Hive Mindset:
A short definition: Trying to be cool.
Or following the crowd /Supressing your own personality because you are afraid of being considered weird or just to fit in.
Can also be called: Being a sheep.
It's fairly common in the high schools of today.
I don't like the hive mindset, I think it makes people boring.
What do you think? Do you live in a hive, or do you champion individuality?

Find your niche. If you want to shop at this store just b/c "the most pop. chick/guy in school" does, then do it. And if you feel proud of yourself then keep on doing it. But if you crumble later on then you know it's not you.
P.S- i don't even know who the popular people in my school are... i feel so ashamed

~Shayna~

Yuppa, bee yourself (bzz). If along the way you wind up being 'cool' that's great for you, but actively seeking coolness just to fit in is, dare I say it, sad.

'Cool' is such an abstract idea anyway. I would define all my friends as cool, even though they don't all fit into the common stereotype. It depends completely on what you judge it to be. I DO think originality and being true to yourself is cool. That is my standard of coolness, it may be different from other peoples' but there you are. Just as everybody is weird according to at least one other person, it's likely that everyone is also cool.

To sum up: who gives a flying fish? Pressure about being cool is just a conspiracy to stop you enjoying yourself. Worry ye not, for 'tis a load of bs.

Bex

I suppose one of the reasons why I feel so strongly about individuality is because it's something that I have to fight for.

I'm one of identical triplets, my sisters are fantastic, we get on very well, have similar abilities and interests and we hang around together a lot, but what a lot of people don't realise at first is that we are all VERY DIFFERENT character-wise. 'Bunching together' is something we've had to cope with all our lives and it's probably why I've never really been vulnerable to the hive mindset. I know what it's like for people to think there's 3 of me and frankly it sucks. I'm unique. I deserve credit for that. I put in so much effort showing people that I'm NOT exactly like somebody else that I can't see why anybody would ever want to be thought of that way.

It might seem like I was implying that everyone should stray from the hive mindset, that wasn't my intent. I think people should just find their "thing." It's so hard to say this without sounding cheesy (at least in my case). As trite as it sound- just be yourself, which is easier said than done.

In a perfect universe, origionality itself would be the standard of "coolness."

I have to agree with Dante. I hate the hive mindset (though my friends refer to it as being a sheep), but I also have some friends who have tried so hard to rebel against it that they are just as bad. Deciding you hate something because its mainstream is just as bad as liking it just because its mainstream. I think everyone needs to find their own balance and make sure they like things for their own reasons, not because someone else does or doesn't like it.

I think it's dangerous, but all too often the rebellion from it is just as bad if not worse because you think you're doing better.

I used to be in the "hive mindset" as you put it. I think I've moved past the hive and I'm very happy. Mainstream cool is quite dull when you look at it. Speaking the same, dressing the same, and "thinking" the same as everyone else doesn't get you that far. I have friends now that I adore and I have a feeling that I wouldn't have gotten to known these individuals if I were still on my idiot quest to be cool. Unfortunately, high school is an oasis for people trying to fit in. Realizing that you don't have to be like everyone else to be happy is a very important. As corny as it sounds, being yourself is what makes you or is what should make you the happiest.