By /

Emma Gibson

Does Social Media Promote Individuality or Conformity?

Biography

Hi, I’m Emma, a fourth-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication with a minor in English. I’m passionate about expressing myself creatively through dance, writing, graphic design, and exploring new hobbies that spark my interest. I’m very interested in the evolving landscape of communication, especially as social media continues to reshape how we connect and engage with the world. As social media becomes more embedded in our daily lives, I’m eager to explore not only its current impact but also its future implications.

Details of Project

Social media floods us with opinions, and research on its impact is just as divided. Some argue it fosters self-expression, while others warn of rising conformity. My research aims to settle the question: Does Social Media Promote Individuality or Conformity?

Using latent content analysis, I examined the most current and top-trending posts across Instagram, TikTok, and X, analyzing 50 posts from each platform for a total of 150 posts across all three platforms. Individuality was categorized into four key themes: personal narratives and authenticity, unconventional aesthetic or opinions, niche interests and hobbies, and self-defined identity. Similarly, conformity was categorized into four key themes: participation in trends and challenges, influencer and celebrity mimicry, algorithm-driven content patterns, and social comparison and validation seeking.

Results found that Instagram was more likely to promote conformity, X was more likely to promote individuality, and TikTok promoted equal amounts of both individuality and conformity. These results ultimately reveal that the answer to whether social media promotes individuality or conformity depends on the platform.

Lightning talk

Scroll to Top