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Kevin: Conformity is your willingness to change to meet the views, or values, of other people.
Olandria: Conformity is when you go with someone else's judgment rather than your own, or you act based on what others are doing.
Kevin: People conform because sometimes it's easier. It's easier to go with the flow and not to go against the grain. If you don't conform, your-- you can be viewed as an outcast, or an outsider, and that can be a feeling of discomfort.
Christopher: I think people conform because it makes them feel like they're part of something. It makes them feel like they're part of a group, and they can attach to that.
Jason: When I was in the Navy, I conformed to this habit of drinking when we were overseas, which was the cool thing to do. I missed out on a whole bunch of stuff in foreign countries, that I probably will never get to see again, because of that.
Olandria: In my life, I felt pressure to conform by changing my hair. In high school I hung out with, like, three girls and we're all still best friends. But one of them went natural and she wore her hair all fluffy and big. And I felt like, aw, that was cool. You know, she's doing it. Let me try. So eventually I did. And then my other friend did, too. So we became the natural kids around school with big hair and fros.
Kevin: In high school I felt the need to conform like many do in high school. At the time, throwback jerseys were a popular thing. And, you know, they can be quite expensive. And I, ultimately, spent more money on a throwback jersey than I wanted to because my friends and peers were doing it. Well, you know why. I liked it. It was good to have, but I really felt a pressure to get one because others had gotten one.
Christopher: There have been a couple examples in my life where I'll be in a meeting with our student government and they'll be leaning towards a decision regarding a theme of a certain event, and that maybe I disagreed with, or at an event itself where I just conform and let the-- and go with the group and let them see where that goes.
I tend to witness a lot of conformity using social media. When it comes to certain trends that happen online, and people will choose to like, oh, hey. Let me also do that and try it. Similar to the ice bucket challenge that was very popular and raised a lot of awareness and money.
Kevin: Conformity can be helpful or good when the issue at hand is something necessary for the greater good. It really depends on what the issue at hand, or what rules you're adhering to, or what beliefs you're changing towards.
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