Our social lives revolve around general assumptions and trends that arise because of a general notion of the presence of such trends. We do many things in our daily lives that have no purpose other than to fulfil the obligation, that since we’re part of the society, we’re following in the same footsteps as everyone else. These actions, whether they’re physical or mental, somehow contribute to interacting with others, whether it means talking to someone or ignoring them, in the society. Anyone who does not follow the trends is considered unusual, or even stupid. There is no logic in such actions; we simply do them because it seems to be the way it has been. We may attach a rational explanation to an act in order to justify it as a logical action.

Consider the case of elevators to observe this. Elevators continue to be an important part of our lives. We impatiently tap our feet when we’re waiting for one while others around us pace around nervously also, thinking about the time and how late they’re going to be for a meeting or a class. Try getting into a crowded elevator and instead of walking in and turning around to face the elevator doors, walk in and face the crowd that’s trapped inside that elevator. With your face being the only one in the opposite direction compared to all the other faces in that small box that we call an elevator, everyone will stare at you and wonder what your problem is. Keep staring at the people in a moving elevator, and someone will surely ask you to turn around and face the doors, just like everyone else.

Doing things contrary to such ’social norms’ result in no impoliteness; the mere act of not following the trend is considered impolite, not the act itself. Can such rules then be considered good, or even obligatory to be followed? Take a closer look at your life, and you can come up with over a dozen such things we all do every single day that have no meaning other than to follow in the same direction as others around us.