There I was sitting at my desk, back straight, shoulders slightly forward, rubbing my beard with my hand, and contemplating what I would write about when it dawned on me! “Write about conformity aka Social Proof as it relates to Social Media,” I said to myself. Then I questioned whether or not YouTube had a video that would help demonstrate the power of groups to influence behavior. After a few minutes of searching, I discovered the following video to illustrate the topic of this post. Go ahead and click on the play button now, please.
Welcome back! Are we so easily influenced nowadays? I’ll answered that in another post with a more recent video. Right now, I want to quickly answer the question I posed in the title of my post.
Yes! Yes, we have conformed to the influence of social media! However, the reasons that we have conformed are that we are fulfilling our basic human needs of 1) connecting with others 2) a sense of accomplishment from having influential and large numbers of connections, and 3) a feeling of uniqueness because of the diverseness of people with whom we are are connected.
Think about it. Millions of people are utilizing social networking sites right now to communicate with family, friends, customers, and clients in an effort to sustain and improve that connection. Fifteen years ago, I don’t think this behavior was as prevalent as it is now. Why? Although America Online (AOL), Compuserve, and others were thriving back then, they were charging members a monthly fee to use similar functions that, today, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin offer for free. Therefore, why wouldn’t we give in to the attraction of instantly connecting with people around the globe?
These top three social networking sites induce reciprocation with the force of water exploding out of a fire hydrant into the mouth of a thirsty man by offering us the ability to meet some of our basic human needs. In spite of that reality, please avoid neglecting the most intimate relationships you have in order to spend more time connecting with others on social networking sites. Why did I make that appeal? The reason is quite frequently, I hear Tony Robbins’ voice in my head saying something like, “People want to experience love, but they often settle for connection.”
You’re probably asking, “Why would someone do that?” A loving relationship, while incredibly rewarding, can also be extremely painful. That’s why some people will settle for casual and friendly relationships. Even worse are the people who would rather love, and connect with, their pets than real people. Don’t get me wrong I love Samson, our Jack Russell Terrier but the most phenomenal experiences of my life have come from my loving relationships with my wife, children, family, and friends. I am reminded of a phrase that dates back to the seventeenth century, which reads, “No man (or woman) is an island.” Stated differently, no man (or woman) is meant to be alone. I have definitely conformed to that influence. Will you?
With your success in mind,
Ron
Relevant Sources:
Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., (1984) Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion
Tony Robbins, (1991) Personal Power II, The Driving Force: The Six Human Needs
Ron,
Great post. It is sometimes very easy to fall into the trap of conforming to the mass population’s expectations and social norms. We need to be very conscious that we don’t accept society’s definition of relationship and make sure we develop “REALationships”.
I recently wrote a similar article challenging people to be their unique selves and not try to fit into the box that others would try to put them in.
Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/paulwilsonjr-theuncola
Thanks,
Paul Wilson, Jr.
Hey Ron,
Even more so, you can feel connections through messages on social networks. Personal messages can be powerful influences if you manage them right. But yes, above all else, real life connectedness will beat out the internet 10 times out of ten.
Brian
cleverwebtech.com
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!