Conformity

Schools are fertile breeding grounds for conformity. Uniforms, haircuts are examples of overt tools of conformity. Penalizing behaviour that the school administration sees as errant, students disparaging fellow students for showing glimpses of individuality are less overt examples that perpetuate conformism. As I graduated from school and stepped into junior college (11th and 12th grade) we were no longer required to wear uniforms. For a 15 year old this represented freedom and a chance to reinvent myself. However, this new found freedom did very little to change my outlook or behaviour. The fact that I joined the same junior college with several of my school mates further entrenched previously held beliefs. I vividly recall one particular instance that illustrates how pathetically similar we were. During a German lecture at the start of the academic year, the professor asked for volunteers for a project. Me and my like-minded accomplices did our best to make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible. After a few uncomfortable moments laced with silence, a booming voice rang out. A random kid, who very evidently came from a different background, stood up introduced himself and volunteered for the project. This kid’s enthusiasm and courage was met with snorts of derision and chuckles from me and my accomplices. All of seemed to think, who is this idiot? What a loser. You see, we came from an environment where asking questions or volunteering, questioning the wisdom of your ‘elders’ was deemed to be insanity. We were subservient minions who did as they were told. We were so assured of our conformity that anyone who did not meet our warped expectations automatically was a fool.

This widespread conformity has led to the formation of large homogenous groups.

The magnitude of this homogeneity is such that if you knew the traits of one of us, you likely knew the traits of all of us. When I say all of us, I do not mean the motley crew of 16 year olds. I mean thousands of individuals spanning generations who come from the same environs. All of these people have had the same aspirations, the same insecurities, the same outlook towards life. 

You might be thinking (or not), that I am being unreasonably harsh on a bunch of kids. Well, that might be true. But such patterns of conformity tend to recur through different phases of our lives. For example, the kids who conformed to a social hierarchy based on academic merit, today conform to a social order based on wealth. The social order and benchmarks for different demographics, communities have been set in stone. Social mobility, financial independence, exposure to different cultures etc. have done little to expand horizons and change attitudes. This is exactly why you would more or less have a handle of any individual after you find out which community has shaped him or her. Stereotypes exist for a reason.

This homogeneity exists beneath the surface. For the most part it is quite benign, comforting really. But it does affect an individual and eventually society. One of the rather amusing consequences of conformity I have come across is the woes of women looking for a groom. I obviously do not find the frustrations of these women amusing, the unexpected area where conformity surfaces is what piques my interest.  My female friends who have signed up on matrimonial sites give interesting insights into the great conformity. The men that come across have the same education, similar job profiles, the same hobbies, similar pictures, and the same general inability to make any conversation. A friend summed up this phenomenon aptly when she said, 'Every profile is the same. It's like looking at the same guy over and over again. Initially the only distinguishing factors are his physical features. But after scrolling through literally hundreds of profiles even the physical distinctions begin to melt away.'

It is not surprising that millennials (mostly) today face an acute identity crisis and stare at a bottomless pit of emptiness despite ticking most of the boxes of a ‘successful’ life. These are the more pernicious effects of conformity on an individual. India is the best example of how militant conformism can hollow out society. I do not need to address the absolutely rotten state of our society; it is quite evident. We now realize that rampant conformism has killed innovation. We have now reached a stage where innovation and audacity are suppressed. The best we could do was 10-minute deliveries. And like most Indian services, it is built on cheap labour.

Do I want us to rage against the machine? To show the middle finger to conformity? Absolutely not. Conformity is instinctual, it provides comfort, a sense of security in an increasingly insecure world. But what we can do is not judge, belittle, disparage those who are audacious. We can encourage those who choose not to walk the beaten path. Maybe just maybe, if we can start chipping away and attempt to change the status quo, the world will be a less miserable place.