Are You a Poser Hopping On A Bandwagon?

Bandwagons – they are everywhere. In music, pop culture, social media, and the way we speak to each other – EVERYWHERE. Whether it’s becoming a ‘Belieber’ because of all the new bangers Justin Bieber continues to release or captioning #Squad on every Instagram photo you upload of you and your friends, bandwagons are almost unavoidable. Should they be though?

Is it really so bad to start enjoying something or doing certain things because everyone else is? Yes and no. Yes, it’s bad if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. If you really do enjoy the new Justin Bieber song and can’t stop tapping your foot to it or twerking to it, then I think that’s ok. You should just continue enjoying it, because it’s nice to enjoy things and who cares what others may think of you. I know, my musical street cred may have just flown out the window, but I can appreciate a catchy pop song if I god d*** want to!

Though if you’re “enjoying” the new Bieber song only it because your entire #Squad is, you might want to sort that out.

When we’re young, we’re impressionable, and things that get a lot of attention from those around you and/or the media probably have the biggest impact on you. It can be hard to really find things you genuinely like in a haze of things you’re being told you should like. This is why it’s so easy to just follow trends and hop on bandwagons.

A few publicised things that have occurred in 2015 spring to mind when I think of bandwagons. The hoo-ha over the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao boxing match or Rhonda Rousey/Holly Holm’s UFC bout are two perfect examples. I am not a fan of either sport and found myself feeling quite alone in my lack of giving a s*** about either event. I didn’t watch them and certainly didn’t jump on the old social media to voice my opinions about them.

It appeared like a lot of one-night fans popped up out of the woodwork for both events and it all became a little too much, I think. If you are a boxing fan or UFC fan or both, embrace away. If you are new to both but think you could be in for the long haul, embrace away, too. It’s always good to have new interests. But they should be genuine. Don’t just start hash tagging #TeamRousey because everyone in your Facebook feed tells you to. Do some research; find out more info on other boxers or UFC fighters you can get behind.

We had young girls all across the world participating in the Kylie Jenner lip challenge in early 2015. Ugh. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that children, because that’s what teenagers essentially still are in case anyone has forgotten, felt like they had to partake in something in order to “increase” their beauty. It was dangerous, both physically and psychologically and not something that anyone should have felt pressured to participate in.

We should be encouraging everyone to be themselves, especially young people. They are our future and if they live their lives jumping from trend to trend, things aren’t going to progress so well, not to mention how robotic and boring the world will become if we’re all the same.

The trick to avoiding bandwagons or, more importantly, sussing out what you genuinely like, is to give things a little more thought than what you might normally. I’m not suggesting you analyse every hobby you participate in or every phrase you have a habit of saying. But just be more aware of the things that you’re utilising in your everyday life or partaking in and if they make you think a little harder than usual, maybe it’s time to question them. And focus on things that make you genuinely happy. If that’s something like collecting stamps, as opposed to trying some weird, probably painful suction technique on your lips, go for it.