The Invisible Influence, By Jonah Berger

Decisions are one of the most detrimental aspects of life. They range from what we do today to what we think of the newest trends. People always believe that their decisions are made at their own discretion, however, more often than not, the things we do are a result of the thoughts, actions, and ideas of the people around us. The effects of influence are everywhere, yet no one seems to notice. In the article “The Invisible Influence”, Jonah Berger discusses the positive and negative impacts it has on our lives. In the book Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card shows how easily children can be swayed by the environment they grow up in, which leads them to make skewed decisions, both good and bad. In both texts, the authors illustrate how the looming presence of influence drives many of our decisions in our daily lives.
All people are susceptible to influence and “Our likes and
“Is it some law of human nature that you inevitably become whatever your first commander was?” (Card 166). This statement is both correct and incorrect considering that while influence is, in a way, a law of human nature. On the other hand, it isn’tt something that is inevitable. The actions Ender takes when he trains his army heavily mirror the way Graff had treated Ender from the very beginning. “Young people are more susceptible to influence” (Berger 2). At the young age of six, Ender and every other launchie were immediately put under the negative authority of their seniors. While Ender tries his best to avoid the negative impacts in the school and he eventually falls victim to the unavoidable effects. When he is given his own army to command, he berates himself, saying that he’s “already bullying people like Bonzo did. And Peter.” (Card 166). Slowly, as the story builds, it becomes obvious how his classmate’s behavior had altered Ender