Is being unique going out of style?

Many of us long to be unique and stand out from the crowd. Achieving this sometimes competes with a different goal, though — to belong. Striking that balance can be a tricky thing to do, as we both seek acceptance and to express our individuality. Some research has even suggested that with social anxiety rising, we're experiencing an uptick in the need to belong, rather than stand out.

Developments in how we interact with one another over the last few decades, primarily in the sphere of social media, may also have moderated the way we seek to express ourselves. Writing in Collabra: Psychology, William Chopik and team present the results of an investigation suggesting that there have been significant changes in our desire for uniqueness since the year 2000.

Data was taken from a longitudinal study that took place between 2000 and 2020 which sought to understand changes in personality over time. For this research, the team looked at participants' answers to a questionnaire on uniqueness, which was conceptualised via three components: lack of concern around other people's reactions, a desire to not always follow the rules, and a willingness to publicly defend one's beliefs. Demographic information was limited for this study.

The results showed that the need for uniqueness has indeed been decreasing over the years (interestingly, with a seeming uptick around 2020 — a facet which isn't explored in this paper). This was the case both for a need for uniqueness in general, as well as in the three separate domains. The most dramatic difference across the years was in people's willingness to defend their beliefs publicly.

This was particularly the case for those with a lower level of education and older people, though the team notes that these results were not significant and based only on participants who had actually provided demographic information (around 25% of the sample, and for only five years). Future research could look more closely at how this story has played out for different demographics.

The team has a number of suggestions as to why this may be the case. As we mentioned up top, one is that it's linked to increases in social anxiety, which might make people feel a deeper need for security and in-group acceptance. It's also possible that modern online environments which punish people for expressing outlying opinions could have moved this particular needle.

This pattern could, however, also be due to something more positive. With the rise of online communication and social media, we have more opportunities than ever to find our tribes and express ourselves how we want. A decrease in measures of our need for uniqueness could, paradoxically, be because that need is increasingly being met.

Which explanation may explain this trend, however, remains a mystery for now. Future studies diving into data from previous decades may further elucidate the factors at play.

Read the paper in full:

Chopik, W., Götschi, K., Carrillo, A., Weidmann, R., Potter, J. (2024) Changes in Need for Uniqueness From 2000 Until 2020. Collabra: Psychology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.121937