Social Affects Of Society's Influence On Individuality

Whether we choose to accept it or not individuality is largely a result of the social influences that surround us. By simply taking a look around, society’s impact on individuality is made clear; People dress similar to one another, buy glorified rocks to symbolize engagement, and utilize slang in day-to-day conversation. These examples all demonstrate how society impacts our individuality. The way we dress, what we buy, the way we speak, are all results of the world around us. But don’t take my word for it, consult the work of the Times Magazine or Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes” comics.
Times Magazine’s article “The American Teenager in 2015 on the Fringe of Something New,” asks real teens about a variety of aspects of their lives. The

article discusses everything from the digital world to drug and alcohol use in an effort to understand how today’s teens assert their individual identities. One topic the teens are asked about is drugs and alcohol. The responses from the teens show that their tastes change together. According to the article “about 70% of 12th graders in 1975 said they’d drunk alcohol within the last 30 days, but that percentage dropped below 40% in 2014,” however marijuana use was at record lows in the ’80s and now “forty percent of 12th graders say they’ve smoked weed in the past year”. These examples demonstrate how teens take part in the substances that their peers take part in. Thus we see that drugs and Alcohol, which teens consider a way to assert their identity, is influenced by their friends.
Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes” comics are another source that perfectly portrays societies ability to influence one’s individuality. Calvin and Hobbes is a well known daily comic strip that has been praised by academics like Gregory S. Paul, Lois Rostow Kuznets, and many others for its accurate portrayal of suburban United States. In one particular comic strip Calvin, a six-year-old boy, tells Hobbes, his sardonic stuffed tiger, that he wishes his shirt had a logo on it. His explanation for wanting a logo on his shirt is that “Endorsing products is the American way to express individuality”. In this statement, Calvin is essentially stating the fact that he wants a logo because other people want a logo. It justifies that society influences how we individualize ourselves.