Societal norms

The world is all about controlling people and this plays into what people buy, how they behave, identity and why we have a culture of people who do not think independently.

Being self-directed means our choices come from our own clarity, not from rebellion. We don’t need external validation, and we value simplicity. Being real guides our decisions, and we don’t attach our identity to appearances, roles, or trends.

I don’t follow societal norms and have been called rebellious throughout my life when I am just not influenced by society’s prescriptions. I am not fighting society I am just not absorbing it anymore and living from my own internal compass, but people interpret that through their own lens. I don’t believe I internalised these so-called norms in the first place. That’s very different from rebellion and actually a sign of strong internal guidance.

Society projects strong pressures, expectations, prescribed norms and encourages conformity. Culture, advertising, media, education, family expectations, all influence how people behave, often without them realising it. Those who do not automatically absorb those ideas are often considered non- conforming by others because it challenges their own comfort.

Companies and institutions try to influence people because it’s about making money. Food marketing dictates eating norms, fashion influences self-image and the media pushes trends. They work because most people don’t examine them.

People follow norms because it’s easy, familiar, socially rewarding and the belief it gives them a sense of belonging. They are not conscious thinkers and tend to see people who are independent thinkers as disruptors because they do not understand how they are being influenced. Independent thinkers are not trying to fight anyone but rather just trying to stay true to themselves.

Many people are losing themselves in external expectations, social comparison, and constant pressure from media and culture. People who think deeply about societal conditioning and autonomy, tend to break away from prescribed roles or reject unnecessary labels because they want the freedom to be themselves.

Social media distorts self-worth, pushes unrealistic standards, sells identities as products, and encourages fake over being real. The world doesn’t reward independence very well but rather, conformity, sameness, trends, consumption, belonging through copying and predictable behaviour.

A lot of systems in place benefit from people not thinking for themselves because consumers who feel insecure will buy more, fear missing out so follow trends. Many platforms profit from addiction, politics benefits from predictable behaviour and marketing works best on people who doubt themselves.

People tend to misinterpret anything that doesn’t mirror their own behaviour because they see things how they are rather than anything else. Those who rely on external validation, social norms, and the need to fit neatly into categories don’t have an inner separation, so they are much more influenced because they haven’t developed that internal filter. We either come with that filter built in or we will become aware and develop it leaving the rest blindly following.