The Loss of Individualism in Modern Society

Our society today doesn’t like individualism. It begins in childhood. We are pressured by our peers to be ‘cool’ and do the things and wear the clothes that supposedly everyone else is doing and wearing. If you don’t, you invite teasing and bullying.Public schools support this philosophy by such things as mandatory school uniforms. There may be legitimate reasons why a dress code is established, but many schools go overboard and disallow any personal creativity in dress or accessories, like backpacks or book covers. Everything has to look the same.Even the workplace for many shows this attitude. Think of office workers who exist for eight or more hours each day in drab cubicles. Some office policies don’t allow any customization of personal workspaces at all. Depending on the business and the level of professionalism, I can understand it sometimes. But as long as it doesn’t interfere with work getting done, letting an employee decorate their space (in good taste) should be permitted. But in the majority of cases, society frowns on individualism. We are all supposed to like the same styles of music, follow the latest fads, watch the popular shows, see the latest blockbusters. If we don’t, we’re considered weird or uncool, or whatever you want to call it. If you don’t watch ‘American Idol’ or ‘Desperate Housewives’, you’re just not even worth talking to.You may not have given it much thought before, but I challenge you to look around and see the ways that creativity and individualism is stifled in our world today. You just may be shocked.