Hello, my name is Kiara and I chose to research an inquiry question: why do people try to fit in society’s standards?
This question came to mind as I was thinking about how others around me behave. Sometimes I notice people trying to fit into certain standards and wonder why. Often, I see videos circulating on the internet about how we should all be ourselves and not try to fit in society’s standards. I find myself always trying to fit society’s standards as well.
My three steps to research will be:
1. What are society’s standards (beauty, personality, marriage, etc…)?
2. Why are we pressured to fit into these standards?
3. Are society’s standards advantageous for us?
For me, I think I try and just be myself most of the time, but sometimes I wish to be able to fit in more. It gives me a positive and negative impact. For example, people look up to those with great careers. This motivates me to work hard and achieve my goals. On the negative side, I see people who are prettier, healthier, and more talented than me and I wish I could be more like them. These thoughts get distracting and I lose self-confidence. I often doubt whether I should change myself more (dress better, eat healthier, take care of my appearance, etc..). Through research, I hope to find some answers.
I am thrilled to research my inquiry question. Thank you for reading.
Hi Kiara, that’s a really interesting question. The topic you have chosen is super relevant to us today, particularly as teenagers. In our modern, technologically advanced world, social media plays a large role in a lot of our lives. By shaping our worldview, our beauty standards, our morals, and our opinions, we are in a constant state of being influenced by others. To gain followers, many people nowadays try to copy others, manufacturing social media pages that consist only of the fun and positive stuff in their life. Even though it may prove useful sometimes to try to fit in with others in order to not get ostracized, I believe it is necessary to forge your own path and your own identity in order to feel fulfilled with your life. I look forward to your next posts!
Some resources you may find useful are:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/brainstorm/201607/we-all-want-fit-in
https://scotscoop.com/the-desire-to-fit-in-causes-the-loss-of-individuality/
https://www.coastreportonline.com/views/article_ec3aa80a-bcf3-11e2-9631-0019bb2963f4.html
https://childmind.org/article/social-media-and-self-doubt/
https://www.ualberta.ca/human-resources-health-safety-environment/news/2022/01-january/february-2022-life-lines.html
Hi Kiara,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post because we all have standards that we want to achieve. I love how you included that there are some standards that discourage us because they may be out of our reach. For example, if we don’t have a leg, it will be hard to walk up a mountain.
Some questions I have are: are society’s standards as motivating as our own goals? What are some specific societal standards that you want to research? Do society’s standards affect all people?
Here are some resources:
1)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/social-norms/
2)https://www.unicef.org/media/111061/file/Social-norms-definitions-2021.pdf
3)https://vipp.health.utah.gov/social-norms/
I wish you all the best on this project!
Hello Kiara,
I am thoroughly invested in this topic and its relevance to society, especially in this generation. The biggest stand-out to me in this post is how you talk about society’s standards being weirdly obsessed over, especially in the context of everyone desiring to fit into them even if it means drastically changing themselves and ruining their state of mental health and well-being in the process. I would love to see you talk a little bit more about what makes these seemingly impossible standards so highly desired to have and whether it is influenced by other people, ones own insecurity, or perhaps both. What are the similarities and differences of standards on social media vs. in real life? Stellar topic, and I am on edge to see whats to come in future blog posts!
Below I have listed some useful resources
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/instagram-photos-may-contribute-to-body-dissatisfaction
https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/revlon-social-media-impact-mental-health-beauty-standards-48798656
-Ava
Hi Kiara! This is such an important inquiry! I love how you mention how if it is necessary to actually try and fit in, and I feel that this is an important part to research because it can give people perspectives on what should be a priority other than someones self image! This can also connect to the social pressure of needing to fit into societies standards, so if it helps here a link about how social pressures impact our daily choices! I hope to see more of your blog posts and good luck!!
– Negar :))
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/how-does-social-pressure-impact-our-choices/