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Standing out has lost its social currency. From 2000 to 2020, the value placed on being different and breaking the rules has declined, and people have become less willing to express unpopular opinions, according to a million-person study from the University of Michigan.
The need for inclusion and the need for authenticity are at odds, according to the researchers, but the former is winning out. Rising anxiety may be to blame, by making people more eager to conform. But the shift happened to coincide with the rise of the internet, which has provided new and creative channels for social shame and enforced conformity. Cancel culture is working…
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