On Crowds.

“Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” — Walter Lippmann
If there is anything you should avoid, it is this: avoid the crowd, disregard the expectations of society and guard your mind against it’s mentality. It is hard to bring back home the same character you had after mixing with people. Group dynamics works like this: you tend to absorb the behavior and mentality of the people you associate with on a regular basis; this propensity has its root in psychology. When we feel unfamiliar or unsure in a specific situation, the opinion of the crowd becomes the rule of thumb on how to behave in that situation.
To move with the crowd is harmful; public opinion is attractive due to the idea that since a lot of people are doing it, it stands to reason that it is the right thing to do: another psychological rule of thumb(heuristic) that we all use unconsciously, the confirmation bias. Certainly, the greater the crowd with which we mingle, the greater the danger of been lost in it.
It is very important that you rescue yourself from the crowd and your peers if you are young(youth has nothing to do with age) and have not set principles to live by. It is too easy to side with the majority, therefore it is important that you make a conscious effort daily to watch over yourself.
Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make you a better person.
“Inwardly, we ought to be different in all respects but our exterior should conform to society… Let us try to maintain a higher standard of life than that of the multitude, but not a contrary standard…” — Seneca
“One man means as much to me as a multitude and a multitude only as much as one man.” — Democritus
Think on these words and keep it close to your heart so that you may despise the pleasure which comes from the applause of the majority.
“I write this not for the many, but for you; each of us is enough of an audience for the other.” — Epircurus
Farewell.
