What happened to Individuality?
photo: SERIFA
No two people in the world have the exact same fingerprint. Not even identical twins. With movies and TV shows, no two episodes or movie sequels are the same; like art, they may sometimes be similar but never the same, not even two albums by the same artist. You know why none of those things are the same? Because they’d be boring if they were. Uniqueness is interesting, it’s what grabs attention, like when an artist releases an album so unbelievably different from their last one, or when you hear a story so unorthodox that you’d never heard anything like it, you remember it, because it stands out.
Sometime last year, I heard someone say “everyone is wearing the same thing”, the other day I saw a comment saying “everyone is trying to look the same”, a post saying “Individuality is dead”, now I’m writing a post titled “What happened to Individuality?” So, what actually is going on? Let’s take a look at two major things hurting individuality (in my opinion):
The fear of being different:
Usually when something is different, it’s deemed ‘weird’. The word weird is a little multidimensional, yes it absolutely has a negative connotation to it, but if we take that negativity away from it, and examine it neutrally, “weird” means different. But the way we use it in society, it’s almost always used to describe the bad weird, we don’t hear enough about the neutral weird or the good weird. Because it’s almost exclusively associated with its negative connotation, it’s understanding to be tempted to move away from being different, or “weird”. Society too doesn't make being different easy, when you’re deemed weird, you’d likely be more prone to bullying and being consistently misunderstood.
The social media effect:
When a trend seems to gain more traction, I noticed that it gets consistently recycled across people’s social media - be it a certain piece of clothing, way of styling, posing, or displaying a lifestyle. Basically doing the same thing because it’s ‘in vogue’ or ‘trendy’ or ‘popular’. At some point the trend dies, sometimes to be resurrected at a later date, sometimes never again. People either get bored of it and turn the page or some other trend replaces it and the cycle begins again. It’s the pattern of influence: some influencer or celebrity starts a trend, people copy, until it’s decided the trend is no more. The point is, getting to be associated with a certain vision which is typically some trend that propagates across the internet. But is following trends really being yourself?
Did you notice a shared theme between those two reasons? It’s the need to belong, to be a part of something. Since the beginning of time, people have always learned to be grouped together. Early humans are said to have hunted in packs rather than alone, because of safety and division of labor. It’s partly why tribes exist, cliques, and all other forms of groups. The idea of a “safety net”. Being safe is also why we don’t tend to like straying away from what is deemed ‘normal’. Another reason for ‘following the crowd’ or trying to be similar is because ‘normal’ is generally accepted, while ‘different’ is unpredictable, messy, ABnormal.
The good news is individuality isn’t dead and won’t be no matter how many attacks it faces. There are 8 billion+ people on Earth and again, not a shared fingerprint. Just as we are born into groups (gender, nationality, etc.) we are also born with our differences. Embracing that instead of killing it, means accepting yourself as you are, and therefore taking advantage of the one life you were blessed with.
Don’t forget, people may freak out at someone who’s “different” or “weird”, but every single person has something different about them, some are just better at hiding it.
Until the next one
-C
