In his book, “On Liberty”, John Stuart Mill makes an argument in favor of individual freedom for the betterment of both society and the individual. To justify his belief in individual freedom, Mill uses Utilitarianism. Individuality pushes society towards the adaptation of truth. Only through discussion does mankind become “capable of rectifying [its] mistakes” and able to find truth (Mill 1). In order for discussions to hold value, a multitude of beliefs and individual experiences are essential, and they must be protected from the pressure of conformity. The only reason the Newtonian theories about physics are seen as true is that throughout their existence, they were questioned, debated, and tested. (Mill 2) While discussing experiences,
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(Putnam 28) While the idea of reconnection most definitely sounds warm and cuddly, the negative impact that reconnection will have on individualism must also be taken into account. During reconnection, conformity of thought would be imposed on the individuals who take part in it; conformity causes a weakening of a person’s reason and causes his or her feelings to become inert. (Mill 5) While in the 1960s, community involvement was at an all time high, America was not experiencing a golden age. For those who fit outside the lines of conformity due to their race, gender, social class, or sexual orientation, society had marginalized them. (Putnam 17) Their non-traditional ideas and individuality were not taken into consideration but were ridiculed instead, and they were forced to adopt the views of the majority which were not their …show more content…
K. Hazel Kwon, Shin Il Moon, and Michael A. Stefanone tested the influence of this new involvement with their experiment “Unspeaking on Facebook?”. Just as the communities of the past encouraged homogenous thinking and conformity, exposure to diverse opinions on social network sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, is positively associated with an individual’s willingness to self-censor political expression (WTSC). (Kwon et al. 2014, p. 1417) SNSs create a social space in which the “visibility of others produces social influence” (Kwon et al. 2014, p. 1418). With the introduction of more people into a network, one’s WTSC increases more often than it decreases. Increased sociality in SNSs leads to greater interpersonal or group influence, thus Mill’s individualism is lost to conformity. Additionally, the amount of discussion between dissimilar thought processes usually decreases. (Kwon et. al 2014, p. 1418) In the results section of this lab report, it becomes evident that there are a few key factors that drive WTSC, namely fear of isolation (FI) offline contact, FI tenuous ties, and diversity (Kwon et. al 2014, p. 1429). The last of those factors is the most interesting as it shows that increased individual, diverse thinking in SNSs is related to conformity, even though individuality and conformity were
(Putnam 28) While the idea of reconnection most definitely sounds warm and cuddly, the negative impact that reconnection will have on individualism must also be taken into account. During reconnection, conformity of thought would be imposed on the individuals who take part in it; conformity causes a weakening of a person’s reason and causes his or her feelings to become inert. (Mill 5) While in the 1960s, community involvement was at an all time high, America was not experiencing a golden age. For those who fit outside the lines of conformity due to their race, gender, social class, or sexual orientation, society had marginalized them. (Putnam 17) Their non-traditional ideas and individuality were not taken into consideration but were ridiculed instead, and they were forced to adopt the views of the majority which were not their …show more content…
K. Hazel Kwon, Shin Il Moon, and Michael A. Stefanone tested the influence of this new involvement with their experiment “Unspeaking on Facebook?”. Just as the communities of the past encouraged homogenous thinking and conformity, exposure to diverse opinions on social network sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, is positively associated with an individual’s willingness to self-censor political expression (WTSC). (Kwon et al. 2014, p. 1417) SNSs create a social space in which the “visibility of others produces social influence” (Kwon et al. 2014, p. 1418). With the introduction of more people into a network, one’s WTSC increases more often than it decreases. Increased sociality in SNSs leads to greater interpersonal or group influence, thus Mill’s individualism is lost to conformity. Additionally, the amount of discussion between dissimilar thought processes usually decreases. (Kwon et. al 2014, p. 1418) In the results section of this lab report, it becomes evident that there are a few key factors that drive WTSC, namely fear of isolation (FI) offline contact, FI tenuous ties, and diversity (Kwon et. al 2014, p. 1429). The last of those factors is the most interesting as it shows that increased individual, diverse thinking in SNSs is related to conformity, even though individuality and conformity were