Following the crowd

Wolf Hanssen wrote: »

I don't usually follow the crowd.

Hopping on the latest trend bandwagon appeals to me as much as my genitalia being peeled like a banana..... Not much!

Id follow you anywhere though FC.

Follow me and everything is alllllrrriiiggghhhhtttt.
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night and if you wanna leave, I can guarantee you won't find nobody else like me.

The feeling is mutual, Wolfie.

Azalea wrote: »

How do you know?
Basically you're saying you don't like it, therefore nobody else could possibly like it and they're only watching it because others like it. Obviously *somebody* likes it if you reckon people are only following the crowd who like it. So maybe they all actually just like it?

This superiority complex some folk have about not following trends is as bad. Why care if something is popular once you like it? That's often the reason why people follow something in the first place - not just because it's a trend.

You can be your own person and still simultaneously enjoy something (e.g. prosecco in my case - I love champagne but it's obviously only for a special occasion; now there's a drink that's similar to champagne, slightly nicer actually, and it's very affordable) or a few things that are popular.

This annoys me to no end as well!! I listen to popular music because that's what is on the radio when I drive to work in the mornings and I do enjoy listening to it.

I like Justin Bieber's new stuff, I really do. Well, the amount of abuse I have received for saying that, Jebus Christ. I never comment on other peoples choice of music.

I'm nearly worse than Hitler in some peoples eyes. :rolleyes:

Give over people, I can like what I like.

Candie wrote: »

People like to belong, and they find a tribe the identify with and adopt those customs. If the tribe wears goth clothes then they do too, if they wear Uggs, then they do to. It's a basic human need to feel connected in some way with your fellow homo sapiens, and having common signifiers of belonging is one way to display your acceptance and membership of your chosen tribe.

BTW, I have Uggs and they make fantastic slippers when you're a cold feet girl in the mornings. I can also put my feet in them in my PJ's and have my coffee on the steps outside and they keep me toasty. I don't wear them out though, to be fair.

During my last year or so at boarding school, the three most visible girls in the school all started straightening their hair and suddenly everyone owned hair straighteners (except me, not because I'm non-conformist, because I'm lazy) and was up ironing their hair before classes every day. It became more and more refined as a craze, not only did they start straightening, but they started using the same heat spray product too, and then finally everyone owned the same brand of straighteners. This is the point where it moves beyond a trend and becomes part of a group identity. I clearly remember one girl being ridiculed because she owned a brand of straightener that wasn't GHD. The following term it was the iPhone. This is what happens when people want to belong too badly, all individuality is surrendered in the search for acceptance.

That's an excellent post! It's not just about trends though, I also mentioned group mentality and how people act differently in groups. I know as teenager, I hung around with some not very nice people for a short period when I was around 14/15. I was quiet in school and at that age I just wanted to fit in and be liked. That group definitely had some influence over me and my actions. Granted I was an impressionable teenager at time, but it does scare me when I think about how powerful a group of individuals can be with a few leaders. I ended up falling out with them eventually. Thank God!!

I think it's really interesting because I know in the past I would say things in a group and think afterwards, why did I say that? That's not what I think at all. Not necessarily bad things. Or in some cases I would just listen and nod, when in fact I didn't agree with anything that is being said. I would rather just let them at it, then disturb the peace.

Not so much anymore, as I don't really hang around in groups. I do have groups of friends but I'd see them more individually rather than in a group.

Larry the Logster wrote: »

Bloody hipsters.

But even hipsters are conformists, only listening and liking things that aren't mainstream.

They are a group of people who conform to the same idea.