Affectation
There's a saying "don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own", and, for me, this goes to the heart of the issue.
Affectations are usually put on by people searching for themselves - such as kids smoking cigarettes to look tough - so they reach for an archetype and hopefully later move on to something more genuine and healthy.
Sometimes, though, people don't move on and can become so affected, they veer into self-parody.
I have actually pondered this topic extensively & still haven't come to a decision. Sometimes I see some of these eccentricities played out & think 'each to their own,' and at other times 'wanker!'
We are all faced with the challenge of fitting in whilst still being an individual, and perhaps some people just aren't able to balance these things out. I don't think I've done a good job of it myself, perhaps that is why I flew through my years at school as if wearing Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. I'd like to think I'm doing a better job of this balance now.
