Credit: intellimoo.wordpress.com
Humans are social creatures. We are very aware of what the next man thinks, says and does, whether we admit it or not, whether we realize it or not. We seek approval from our peers, greatly desire to be appreciated and loved. We all have an innate desire to belong to a social group. And it is because of this desire to belong, that many of us do things we normally, wouldn’t do.
In psychology, there is something called Social Validation. Social Validation is what compels you to change your behaviour, thoughts or style, just to feel among. We subconsciously accept what others are doing even against our better judgment.
The more people participate in a thing, the more ”correct” that thing is. We all follow the crowd. Have you ever been in this situation? You were walking down the street, all of a sudden, you see people running at the opposite direction, and you join them, not knowing what they were running from. Or maybe you noticed a few people looking up, it’s certain that you will look up as well. This is because as much as we do we try not to, we all follow the crowd every day. And the interesting thing is, we tend to lose ourselves in the crowd as well.
When we find ourselves in a group, we become less self-aware. Take for example, have you been in a concert, and found yourself acting in a way you would not normally act? Psychologists call this De-individuation. We don’t give in our best when we are in a group, because we feel it really isn’t up to us to make a difference.
The dark side? Bystander Apathy. Human beings are capable of watching someone die, and do nothing. Why? Because they believe someone else will do something. The sad thing is, the next man, who you are counting on to help, is probably thinking exactly like you. There have been cases where people witnessed a crime, even murder, and no one bothered to call the police.
Catherine Genovese who lived in New York City was murdered on her way home from work. The murder was investigated, and some shocking information was found out. While she was being chased by her attacker and stabbed three separate times in a 35-minute period, her neigbours watched, and no one bothered to call the police.
Another classic example back home in Lagos, is the traffic robbery that has grown popular on our roads. A friend of mine reported to me, how he was driving home with his wife on an expressway leading to Egbeda in Lagos. He told me of how a gang of thieves walked into the traffic, and robbed private cars while everyone watched. No one, including himself, called the police while the robbery was going on.
I recently watched a video I regret watching, and I don’t regret a lot of things. It showed how young boys were beaten and burnt alive. Another sad fact is, before they were killed, they were taken round the community. People keep asking, how could people witness this brutality and not call the police?
Does it mean people simply didn’t care?
People do not react, because they expect someone else to. We all feel there is someone in a better position to help. But the fact is, YOU are the best person to help, and everyone is counting on YOU to make a difference. Everyone is counting on you to call the police. Everyone is counting on you to step up and prevent a crime. Everyone is counting on you to save a life. Everyone is counting on you to make that difference.
And because we are social creatures, when one person takes that step, others will follow suit. We all have the power to make a difference when we use the power of crowd mentality. Let us all begin to take responsibility of our fellow man. And so many lives and properties would be saved.
