The Herd Mentality

The herd mentality is everywhere. This is our society craving to be accepted.

In todays blog, I am going to talk about something that I see both in architecture and in daily life. It is the herd mentality and the fear of not fitting in.

In my opinion becoming successful in our generation or even standing out next to the others is so easy. Like what do you mean I am competing with people who constantly scroll on their TikTok laughing at some random AI generated video? People are so drained and unaware that even taking a shower makes them feel productive after rotting in bed all day. Some are at the level of faking productiveness by watching a ‘productive vlog’ knowing damn well they are going to keep rotting in bed for the other half of their day. No wonder why having ‘discipline’ is an aesthetic. Because it has became so rare that people feel aesthetic when they do a routine for three days straight and call it consistency.

Our generation is very interesting. Everybody follows each others actions and copy them to feel like they are a part of something. How embarrassing is that? People act like a herd of sheeps, there is one person that seems to have a say in the herd, an then there are the others blindly follow its lead. And people who are not a part of a herd stand out. They get criticized and get left out. Those people feel like maybe they are the problem, and ask themselves what they are doing wrong but that is not the case. The lead of the heard does not want to lose its authority. Thats why it rejects people who seem too strong, and it would not risk loosing its reputation. When it comes to the ones who are just the attendants of the herd (has no power of the group), they listen to the leader because they themselves also want to be in that “top” position in the crowd. And they would do literally anything to be able to keep their place. This is not being “popular”. That is being so feeble that you feel the need to fit in so you do not get left out. People are so scared of being alone that even the ones you think that is your closest can turn on you on the smallest little threat coming from the leader.

Now that is considered being popular or being in the popular group. Just know, that people do not like when someone is better than them. They will try to bring that person down to their level because of their jealousy. The herd will always follow the trends, because they have no personality. And they are so used to not having any opinion on anything that they do not even think before copying something. It becomes automatic. Some people are so hopeless that they can not even copy at some point, because they do not have the guts to stand out, because they ones who can achieve something. And those who do stand out and are proud of it, are the ones who become successful in life.

It is the same with buildings, the famous buildings who are known for their style are not some random plain modern houses that its only special thing that it has is having a small pool next to its garage. When and why did we even normalize having absolutely no personality? Herd mentality in architecture emerges when designers collectively follow dominant trends instead of responding to context, culture, or human need. It is visible in global cities where glass towers and minimal forms repeat across different climates and societies, creating buildings that feel modern yet interchangeable.

This mentality also appears in the uncritical use of fashionable ideas—open plans, parametric façades, or “green” aesthetics applied more for visual approval than real function. When architecture prioritizes acceptance over questioning, innovation narrows.

Architecture becomes most meaningful when it resists herd thinking and chooses intention over imitation.