The Janteloven lay like a heavy iron blanket over everyone who grew up in the last millennium. We shouldn’t think we were something, could do something or mattered more than everyone else. Many have suffered from this, feeling it constricting and cramped. But there is also something relaxing and reassuring in the original jante law. To be like everyone else, not to stress about being special, outstanding and unique. It’s to get rid of low shoulders, that. Those who grow up now are peppered with the anti-jante law. You are unique! You are unique and have all the possibilities, if only you work hard enough. This anti-jante law has the best of intentions; everyone should feel valued, inspired and happy. But does everyone do it? Those who are ambitious and forward-looking can probably tick this off and be motivated. But those who are one of the crowd and don’t feel special, unique or unique, they don’t necessarily get a good feeling that anything is possible if you just work hard enough. Under the Jante law, for example, we didn’t have a camera on our phone, and we couldn’t document everything at all times. Photos were mostly taken on major occasions such as christenings, confirmations and weddings. Maybe interspersed with the occasional summer picture, Christmas picture, plus a couple on 17 May. Otherwise, there was little need to strike a pose, because we weren’t supposed to think we were anything, at least not a model. No one talked about their best profile, or about standing slightly at an angle for the best possible result. We didn’t have filters that could make us more beautiful either. We mostly stood firmly with both legs straight forward, smiling stiffly and looking shyly into the camera. There were no immediate results either, since the images had to be sent in for development, and the fate of most of the images was a shoe box or dresser drawer. Now, on the other hand, it is photographed and published from the time you are an embryo in the mother’s womb to the last breath. Today, posing like a top model is nothing to be shy about. Selfies have become an important tool to promote your anti-Jantelov life. Not everyone is as keen, but if you don’t post pictures of your 365 days, your feed will fill up with others who do. And what does it do to us? We are inundated with people’s seemingly action-packed, social and beautiful lives. Social media is boiling over with action, happiness, community, friends, family, feasts and prosperity. As wonderful as it is to see friends and acquaintances enjoying themselves in photos, for the vast majority of us, feelings such as envy, reflection on how one feels, and a sense of failure can creep in. And often you don’t have a super-socially fun time when you’re in scrolling mode either. You sit there and have time to look at everything and nothing. Before, we could lay the blame on the Janteloven if we didn’t realize it. Today, the blame lies with the individual, because now everyone has the opportunity to become everything, and the recipes for the perfect life, body and appearance roll steadily and constantly across your screen. Janteloven also offered a community, a somewhat boring community, mind you, where no one was supposed to be better than others, but you were not alone. Today, the community of completely normal and ordinary people has been replaced by the pursuit of being special and extraordinary. Then it is perhaps not so surprising that many people become stressed and struggle. Being a completely normal person is probably as common as before, but it rarely gets attention, neither in editorials nor in social media. Did the hated Jantelaw really function as the high protector of all the normal and ordinary? Can the anti-jante law lead to poor mental health? It is in many ways good that the jante law is gone, that more people dare to think big and invest in what they dream of. That anything is possible if you want it badly enough. But we can’t just leave the list high up there. The best can become the enemy of the good. Maybe we need a dose of jantelov to feel good. The normal must also be reflected in society, so that our children and young people do not grow up feeling alone and unsuccessful just because they are completely normal. Being normal and ordinary is just as good as being unique and outstanding.
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