait to see what happens, start your own trend or follow your own drummer. Your own choices are personally more important and you will determine how to demonstrate your own values. Remember that old saying about jumping off a bridge just because someone else did. There is a lot of wisdom in that thought. And you don’t want everyone bungee jumping near you; that is just dangerous.
Is it easier to be in conflict with others or yourself for choosing your own path? Ask yourself this: if social media didn’t exist, what would you choose? Who is influencing you and should they be in your head?
