Conform To The Norm

Conform to the Norm

You look outside at the summer sky and feast your eyes upon a sunset that is indescribable. Warm tones blend together perfectly for a timeless powerful feeling. Sunsets offer a moment for reflection and realization of the beauty of nature in the world around us. You can sit back relax and embrace the present moment.  Yet, in today’s society you and 400 million other people have Instagram and now instead of living in the moment people are more worried about getting the perfect picture to post. Instead of being reflective people are more concerned with what angle the sunset will look best at, what filter to use, and what time to post the picture to get the most likes. No worries, if you don’t get a good angle on the sunset more than half of your followers will have a different variation of your exact picture. It poses the question are people actually enjoying moments or living to document what they think is #trendy. Why is there such a need to post a picture that you know everyone else on Instagram will be posting, why not actually enjoy the moment and not worry about which filter will look the best or how many likes you will get. As a culture we strive to fit in and be exactly like everyone else. We “conform to the norm” and are influenced by the commodities in our culture. This conformity is ruining our society and our individualism. A simple moment of reflection can provide you with some of your greatest, brightest, and best ideas. Loss of day dreaming and moments of reflection is causing our originality to go down the tubes. We are always concerned with what others are posting on Instagram and how we can post the same picture but better. We have a definition in our brains of what Instagram posts are #basic yet we still post these pictures knowing every single one of our followers has posted the same picture. Although we hate to admit it we are all “basic b*tches.”  We conform to be exactly like everyone else, and people who don’t are considered “outcasts” and “rebellious.” We are constantly “aligning our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around us. It’s a powerful force that can take the form of overt social pressure or subtler unconscious influence.” (psychologytoday,1) It is our main goal to fit in with what everyone else in society is doing. Instagram is amplifying eternal sameness, conformity, and saturation of creativity.

As Fiske states “popular culture is not consumption, it is culture – an active process of generating and circulating meanings and pleasures within a social system.” (Fiske, 23) We live in such a fascinating world, yet conformity is creating limits and barriers that are challenging to overcome.  There are so many “commodities” and they are becoming increasingly more prominent because of social media. Commodities must “bear the interests of the people” (Fiske, 24) this defines why popular culture is influenced by the people. Fisk explains a “text that is made into popular culture must then, contain both forces of domination and the opportunities to speak against them.” (Fiske, 25) Instagram gives people the freedom to post whatever they please when they please. Comment sections on photos create the opportunity to speak out and verbalize person opinions on other people’s posts. Instagram has taken conformity to a whole new level. Take the example of ripped jeans. Some rip their jeans as a form of rebellion while others are looking to make a fashion statement. Regardless, ripped jeans has become a major fashion trend in our society because “everyone is doing it.” Instagram takes commodities to a whole new level because people are constantly seeing what others are posting. Now, if a celebrity or a fashion icon posts a picture in ripped jeans, millions of people are able to see the picture. These “higher power” people are icons and people are influenced by what they are doing, saying, and wearing. The pubic sphere today revolves around social media such as Instagram. Personal views/opinions are constantly being uploaded to Instagram every single day. Instagram helps people create an identity on the web. However, if everyone is posting in a similar manner this can almost be a misrepresentation of personal identity. Why is it that we continually strive to be “basic?” We are so connected to Instagram and constantly comparing ourselves to others which is making eternal sameness so noticeably prominent. Instagram does not “encourage experimentation- it encourages the use of the lazy one click processing.” (Bevan,1) Instagram gives us a look inside people’s worlds…however, the question that arises is are these really a valid representation? Instagram is supposed to be a personal expression of interests, but everyone’s posts show how people are conforming to what is “normal” and “popular” in today’s culture.

Popular Culture is “made by people not produced by the culture industry.” (Fiske, 24) with Instagram our “popular culture” with few exceptions is definitive of “eternal sameness.” Instagram is making it extraordinarily challenging to be creative. We are “navigating a world which everyone is trying to plug in, but we just want to break out. We’re coveting hard-pressed positions in fields saturated with a million other 20-somethings chasing the same dream.” (Sharlow,1) It is becoming more and more challenging to “disguise eternal sameness.” On Instagram everything is the same, there is little to no variation and everyone is craving the same instant gratification. It has become so challenging to be inspired by the world around us because we are always connected to some form of technology. The categorical imperative of the cultural industry “no longer has anything in common with freedom. It proclaims you shall conform.” (Adorno, 20) People are “following the lead of prominent personalities” which is leading to major dependence. People are loosing individualism because they are so concerned with what everyone else is doing. Instagram makes the lives of celebrities easily accessible for everyone. Somehow everyone continues to post the same picture and it is still considered impressive. As a society we need to break free from conformity and live individualistically expressing our own thoughts and ideas. With Instagram being so prominent people are limiting themselves by posting the same pictures as their followers. Conforming to what is normal will kill creativity and generation of innovative out of the box thinking.

Most people on Instagram fall under the category of basic. It is however a challenge to break free from this category when it is considered a norm. Elite daily discusses 27 ways every girl has been basic on Instagram. Most girls have done at least 1 of the 27 on the list. Instagram defines mass culture, yet why do we feel the need to post a picture of us “having the best hair day ever, the typical day of the week picture, or the birthday collage.” (Fern,1) Conforming to mass culture is making this revolutionary platform not so revolutionary. Popularity should not be based upon how many likes you get on picture that everyone else in society has already posted. We try not to fall under the category of basic, yet we conform to do what everyone else is doing. Instagram gives us the ability to access everyone’s lives with one click of a button. As a society we base everything we do off one another which is stunting creativity, individualism, and deep thinking. The stereotype of being basic has become a cultural norm, and although people make fun of being basic they continue to post pictures that fall underneath this category. Most girls in our culture today are stereotyped as “basic because of Instagram. Yet, this stereotype does not bother most girls. How many times have you seen an Instagram caption with the post “sorry I had to do it #basic.” It is a title most girls do not mind having because they want to be like everyone else in mass culture.

With increased popularity of Instagram it is inevitable people will be influenced by others who also use the same platform. Instagram is creating pressure in society because everyone feels as though they always need to put their best face forward. People are constantly comparing themselves to others which becomes emotionally exhausting yet we continually feel pressured to fit in and do as everyone else is doing. It is beyond challenging to break free from eternal sameness on Instagram. Constantly seeking approval from others in the online space limits us from being ourselves and conforming to be like everyone else. It is essential we do not let Instagram saturate our creativity and we use it to enhance our ideas while collaborating with others. Everyone is probably guilty for posting one of the pictures below, yet now it is essential we break free from this "basic"mold and not be influenced by what everyone else is doing on Instagram. 

http://elitedaily.com/envision/these-illustrations-of-a-basic-btch-instagram-are-perfect/990271 

Works Cited

"Death Of An Artist: How Social Media Is Ruining Creativity." Elite Daily Death Of An Artist How Social Media Is Ruining Creativity Comments. N.p., 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Has Instagram Made Everyone's Photos Look the Same? - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Moving on from Facebook." Moving on from Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Psychology Today." Conformity. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"These Illustrations Of A Basic B*tch Instagram Are Completely Spot On." Elite Daily These Illustrations Of A Basic Btch Instagram Are Completely Spot On Comments. N.p., 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"27 Ways Every Girl Has Been That Basic B*tch On Instagram." Elite Daily 27 Ways Every Girl Has Been That Basic Btch On Instagram Comments. N.p., 09 Apr. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

Adorno, Theodor W., and Brian O'Connor. The Adorno Reader. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2000. Print.