I apologize for not writing for a month; I had AP and school exams, which is why I couldn't write, or rather, I didn't have time. But in today's post, I want to talk about why lately everyone is trying to look the same, wear the same makeup, the same clothes, behave the same, and think the same way, both on social media and in real life.

As far as I know (I say this because social media existed before I was born), the original purpose of social media was for everyone to be able to speak, look, and freely express who they were. I know the purpose is still the same now, but people have started to deviate from that goal, and all the content we see has become repetitive and monotonous. In a place with so much freedom, people are increasingly becoming similar to each other. We see the same clothes, the same sense of humor, the same photo angles, the same music, the same sentences, and sometimes even the same personalities.

It’s not hard to notice this today after spending a few minutes on social media. People are no longer just sharing their lives; they are making themselves visible to the public. Because social media is no longer just a communication tool, but also a stage, and being on that stage requires performance.

The difference in behavior in home life and in society

In the past, people needed to only behave according to societal norms within society and they could be "themselves" at home. Now, many people are visible at all times, both at home and in society. What we listen to, what we think, what upsets us, even how "natural" we appear, has become public knowledge.

So we can conclude from this that social media is gradually transforming people’s personalities into a performance, and people are fulfilling the requirements of these Oscar winning performances.

People are now trying to manage not only who they are, but also how they are perceived. Because in the internet age, perception sometimes outweighs reality. A person may care more about appearing intelligent than being truly intelligent, or about appearing happy than being truly happy. This shows us that we should never believe everything we see on social media, no matter what.

People easily manipulate each other through social media, sharing things that will gain them acceptance and increase their viewership, rather than showing their true thoughts, feelings, interests, and character to others. When you think about it, that's truly frightening and disgusting.

Algorithm’s reward

While algorithms seem to reward individuality, they actually prioritize certain behaviors. People notice which styles are more popular and consciously or unconsciously begin to gravitate towards them. After a while, even originality becomes a trend:)

Today, many people act like spectators of their own lives rather than living them. Do they go where they truly want to go, or because it's something that can be shared with others? Do they do something because they love it, or because they want to be like the people who do it?

These questions may sound simple, but in fact, one of the most interesting problems of the modern world begins right here:

Are people’s identities truly their own, or are they shaped by algorithms?

Clothes,hair and makeup

In the past, people dressed, styled their hair and makeup not just to look good, but to show "who they were." For example, the emo style wasn't just about black eyeliner or specific haircuts; it represented a particular musical culture, an emotional world, and an attitude against the system. Styles like punk, goth, and grunge were similarly forms of identity. People showed through their appearance that they belonged to a group, ideology, or lifestyle, and regardless of their appearance, people of all different looks could be called beautiful. But now, there is a single type of beauty, and society's perception of beauty is based more on conforming to social norms and standards than on originality, and anyone who looks and behaves differently is labeled as "performative."

Then and now

You may have noticed, old YouTube videos used to convey experiences and real-life situations, showing us the daily lives and lifestyles of people from different cultures, and everyone was very original. Schools had diverse groups like athletes, soccer players, cheerleaders, emos, Latinas, Hot Cheetos girls, skateboarders, stoners, etc., but that's not the case anymore. At least in my school, speaking specifically about the girls, everyone wears the same makeup, carries the same bags (LongChamp [a simple and low-quality bag in my opinion]), and even their clothing brand choices are the same. This really makes daily life boring and shows us that everyone is becoming increasingly characterless and plain.

Appearance is not the only thing that changed

If you think the only thing that changes and becomes uniform among people is their appearance, you're so wrong. People's thoughts and feelings towards particular events have also changed. The opinions of people on social media regarding a specific event have also become homogenized. This shows us that social media has significantly increased normative social influence.

Need for belonging

I can't judge people for conforming to these social norms, because I know that they want to feel a sense of belonging to a community, and that's a very natural, even an evolutionary need. But the sad thing is that society has limited features that it deems beautiful: your nose has to be thin, your hair has to be shiny and voluminous, your skin has to be acne-free, you have to have as few wrinkles as possible (not including dimples), your facial features have to be regular, and of course, you have to have a nice butt. If you're a woman, these are the features you need to have to be perceived as beautiful, but it's not just women who strive more to meet these standards; men also need to look a certain way. Social media platforms prioritize faces and bodies over spiritual things, focusing on material things rather than personalities. This causes those who don't meet these standards to feel inadequate, insufficient and sadly worthless.

Don’t be upset if you can’t conform to the standards

Don't be upset if you can't conform to the standards imposed on us by social media, because beauty isn't in the person you see on social media, whose true appearance you don't know. Beauty is in what's inside. No matter how beautiful you are, if you have evil within, not a gram of your beauty will shine through, and the ugliness inside you will eventually make your appearance ugly as well. But even if you're the ugliest person in the world, if you have good thoughts, positive feelings towards people, and inner beauty, that beauty will shine through, and you will always look lovely. (I was inspired by Roald Dahl while writing these sentences.)

In conclusion; looking different, thinking different, feeling different and acting different is nothing to be ashamed of because, at the end of the day, everyone’s life experience is different. Even if someone had experienced the same things as you (which is almost impossible), they couldn’t be you because you are one of 8 billion people and you are unique. People on social media aren’t always what they seem; everyone is only presenting the version of themselves they want others to see.