Styles: The Social Influencer

Dr. Robert Gerard
2 days ago
3 min read

Image: Kevin Dooley from Chandler, AZ, USA, CC BY 2.0

Style is an expression. It's also how we do things and serves as an indicator for others to use, perceive, and judge. For me, style is primarily used to influence other people, places, and things. Overall, Style influences nearly every aspect of civilization—from clothing, homes, places of worship, buildings, and transportation centers. It shapes culture, identity, and commerce, often driving economic growth while reflecting each period's values. Style is everywhere you can imagine.

It helps define a period's characteristics, as style anchors how cultures behave, dress, and speak. A woman would be jailed if she wore a bikini in the early 1900s. Today, an acceptable style is the thong bikini bottom. French gentlemen in the 17th century dressed flamboyantly like women. How boring the male suit looks in comparison to these days.

Let's look at an array of styles. First of all, style sets things in motion. It's like a cause-and-effect machine. There are millions of applications. Style plays an intricate role that affects Individuals, societies, and governments.

Styles set trends. Changes values. And of course, changes behavior. However, a classic event about style still disturbs me. When I was a young boy who loved baseball, I always wore a Yankees baseball cap. That meant something to me. Then boys started putting the cap on backward. That was horrifying. But today, a lot of people wear their hats backward. Because it's the style. It’s okay—it’s cool, but I still feel it to be funky.

One important aspect of style, as an influencer, is its uncanny ability to generate memberships. The wealthy have a certain style that they like to demonstrate, whereas the less fortunate generally follow, join, and become part of something bigger so they feel safe, welcomed, and accepted.

For those who need to identify themselves and feel comfortable being part of a group, having the same style is a perfect entry point.

Commercially speaking, back in the 1950s, the American car looked like a rocket ship on wheels. Each one had different taillights and a ferocious front. But today? Especially in Europe, cars almost all look the same. It's sad because I used to draw cars as a child, but I no longer desire to draw the same car over and over again.

I'm very puzzled watching professional models walk back and forth on the runway. Sometimes it is difficult for me to watch them prance around wearing the most unusual designs. Only to realize that from those unique, unusual designs bring billions of dollars in the apparel business. What happens next is that, as styles hit the market, they set the manufacturing and marketing process in motion. So styles definitely relate to a billion-dollar economy, and, of course, large-scale apparel manufacturing kicks in around the globe.

Styles play an integral part in our psychology and social behavior. It influences almost every aspect of marketing and fame. Even for individuals like me, my hairstyle has drastically changed from an Elvis Presley look to that of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Today, a bald young man is in vogue, and a hippie-dippy guy in his late 70s and 80s with long hair and a headband still holds to the styles of his younger years. So, in effect, style influences almost every aspect of civilization.

This was a simplified overview of how style, whether individually or socially, affects how we see the world and react to it. Style influences nearly every aspect of our lives. It shapes our identity and prosperity.

Now that we know a little more about “Style,” it’s a good time to take an inventory of all of our Styles and ask this question: “Does this serve my Highest Good?” Reexamine your Style of Life—how you live, profess your attitude, and share your behaviors. Do you care about your health, what kind of food you eat, express your religious and spiritual beliefs, enjoy movement and activities, and, of course, what you want to do with your life?

What’s inside reflects on your outside. Is the awareness of your inner style consistent with your outer style? Do you walk what you talk? Do you feel comfortable in your surroundings, with your friends, and in what you call your home?

As a senior citizen, I chose styles that brought me good health, a lovely environment, and peaceful coexistence. I partner with people who reflect complementary styles, which makes life more comforting. And I've begun to create and express a living to empower people around me to stop being followers and start being co-creators, together styling our Universe.