Social Norms and the Effect of the Internet

Credit: Angelina Bambina Stock Illustrations

First off, what is a social norm? A social norm is what most people consider “normal” in society. This can be what’s in style, what most people eat, a popular opinion, stuff like that. Some people in the world think the norm is the only right option. They are wrong. They may bully people who are outside of the norm. They are also wrong. The amazing thing about people is that they are all different and unique. No two people are alike.

Here’s an example. Anything outside of mainstream fashion is labeled as “alternate” or alt for short. Some styles in the alt subculture are goth, emo, scene, scemo, grunge, kawaii, gremlincore, and more. Usually, some people in the mainstream bully these people for being different. Now I couldn’t tell you why they think that’s okay and what’s going on in their head, but I think I have an idea. The internet. Specifically meme culture. You may notice that when these styles were popular back in the 80’s – 90’s (grunge), and early 2000’s (scene, emo, scemo) they weren’t often made fun of. This was before the internet was super big. The thing about memes is that they are supposed to make people laugh, and usually do, but often end up making mean jokes toward minority groups. If someone sees this a lot, especially when their brain is still developing, they may start thinking this is okay. Then that begins to affect their daily life. The ways people bully alt people include calling them emo (for some reason?), complimenting them just to laugh behind their back, barking at them, and spreading rumors. And all of this just because they’re different.

Meme culture also bullies groups of people such as furries and therians. I’m sure you’ve heard of people making fun of furries and therians because they have the wrong idea about them, often associating them with zoophiles. They aren’t the same thing. A furry is someone who typically has a fursona and cosplays with fursuits. It’s a form of cosplay. A therian is someone who feels spiritually connected to an animal. In their culture, you don’t choose to be a therian, you have to be connected to the animal. Both furries and therians are just people having fun and being themselves. And people bully them for no reason at all. That is wrong. That is mean. That makes you a bully.

You shouldn’t ever bully someone because they are different. It’s kind of like eating the orange carrot instead of the purple carrot because you don’t like how the purple carrot looks. In the end, the orange carrot and the purple carrot taste the same and should both be enjoyed.