I remember the term "peer pressure" from when I was growing up; my parents would talk about it and warn of the dangers of bending under the (not inconsiderable) force it applied. The kids around me were doing all sorts of things, some dangerous and destructive, illegal and anti-social and at times I experienced pressure to follow along or join in.
I'm fortunate to have been raised to use my independent thought, to consider and weigh up the implications and ramifications of my actions and generally to have common sense; this, together with an understanding of right from wrong, helped me navigate the peer pressures I experienced and to say, screw you when it was applied rather than following on like a sheep.
I'm my own man.
What I mean is that from a young age I was comfortable standing apart or doing my own thing even if that didn't follow along with what was popular at the time or what the other kids were doing. Moving into adulthood, that turned into the ability to challenge myself, to stand when others fell or shied away from responsibility and to do what I needed and wanted to do even when those things weren't popular or easily done. I have achieved more, attained more, and had a more enjoyable and meaningful life because of it.
Complying and conforming
These days, it seems more popular for people to simply follow along with others, to defer to their "need" to fit in, not be seen as different or to go against the grain. I think this is one of the reasons people follow social media like sheep, are addicted to it, and use and embrace their individualism less and less. Complying and conforming seems to be a global epidemic, along with mediocrity and the fear of missing out...which I think lead people into doing things they should not be doing.
People seem to not want to stand out, not for the right reasons anyway.
They follow along with whatever concept or stupid "social media challenge" is popular at the time, spend as much time as they can scrolling through what others are doing rather than living their own life, and generally bow to the considerable pressure to conform and comply that is applied generally and in diverse ways...even though they say they're not.
Screw you
I believe people need to learn, memorise and apply that phrase.
I don't mean they should go around saying it to everyone, just that people should know when to say and think it internally when something comes up that isn't altogether good for them, wholesome or productive. The trick is knowing what those things are first though, something that many young people don't know how to do...and older people too.
Social media isn't social, it's a disease someone catches if they don't know how to say screw you to the propaganda, mind-mapping and pressures governments, corporations, marketers and individuals use to push their own agendas or to further their own gains.
Scrolling through the fake life of some girl on Instagram who does videos wearing a bikini to direct people to her subscription-based Onlyfans page, all of which is fake, doesn't seem very productive...I'd rather be living life with a hot girl who looks good in a bikini and wants to spend time with me living life as well. That makes sense right? (I think it does.)
What I'm trying to get at is the importance of living life as best as one can and I don't feel that that concept is found on social media and by deferring and complying to peer pressures or the FOMO mentality. You only get one life and wasting it seems...wasteful.
In the circles in which I mix people seek something more from their life, something special, meaningful and fulfilling. They actively seek it and actively minimise social media scrolling and the urge to conform to social convention.
No, they're not anti-social. No, they're not (all) anti-establishment nutjob preppers. No, they don't feel like they're missing out by not knowing what some Hollywood "celebrity" ate for dinner or where some fake Instagram girl with fake boobs went for a vacation...they feel like they're designing and creating legitimate, meaningful and engaged lives...I do the same, and it starts with saying screw you to the bullshit.
What do you reckon? Any thoughts you'd like to share? Want to call me a wanker and tell me to fuck off? You can do so in the comments below.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own