Ted Talk Analysis on Social Norms

Is there an example that might clarify or support the author’s claim?

Your comment regarding the development of strict, rule-based cultures to address threatening environments from outsiders is not simply true of national or religious cultures, but even subcultures of the kind that exist online, either through sharing fan fiction, social media websites, TikTok, and other forms of spontaneous sharing. However, although the culture may be informally regulated, there can also be a great deal of gatekeeping and infighting, perhaps because certain fandoms or subcultures are so niche in terms of the scope of the community. Paradoxically on one hand, “Fan cultures are examples of participatory cultures. Participatory cultures involve fans acting not only as consumers but also as producers and creators of some form of creative media” but on the other hand participatory cultures can still have rigorous formal enforcement (Fandom and participatory culture, n.d., par.1).

Fan participation can be mercilessly self-regulated, if certain fans are viewed as violating taboos, in terms of how certain characters are depicted romantically, in fan art, and even in simple disagreements about the best way to be a fan. Sometimes, there are tensions between gender dynamics in terms of how different groups relate to fandom, as women are more apt to create art and fanfiction, while men may be more apt to collect things and memorize trivia. “Social hierarchies exist between and within fan cultures, which can lead to judgment. Members of any subgroup tend to have a general consensus regarding which behaviors are acceptable,” in defining what is a true fan or an acceptable way of being a member of the fandom (Fandom and participatory culture, n.d., par.8).

Thus, norms can be generated even in communities which are created relatively spontaneously (with the release of a particular film or television show) and between members who have not even met in person, and whose membership in the group is technically voluntary. Cultural tensions can still ensue even if the cultures manifest within the online community seem on the surface to be relatively fluid and easy to enter and leave. Understanding the norms is not always as easy as making a post.

References

Fandom and participatory culture. (n.d.) Grinnell College.

https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/fandom-and-participatory-culture/

How can I expand or advance the conversation by new insight or perspective?

One potential way to advance the conversation with a new insight is to question the degree to which all cultures can be easily classified as either loose or tight. For example, it is easy to observe something such as Japanese soccer fans cleaning up the stadium after a victory, versus the wild abandon characteristic of Brazil, and to assume that Japan is a tighter or more rule-bound country than many others (Vedantam, et al., 2020). However, a more productive way to think of tight versus loose is the extent to which spheres of society might be viewed as loose or tight. Greece, for example, is often cited as a relatively loose culture, in terms of following civic social norms in a rule-based fashion, but on the other hand, unspoken social norms, such as offering someone something to eat when they are visiting, might be observed very tightly, and generate a great deal of social commentary and shame if the are not followed (Vedantam, et al., 2020).

Loose versus tight society classification is not as simple as determining what the rules are according to the law and how strictly they are followed. Although some tight cultures such as Singapore may have very stringent legal enforcement and strong punishments, some highly social cultures may have equally stringent enforcement mechanisms regarding certain behaviors. Even in the United States, a nation which is considered to have relatively loose social enforcement structures, the act of wearing or not wearing a mask during the pandemic (regardless of actual local laws) often resulted in a great deal of social pressure, both pro and con, depending upon the values and social norms of the community. It can be almost as difficult to ignore strict social enforcement as legal enforcement, even in societies where legal enforcement of restrictions spanning from mask wearing to speed limits may be lax.