Is anybody really an "individual"?

Question

American media constantly impresses upon us that we're individuals. Teenagers constantly try to do things to make themselves "different". Yet, isn't the act of trying to be different the same as conforming, since EVERYONE is trying to be different (i.e. dont' we end up the same)

Answer 1

people are all individuals, but that word has taken on a different meaning (as you use it) to mean unique. an individual is just a single being.

what you're talking about is a sophomoric desire to be recognized and given attention too. and because our society so easy isolates the individual (because of lack of human contact, lack of community, etc), people judge each other on the superficial.

pair that with the fact that we are also a "sound-byte" (sp?), image driven, car culture, few people have the attention span to take time and find out about individuals, they want everything in a quick saying, a catch phrase, a logo.

those two things paired together put pressure on people to do things that make them stand out in the few seconds people afford you. so people just become an image, an idea, instead of a complex human being.