Being an individual is an important thing. There was a time, perhaps over a hundred years ago now, where the concept of the individual was reserved only for the upper classes – those who were thought to have an illustrious name or title that was therefore worthy of being thought of as “individual”. However, it has all changed now. Everybody wants to be individual, everybody indeed can be individual – in the Western world at least – and can expect to be able to express themselves in a way that suits their own sense of individuality.
In theory, there are countless combinations of commodities and decorations – objects, essentially – that can be created, mixed in a totally unique way in order to truly be original. That, however, is only in theory. In practice, popular items play quite an important part in the general sense of individuality nowadays – you are able to be creative but only under the constraints of the most popular brands out there. Take for example smartphones: there are really only a few major brands that people own. These hold a majority share of voice on the market for this kind of thing, tablets included, with lesser-known brands being very much in the minority.
So if you can’t be individual with something that you keep close to you and use every day, what do you do? Well, in this instance, the software within the item itself and sometimes its physical appearance can be altered in order to suit your individual tastes. If you want to stand out with a non-stand-out item, it is quite easy to do so. It is much the same with other commodities these days, especially electronic or mechanical items. A car is another good example. On the surface of things, a car is quite a nondescript item; essentially, it is a small room with seats in it that moves along on four wheels, and that’s it. And then you have each major car brand with its distinct look. But within that brand itself there is not much to differentiate yourself from another owner of the same car. So you can personalise your car, get personalised number plates, kit it out with a different interior, for starters.
It can be tricky to stand out sometimes, because it can seem that everybody is trying to stand out. It’s only through your own personalisation, and not through the brand identity of the trainers you wear, that your own individuality can shine through.
