A Bandwagon Society Questioned
By: Ja Zz
Tags: Persuasion, Resistance, Self Realization, Techniques

Bandwagon is a type of persuasive, commonly used in ads along with the “Heavy Words” and “Famous People Use” techniques. To start, bandwagon is believing that something is true or something is good because others believe that way. This technique is heavily influenced by other’s thoughts. For example, you can be someone that dislikes popcorn (and there is reasons for that), but continue to eat it anyways. However, it is not the best thing to base your decisions off; sometimes you realize that the claim is shaky and probably wouldn’t be true. Also, sometimes not many people actually believe in it; it can be just a false claim.

In our everyday life, bandwagon is, again, heavily used. For example, the internet search actually uses bandwagon in a process called “weighing”; the basic idea is that if others are liking something, than you should too. This can lead to unwanted and frustrating results when you’re trying to search up something, like the general website over a personal page.

Something bandwagon is not to be confused with is popular opinion; popular opinion is just the opinion that most people are going with, which often leads to bandwagon. The theater uses this when displaying movies; it simply shows which movies are the most popular with. Also, this is sometimes confused with mental opinion; mental opinion is choosing something because it looks like everybody is choosing it. An example of this might be at the ice cream shop; you would see a tray that’s almost empty and choose it because you think that it must be good because “everybody else” wants it.

While often used in ads, bandwagon is everywhere in our society: the school, the Laser Tag arcade games, you name it. However, many are questioning if this type of society is actually the society we want to build.

Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, people believe that bandwagon has been lowered; but, it is most likely around the same because that shopping is practically a must at the times. So what can we do to stop the percentage from raising?

Well, the first step is awareness. By being aware of the effects of bandwagon, and effects of every other persuasive tools, you can actually resist it because you know what it can cause, and how bad the lie can actually be. A technique I recommend is, the next time you see a bandwagon, think to yourself: “Do I really need that? Is my own consciousness telling me to do so?” This questioning phrase can help to reduce the temptation greatly. Also, this type of thinking would also help reduce the effects drastically: “I am not anybody else”. With this kind of mindset it is possible to even not have the hint of temptation to believe in the bandwagon.

The second step is a pattern to follow: Stop, Think, Realize, Decide. Stop your body when you realize a bandwagon. Then, think to you the mindset that was mentioned in the previous step. Next, realize if you really believe the bandwagon. Lastly, decide what to do. This pattern would help you control your body and rest while changing your mindset.

The final step is control. Rest and think about all your main body parts. Imagine that you’re swimming in a pool. Relax and calm down. As you’re doing this, remove all the thoughts you had, and focus on a dot in the distance. Remember what you actually wanted, and direct yourself where to go. By doing this, you can clear all your thoughts and focus back on your objective.

And what if all this fails? There is actually a simple solution. Make your own choices. Forget about all others; believe that they are all gone. The decision is up to you. You can always trust yourself like you can count on your fingers.