Activity

1. Research on the term “Bandwagon Effect” and herd mentality.

Bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon caused by influence from

the individual’s environment, where s/he does something or adopts a behavior
because everyone else is doing it. This could be referred to as ‘trend,’ and the
more it is prevalent, the more people tend to join in.

Meanwhile, herd mentality is when members of a group or society influence

each other in thinking and behavior, resulting to conformity or copying each
other. They tend to follow what the others by instinct, ignoring their own
feelings and judgment.

2. Recall an experience with the Bandwagon Effect or herd mentality. This could
be an experience where you changed your own beliefs in order to match
popular belief just because it was popular and not necessarily because it was
in line with your own opinion.

Back in 2016, my cousin was a hardcore fan of a K-pop boy group, EXO. I
always hear her telling us about them. Then one day, while we were having
dinner, a news report about EXO arriving in the Philippines came out. I don’t
exactly know why, but I suddenly stood up and screamed the group’s name,
followed by a kilig shriek. I always find that moment funny because I don’t
know a single thing about EXO, even their names, yet I reacted as if I’ve been
their fan for years.

Then, in 2018, I fell in love with BTS. Primarily, it was because their popularity
was increasing and my classmates and cousins are fans of them. I would also
see a lot of posts on Facebook about them by fans admiring their visuals and
songs. I remember hearing one of their songs one day and having that desire
to listen to it again and know more about them, with my heart beating fast
upon the thought. I was also a fan of other K-pop groups like Blackpink
because they were so popular and I always stumble across them on social
media and my friends dance to their choreographies, which made me want to
hop into the wave.

A year passed and I got addicted to K-pop I dance to their dances, listen to
their songs, join fanbases, watch and stream their videos, await for their
comebacks, and even speak Korean. It was funny because that time when I
know nothing about K-pop yet, I literally said that it’s stupid, and that their
songs are childish and cringe. But there I was, eating my own words, getting
hyped as well without exactly knowing why.
Answer the ff analysis questions based from your research above:

• From your experience why is it easy to give in to herd mentality? Why is it so

difficult to resist?

From my experience, it was easy to give in to herd mentality because you saw
that they were having fun, which would make you curious and want to
experience that kind of fun, too. As a result, you would try to do what they are
doing, and chances are, you would eventually enjoy and continue to do it; you
are already having fun, so why would you stop doing it?

Additionally, most of us in the digital age practically have social media or the
Internet as our ‘third home’ (because they say schools are second) because
we spend so much time on it, and we tend to share our life’s occurrences in it.
Social media is the platform for everything – news, trends, issues, updates,
etc. – and it has been dramatically affecting us in various ways. That being
said, it is not difficult for an individual to be influenced by a herd or a lot of
people who do the same thing, and eventually joins them. That was also the
case with me discovering the fame of BTS.

Also, we tend to have the desire to be included. It gets awkward when you are
among a group who are discussing about a topic that they all know about
except you, making you feel out of place, which is not the best feeling. We
have that fear of exclusion that, when we decide to be like other people by
adopting their styles, behaviors, or beliefs, will not happen. My friends were
K-pop fans, and for all the time that I was not a fan yet, I did not understand
them whenever they talk about their favorite groups. So, when they asked
(sort of encouraged) me to be a fellow fan, I instantly asked them to teach me
the K-pop basics.

• From your experience, what are the advantages of going with the
bandwagon? What are the disadvantages?

In retrospect, going with the bandwagon which, in my case, is the K-pop

wave, brought me no good. I fell into addiction, almost into an obsession, and
I prioritized the wrong things. My time, which was supposed to be for
homework, were spent on watching their latest videos. More critically, I did not
have time for God at all. Being a fan may had made me feel happy and
included in the society (they also changed my fashion style and I thank them
for that), but they changed me – my habits, behavior, priorities, spirituality – in
a not-so-good way. Moreover, given that it is bandwagon, it was very difficult
to get out of it because I already felt like it already became a part of my life. It
was really an addiction.

Generally, whether the bandwagon effect is good or bad depends on the

individual. If s/he realizes that this new fashion trend s/he is following is
actually way better than her old fashion style, and now feels confident in
 his/her clothes, or if everybody does the ipon challenge and s/he decides to
have his/her own coin bank as well then ended up earning enough to buy a
car, then hopping into the bandwagon was beneficial for him/her. Conversely,
if an individual who is about to vote sees that a candidate is leading in the
polls, then decides to vote that candidate because s/he wants to be on the
winning side, disregarding his right and responsibility to think thoroughly and
vote wisely, then s/he was negatively affected by the bandwagon.

References:
Cherry, K. (2020, April 29). The bandwagon effect is why people fall for trends. Verywell
Mind. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895

Investopedia. (2020, December 30). Bandwagon effect definition. Retrieved April 1,

2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bandwagon-effect.asp

Neil, D. (2017, August 25). Trading biases: Herd behaviour and the bandwagon effect.
Capital.Com. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from
https://capital.com/trading-biases-herd-behaviour-and-the-bandwagon-effect

The bandwagon effect: Why people tend to follow the crowd. (n.d.). Effectiviology.
Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://effectiviology.com/bandwagon/

Tran, T. (2022, January 3). Herd mentality: Examples and how to take advantage of it. I
Will Teach You To Be Rich. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from
https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/herd-mentality/

Bloom, L. & Bloom, C. (2017, August 11). The bandwagon effect. Psychology Today.
Retrieved April 1, 2022, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201708/the
-bandwagon-effect

Merriam-Webster. Herd mentality. Merriam-Webster. April 1, 2022, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herd%20mentality#:~:text=Definition
%20of%20herd%20mentality,Ken%20Schachter