Breaking Social Norms Essay

Social norms are considered the acceptable behaviour exhibited by a society, different cultures have different social norms. Some norms can be more about religion, formal encounters vs. meeting friends or family or just a dress code for an organization, they’re shaped by cultural beliefs, your ethnic background, and other factors. Some social norms are universal, does not matter what country. An example would be, holding the door for someone, as that is always appreciated by everyone. Some other examples of social norms that are more cultural or country bound is driving on the right side of the road on a two lane highway, for areas like North America.
Breaking some social norms can cause harm. Cultures such as Saudi Arabia or
Iraq, have strict
These are considered social norms because if someone were to bow to an individual when first meeting them in Canada, it would be against the acceptable behavior of just shaking hands.

Social norms are not the law, people don’t have to obey them, however it can be unacceptable and hated or disliked by others. Breaking a social norm is not easy and often leads people to feeling uncomfortable, however sometimes breaking a social norm can progress culture. Racism has spread across all cultures and has been of discussion for ages, it was and still is a social norm in certain areas, such as situations with Israel and
Palestine. Around the mid-1900s, a individual named Martin Luther King stood up against the social norms of racism, where he succeeded, but was sadly assassinated. Even though he was killed, his story was and is still used as a strong enforcer against racism. With the likes of people like Martin Luther
King, Ghandi, and many others, who stood up against the social norms around their cultures and ethical backgrounds, it has changed the world from what it was back then.

One social norm that has made its presence for a long
After 2 or 3 he eventually got angry. Telling me “Man, why are you trying to get so close to me?” He defiantly wasn’t too happy about me invading his space. The final attempt I did was with my female friend who I have only known for 3 years. I didn’t feel as uncomfortable leading to, during, and after the conversation, as I did with the other 2 people. I expected that she would get discouraged and back away quickly, but she was the only one to maintain an entire conversation with me as I was invading her personal “bubble.” She didn’t seem to concern with how close I was with her. That being said everyone has a different idea on were their personal space is. Some are a bit more lenient and others have a big personal space. I think that personal space can also depend on that relationship with those individuals, even though I’ve known my sister and male friend my entire life, I still felt uncomfortable with the idea of breaking their “bubble.” I also believe that there is also another little social norm when it comes to personal space and that is the gender of the individual. I felt more comfortable having a conversation with my female friend than my male friend, even though I knew him