There can definitely be many meanings when it comes to talking about the social norms of the society we are so guided by or entitled to. Our parents have been living by them, they are making us live by them, or at least make us understand them every time our rebel side comes out (once in a while though). But, wait, what exactly is a social norm here? Unless and until you’re a sociology student or someone who loves sociology, you wouldn’t know what it means rightly.
The Definition Of Social Norm
Norms are considered as a collective representation or written rules with respect to behavior which is admissible by a certain group of people. Norms exist to help individuals live in the society with each other in harmony and peace. You can also go ahead and call social norms as cultural products. How does a society function? Have you ever wondered about it? See, what people crave for is approval from others for most of their time on this earth. And the ones who don’t follow the social norms suffer from disapproval and become an outcast of the group. This is how society works — following the rules and meeting the expectations. And these norms can cover various aspects of your life, be it values, traditions, customs, discipline etc.
We Are All Guided By Social Norms (No Conditions Apply)
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Why are you shocked reading this? It’s the damned truth, isn’t it? Every small interaction we perform in our lives, even a simple handshake for that matter is guided by certain invisible rules which we all as a part of society have made for ourselves. But then, hey, don’t panic now. What we need to understand is that we surely are guided by the norms of the society, but we certainly aren’t limited by them alone. For example, consider our fashion industry, does it play by the same rules? Definitely not! The fashion industry tells us every now and then that this is what is trending right now and this is what will make you look good. And every small change that the fashion police tell us, we as a society follow it. Could be the fashion fuss over choker necklaces or high-waist shorts.
So, you see, we all have the power to change the social norms. We just need to start off with a strong head and find a solid reason for the change. And if you’re already scratching your head thinking about reasons, we’ve already found a few for you. Read on.
1. We Are Wrecking Our Planet
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Don’t tell us that you haven’t heard of global warming. We’ll consider you are lying if you did answer a yes. The climate change, the acidification of oceans, the extinction of certain species — all of these are the contributing factors for global warming (1). Of course, we can find every head of every political organization debate over it. But the truth is that it isn’t happening because of just them, it’s happening because of every human alive and living on this planet earth.
2. We Have Made It Difficult To Be Happy
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The trending definition of success right now is this — to be married before one turns 30, have two kids at least, a steady job with an increasing salary, and be a boss both at work and at home. Just tell us one thing… how is anybody ever going to survive peacefully in a world that has so many qualifications to be happy? Think. Just think!
3. We Are Successfully Creating A Society Where One Has To Have Hands On Everything
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It’s the consumerism that is dictating us as to what can keep us happy. The more we keep continuing to buy the fancy stuff by shelling crazy amounts of money, the more consumerism will rule us. We just need to fulfill the basic necessities of life in order to live. We shouldn’t overdo it, right? It’s a different thing if you can afford the luxury. But we see so many around us taking loans to experience luxury in life which is very wrong. We don’t really need to have it all to feel good about ourselves. Therefore, stop spreading yourself so thin everywhere.
4. We Have Begun To Think That We Cannot Make Another Live Without Them Being Ridiculed
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If your dress is too short you become a character of a doubt. If the dress is too long then you become a prude. Working out 6 times in a week signals out that you’re being too harsh on your body, but if you’ve overslept on a single day then you’re termed lazy. Labeling everybody is one social norm that we definitely need to get rid of. It tears the confidence of the victim while boosting the confidence of the insane people.
Our point to tell you all about the above-mentioned things is that, we need to understand that it’s us who form the society. Our culture, our identities as groups, everything is determined by us. We are the present and the next generation, therefore, we need to take small steps to make changes for the good. These small steps will turn into huge leaps later on. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Why We Need To Change Our Social Norms? appeared first on STYLECRAZE.
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