This is a fascinating, thought-provoking read...although I'm not sure I agree with its underlying thesis. Are people really opting out of individuality? I see more variety vs. the past, not less (in how people dress, in what music they listen to, in which hobbies they tinker with, etc.).
Now, this is NOT because, all of sudden, society is flooded with true originals or iconoclasts. Rather (I think), it's a product of the the hyper-stimulation we are bombarded with. Micro-trends, micro-aesthetics, fringe interests that pop up in in your own TikTok bubble... and then another, and then another.
People are exposed to a far greater variety of viewpoints and "looks" and this variety is becoming more acceptable, not less so. Naturally so, not because people are actively striving to be "different" or "original" (which was the laughable, performative part of hipsterism; remember people with typewriters on the outside?).
This also links back to the widely circulated argument that "trends" no longer exist because trends only make sense in a society that ends up comforming to 8-10 main "routes". They don't work in a place (time?) in which 8-10 things happen every 4 hours, without the time to coalesce into a "trend".
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I agree that we have more variety and choice in culture than ever, but what the essay tries to unpack is a counter trend that’s emerging in opposition to the fact that we have unlimited choices and niches to shape our style, personality and lifestyle around. There used to be more of an obsession in culture to find your unique one of a kind style, and anything too ‘mainstream’ was considered cringe, but now there’s far more desire to lean into the mundane middle of what everyone is doing, which to some extent explains the Stanley cup mania and rise of normcore clothing etc There's more opportunity for variety than ever, but it seems like people are just getting a bit exhausted with pursuing individuality all the time.
It's kind of very depressing. Not that I think people should externalize their uniqueness in what they wear or what they like, but there must be some kind of halfway point between that and being mindless office zombies just to fit in.
it's depressing, but it's also in the natural lifecycle of trends to protest the status quo and go in the opposite direction! I think most people though, except for early adopters and the eccentric minority, tend to eventually find a middle ground between individuality and conformity regardless of where the pendulum of the zeitgeist is at any moment in time.
I agree with you, but I think it's out of necessity. I don't think it's possible to keep up either extreme for a long time and I can't see "normcore" being anything other than emocional suicide in the long run.
I also believe that the problem with the previous trend is that it pushes people to express an identity, not necessarily a real one or one that shows the depths inside each person, so it ends up being just as shallow as wanting to conform. What I mean is that the search for a unique identity was approached from the outside which is, in my opinion, in the opposite way it should be approached.
This is a fascinating, thought-provoking read...although I'm not sure I agree with its underlying thesis. Are people really opting out of individuality? I see more variety vs. the past, not less (in how people dress, in what music they listen to, in which hobbies they tinker with, etc.).
Now, this is NOT because, all of sudden, society is flooded with true originals or iconoclasts. Rather (I think), it's a product of the the hyper-stimulation we are bombarded with. Micro-trends, micro-aesthetics, fringe interests that pop up in in your own TikTok bubble... and then another, and then another.
People are exposed to a far greater variety of viewpoints and "looks" and this variety is becoming more acceptable, not less so. Naturally so, not because people are actively striving to be "different" or "original" (which was the laughable, performative part of hipsterism; remember people with typewriters on the outside?).
This also links back to the widely circulated argument that "trends" no longer exist because trends only make sense in a society that ends up comforming to 8-10 main "routes". They don't work in a place (time?) in which 8-10 things happen every 4 hours, without the time to coalesce into a "trend".
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I agree that we have more variety and choice in culture than ever, but what the essay tries to unpack is a counter trend that’s emerging in opposition to the fact that we have unlimited choices and niches to shape our style, personality and lifestyle around. There used to be more of an obsession in culture to find your unique one of a kind style, and anything too ‘mainstream’ was considered cringe, but now there’s far more desire to lean into the mundane middle of what everyone is doing, which to some extent explains the Stanley cup mania and rise of normcore clothing etc There's more opportunity for variety than ever, but it seems like people are just getting a bit exhausted with pursuing individuality all the time.
It's kind of very depressing. Not that I think people should externalize their uniqueness in what they wear or what they like, but there must be some kind of halfway point between that and being mindless office zombies just to fit in.
it's depressing, but it's also in the natural lifecycle of trends to protest the status quo and go in the opposite direction! I think most people though, except for early adopters and the eccentric minority, tend to eventually find a middle ground between individuality and conformity regardless of where the pendulum of the zeitgeist is at any moment in time.
I agree with you, but I think it's out of necessity. I don't think it's possible to keep up either extreme for a long time and I can't see "normcore" being anything other than emocional suicide in the long run.
I also believe that the problem with the previous trend is that it pushes people to express an identity, not necessarily a real one or one that shows the depths inside each person, so it ends up being just as shallow as wanting to conform. What I mean is that the search for a unique identity was approached from the outside which is, in my opinion, in the opposite way it should be approached.