Free expression waning? Study shows fewer people want to be ‘unique’

Americans pride themselves on hearing a different drummer, as Thoreau put it. We celebrate coloring outside the lines, thinking outside the box, going against the grain.

But that sentiment may be fading.

People are becoming less willing to stand out from the crowd and defend their own opinions, according to a new study by Michigan State University — and that spells bad news for a culture of free expression.

This finding confirms the results of an earlier survey, published in January 2022 by FIRE, that found 58% of Americans are afraid to voice their opinions. And 60% feel our democracy is under threat by cancel culture.

Researchers at Michigan State also looked at how afraid people are to speak their minds in the broader context of people’s willingness to be unique. They measured this by studying three factors: how much a person cares about following the rules, defending their beliefs in public, and being seen as disagreeable.

The principles of independent thinking, free expression, and defending one’s convictions even when others disagree — or perhaps especially when they disagree — is the beating heart of what the marketplace of ideas is all about. 

To get data on these questions, the team studied a staggering 1.3 million responses to the Gosling-Potter Personality Project, completed online between 2000 and 2020. 

The results showed that during those years, people became less likely to favor being unique in any of the three metrics mentioned above. But the largest decline of all was the 6.5% drop in people’s willingness to publicly defend their beliefs.

In other words, we are seeing a shift towards conformity and self-censorship. Indeed, more recent polling suggests that most Americans have political views they are afraid to share. 

But there are other factors to consider. Between 1952 and 1993, rates of anxiety among Americans increased almost one full standard deviation. That’s like the average height of an American man increasing by three inches. And because social anxiety is rooted in a fear of being judged by others, it makes people not want to stand out.

“It is also possible,” the authors of the long-term study add, “that the need for uniqueness has declined in recent years because this need has been satisfied.”

This satisfaction may be the result of online platforms, which offer plenty of opportunities for people to express themselves. It makes sense that people are less motivated to stand out or say unpopular things in public, the authors say, “because they are already doing all of those things in a less encumbered way than in the early 2000s” online.

Individuals are therefore less likely to risk their competing interest of wanting to fit in by expressing even potentially unsafe opinions, especially if anxiety levels about being judged are on the rise — and especially since people are already satisfying some of their desire to express themselves online with safe opinions, or dunking on the unsafe opinions of others. But we are treading down a dangerous path here, and the authors warn that “restricting opportunities to express oneself authentically” will “likely have important consequences for promoting the welfare of both individuals and societies.”

National FIRE survey: Cancel culture widely viewed as threat to democracy, freedom

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It should also be noted that demographic information was only available for about 24% of the survey participants, and only from late 2004 to 2009, which could mean certain groups were underrepresented or overrepresented, and that the data doesn’t really fit the general population.

Still, the decline in a willingness to defend one’s own viewpoint, along with other survey data confirming an overall increase in self-censorship and an atmosphere of fear, is antithetical to the thriving of any liberal democracy.

The principles of independent thinking, free expression, and defending one’s convictions even when others disagree — or perhaps especially when they disagree — is the beating heart of what the marketplace of ideas is all about. It’s one of the rare points both sides passionately agree on — you gotta stand up for what you believe in.