Everyone’s doing it

Is it safe to come out?  Is it over yet?

Let me make it clear that this is not to criticize those who did the Ice Bucket Challenge; after all, almost everyone I know did it, I know they were all well-meaning and I do not wish to hurt anyone’s feelings. To each his own and all that.

What really intrigued me about this whole thing, however, is how seemingly easy it was to manipulate and cajole so many, many people from all walks of life and right across the social spectrum into taking part in (let’s be honest) a rather silly stunt, all in the name of charity. 

Because it was not only the fact that you had to pour ice cubes over your head, you also had to film it, speak to the camera and post it on Facebook, ensuring that everyone saw you in (let’s face it) a rather disheveled state. It required a certain kind of confidence to put yourself out there for everyone to gawk at you, analyze what you are wearing (or your lack of clothing), what you look like drenched, how high-pitched your squeals are and to critique your choice of location.  

When I started seeing people who I swore would never do it also take up the challenge, it really set me thinking about the psychology of mass behaviour and how relatively easy it is for all of us to do things just because someone else has done them. (As someone pointed out to me, and then we wonder why teenagers follow the crowd so readily).

The other side of the coin is that those who did not want to join in for reasons of their own (I am one of them) were almost made to feel like outcasts, spoil sports, wet blankets, and other choice adjectives. Because the nominations were public, it was clear that many reluctantly succumbed to the challenge for fear of being “called out”  at not being able to take a joke. 

This is where I think the original noble nature of the cause lost a lot of its meaning, turning into some kind of bizarre, adolescent “truth or dare” game with high profile, controversial figures like construction magnate Charles “Caqnu” Polidano acting all chummy chummy by nominating the MEPA CEO. Were we supposed to be amused by this?

Speaking to like-minded friends, I’ve concluded that the ice bucket phenomenon of this summer is really just an extension of other things we do just because others do them, as a result of subtle and sometimes not so subtle social pressure.

Many times, the trend is harmless enough;  for example, I admit I joined Facebook because I was curious after having heard so much about it from friends and was glad I did because it is an amazing communication and marketing tool.

On the other hand, I know several people who refuse to create a FB profile because they are simply not interested and it does not appeal to them - and I can understand and respect that. I suppose it is the same when it comes to those, like me, who feel the need to have a smart phone with emails, Facebook and Internet access all the time, as opposed to others who can happily get by with a basic phone for calling and text messages.  

But then there is the “everyone else is doing it” mentality which slips over into other more serious things - like the way people vote, for example. I have no doubt that when the PN was at its peak in the popularity stakes, it was due to a domino effect which began when influential, high profile people openly associated with the party in government at the time, leading others (who were desperate not to be “left out” and who did not wish to be perceived as hanging out with “the Labour losers”) to do the same.

After all, the reasoning went, if someone whose judgement I trust or who I admire is publicly endorsing this party than surely I should too? I have no illusions that it had anything to do with political ideology but more to do with being a part of this “club” at a time when supporting the Nationalist party meant one had a certain amount of worth and carried that unmistakeable “cool” factor.  

I do not need to tell you how the tables have turned in that respect.

In fact, the Labour party cleverly played on this need for people to belong to the winning team during its election campaign, using well-known figures to convince the electorate through their endorsements. Against all odds, voting PL suddenly and inexplicably became “trendy” whereas the PN became associated with conservative stuffiness; a political party which was behind the times.

The same thing happened during the hotly debated EU referendum when being against the EU was perceived as being narrow-minded and parochial whereas being in favour somehow meant you were open-minded and worldly; someone who could see further than our limited shores. 

How many truly knew the significance of what they were voting for at the time, and cast their vote due to social pressures rather than because they really believed in (or understood) the issue?  

Taken even further, one could argue that even our positions on corruption, the sanctioning of illegal development and the “jobs for the boys” mentality are swayed this way and that, according to which way the wind seems to be blowing at a particular time.

Principles are too often like paper straws, bent and twisted according to who is breaking them - we protested vehemently when the PN was behaving outrageously but zip our mouths because “our” party is now in government and what was shocking before is now, hunky dory. 

My newsfeed is often such a depressingly predictable indicator of which way people voted because only a handful are capable of really calling a spade a spade rather than speaking up when something is wrong, irrespective of who does it.

With social media, public opinion can be moulded even more effortlessly because so many declare their stands on national issues in a very public way. As we saw with this blessed ice bucket, it can even lead normally intensely private individuals to be lured into doing something they would not normally do -  because, they reason, if everyone else in my social circle has done it, then it must be OK.  

Innocuous as this challenge was, from a sociological point of view it speaks volumes about our ability to stand firm in what we believe in, in the face of a tidal wave of “everyone else is doing it”.