Lessons learnt in Lagos traffic; Social Stereotype Avenue

You see, guys, we humans are funny creatures. We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, making logical choices based on our preferences and constraints. But the truth is, we’re a lot more complicated than that. We’re influenced by all sorts of factors, including our social identity and status.

Now, let me tell you a little story. The other day, I was on my way to work, and as it is customary in the city of Lagos; every day starts with a dose of Lagos traffic. In the middle of giving custom to whom custom is due something unusual happened at Berger bus stop. I saw a small group of touts looking incredibly high and gleefully eating fruit salad purchased from an elderly and innocent-looking vendor stationed close to them. As a vastly experienced customer of the incessant traffic impasse, I can confidently tell you I have seen a lot of things while wasting hours in gridlock but this event was particularly surprising. While reminiscing on this scenario at work later in the day, It just occurred to me that the fruit salad vendor might have a hard time selling to other people while the touts were still stationed close to her.

Ridiculous, right? But that’s the power of social stereotypes and our desire to signal our social identity and status to others.

Now, I’m not saying that we should all ignore our social identity and status. It’s a natural part of being human. But we should be aware of how it influences our economic decision-making and try to make more informed choices.

For example, let’s say you’re in the market for a new phone. You might be tempted to purchase the latest iPhone as an indication of your wealth and status to others, and if you are lucky, your latest acquisition can become a prayer point for many folks with you as the ‘point of contact’. But does that really make sense? Are you willing to pay extra just to impress people you don’t even know?

Or, let’s say you’re at a restaurant and you see someone you perceive as being from a lower social class ordering something that you wouldn’t normally order. Are you going to let your social stereotypes prevent you from trying something new and potentially delicious?

The bottom line is, we should all strive to be more aware of how social stereotypes and biases influence our economic decision-making. It’s okay to care about our social identity and status, but we shouldn’t let it dictate our choices.

In the words of the late, great Steve Jobs, “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

So, the next time you’re tempted to make an economic choice based on social stereotypes, just remember “na you body go tell”.