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There is some genuine insight here, but it is needlessly bundled with defending the kids. Blind conformity is bad, and falls under the umbrella of having a weak

by Siira 4y ago

There is some genuine insight here, but it is needlessly bundled with defending the kids. Blind conformity is bad, and falls under the umbrella of having a weak will.

sandworm101 4y ago
Don't blame the kids for their blind conformity. That is dictated at them from above. Kids today live in fear of being singled out in an negative manner. It can destroy your future. Mistakes are now permanent. A viral video of you doing something stupid as a teenager might come up in job applications decades later. Getting caught drinking alcohol in the park on a Friday night might mean jail/expulsion from school. And don't get me started on grade inflation. Study the wrong material, bomb a test, and you can say goodbye to that 97% average needed for university applications. So every kid is desperate to make sure they are studying exactly the same material as everyone else. That is the only safe way to make sure you don't waste time on a tangent. Kids today do and should fear breaking social norms. They live in a very rigid society.
- Forgeties79 4y ago
  > Kids today live in fear of being singled out in an negative manner. This is not a new phenomenon in the slightest. Bullying and teasing have been around forever. The only thing that changes are what people will be bullied and teased about, but ultimately it doesn’t impact whether the bullying happens. Kids will always find a way to identify themselves by what they are not, or single out someone for not conforming, even if it’s completely innocuous or out of their control. Hell adults do it too. Kids just don’t have the ability to couch it in dog whistles or cover it with some window dressing. They will pick on a kid for being different until an adult teaches them to respect differences. That has always been the case.
lupire 4y ago
It's not a very interesting criticism to say that most of humanity and mammals are social and look to each other for reassurance. You could turn it around and criticize people for being anti-social in their independence and disrepst for other people's needs and wisdom.
Retric 4y ago
There is nothing inherently blind about following because there is normally multiple examples to chose from. Picking a stream of someone studying among all the other possible streams is very much a choice even if that choice provides some validation. In aggregate culture is a back and forth of people pushing in new directions or independently discovering existing ones and others following their lead, but it’s the followers who determine what’s normal more than the pioneers.
- LigmaYC 4y ago
  Followers do not determine what's normal, they only do what they consider is already normal. And pioneers do what they care about regardless of whether it is 'normal'.
  - Retric 4y ago
    If only 1 person does something it’s not normal. Hell if 1,000 or even 100,000 people on the planet do something it’s still not nominal but the vast majority of that first 1,000 let alone everyone after that going to be followers. Put another way the first person to ever make pizza didn’t suddenly transform it into a cultural phenomenon. It was enough people copying the idea that transformed the initial concept into one of the most popular types of food.
    - LigmaYC 4y ago
      There's another group in between pioneers and followers, the people who are willing to follow things that haven't gained traction yet. That group plus pioneers are most important to entering the mass market of followers.
      - Retric 4y ago
        The group you’re describing are still as you just said following someone else. But even if you add a new group of early followers it also works in the other direction. Stuff most people do also stops being popular because of what the largest groups of follower’s decides to stop doing.
pixl97 4y ago
Most people are weak willed, hence society exists.

by Siira 4y ago

There is some genuine insight here, but it is needlessly bundled with defending the kids. Blind conformity is bad, and falls under the umbrella of having a weak will.

sandworm101 4y ago

Don't blame the kids for their blind conformity. That is dictated at them from above. Kids today live in fear of being singled out in an negative manner. It can destroy your future. Mistakes are now permanent. A viral video of you doing something stupid as a teenager might come up in job applications decades later. Getting caught drinking alcohol in the park on a Friday night might mean jail/expulsion from school. And don't get me started on grade inflation. Study the wrong material, bomb a test, and you can say goodbye to that 97% average needed for university applications. So every kid is desperate to make sure they are studying exactly the same material as everyone else. That is the only safe way to make sure you don't waste time on a tangent. Kids today do and should fear breaking social norms. They live in a very rigid society.

Forgeties79 4y ago
> Kids today live in fear of being singled out in an negative manner. This is not a new phenomenon in the slightest. Bullying and teasing have been around forever. The only thing that changes are what people will be bullied and teased about, but ultimately it doesn’t impact whether the bullying happens. Kids will always find a way to identify themselves by what they are not, or single out someone for not conforming, even if it’s completely innocuous or out of their control. Hell adults do it too. Kids just don’t have the ability to couch it in dog whistles or cover it with some window dressing. They will pick on a kid for being different until an adult teaches them to respect differences. That has always been the case.

lupire 4y ago

It's not a very interesting criticism to say that most of humanity and mammals are social and look to each other for reassurance. You could turn it around and criticize people for being anti-social in their independence and disrepst for other people's needs and wisdom.

Retric 4y ago

There is nothing inherently blind about following because there is normally multiple examples to chose from. Picking a stream of someone studying among all the other possible streams is very much a choice even if that choice provides some validation. In aggregate culture is a back and forth of people pushing in new directions or independently discovering existing ones and others following their lead, but it’s the followers who determine what’s normal more than the pioneers.

LigmaYC 4y ago
Followers do not determine what's normal, they only do what they consider is already normal. And pioneers do what they care about regardless of whether it is 'normal'.
- Retric 4y ago
  If only 1 person does something it’s not normal. Hell if 1,000 or even 100,000 people on the planet do something it’s still not nominal but the vast majority of that first 1,000 let alone everyone after that going to be followers. Put another way the first person to ever make pizza didn’t suddenly transform it into a cultural phenomenon. It was enough people copying the idea that transformed the initial concept into one of the most popular types of food.
  - LigmaYC 4y ago
    There's another group in between pioneers and followers, the people who are willing to follow things that haven't gained traction yet. That group plus pioneers are most important to entering the mass market of followers.
    - Retric 4y ago
      The group you’re describing are still as you just said following someone else. But even if you add a new group of early followers it also works in the other direction. Stuff most people do also stops being popular because of what the largest groups of follower’s decides to stop doing.

pixl97 4y ago

Most people are weak willed, hence society exists.