Creeping normality is a process by which a major change can be accepted as normal and acceptable if it happens slowly through small, often unnoticeable, increments of change. The change could otherwise be regarded as objectionable if it took place in a single step or short period. American scientist, Jared Diamond, first coined the phrase creeping normality in his 2005 book, . Prior to releasing his book, Diamond explored this theory while attempting to explain why, in the course of long-term environmental degradation, Easter Island natives would, seemingly irrationally, chop down the last tree:
Examples
The concept of creeping normality has been used to explain a number of different phenomena, including the examples listed below:
Andrew Hammond, a writer for the Gulf News, invoked the concept in his February 2018 article "Mass shootings have started to look, sound and feel the same—and that's a problem". He wrote that mass shootings feature the same coverage of sobbing pairs of people, contemplative witnesses, night-time vigils, and prayer circles, and that there is a familiarity to all of it. Hammond argues that, with the increasing number of major active shooter incidents occurring annually in the United States, the ubiquity of the events has begun producing its own distinctive aesthetic.
Family businesses
Antheaume and Barbelivien described the creeping normality that destroys businesses, causing them to not see the subtle, negative shifts in the community around them. The authors state that owners of family businesses are more likely to notice the small changes than a large corporation, although "detecting a problem is no guarantee of the ability to solve it".
Cybercrime
In his thesis, Ki Chon states that the increase in cybercrime fits the pattern for creeping normality. The number of websites involved in "hacking and cybercrime activities" has increased at a slow and steady pace, mostly below society's awareness.
referred to creeping normality in his four-part IPS-Nathan lecture series in spring of 2017. In regard to several issues Singapore is facing, he claimed that "things get just a little bit worse each year than the year before, but not bad enough for anyone to notice". As an example, he used the increase in flooding in Singapore. He stated that the country did not realize the problem was caused by rising temperatures due to catastrophic climate change and not poor drainage, as first suspected.
Media in education
Researchers at the University of Central Florida looked into the evolving media landscape on the University's campuses and argued that there has been a gradual shift to offer more online classes, resources, and a technology and media-rich environment. They characterized the "ubiquitous presence of media and technology" on campuses as an example of creeping normality.
Famine
has discussed the timescale over which disasters like famine occur. De Waal makes the point that governments and media outlets have a responsibility to recognise the underlying causes of famine and natural disaster, as opposed to focusing on the visibility of the crisis alone. He uses "landscape amnesia" to explain how a person or society may be shocked to realize the gradual changes that lead to disaster.
Creeping normality has also been used to describe the increase of maternity patients who are obese and overweight. In their research article, authors Wilkinson, Poad, and Stapleton suggest that as the number of clinically obese or overweight pregnant women increase, the negative stigmatisation with being overweight decreases. Schmeid, et al. state that, as health care providers see more women with an unhealthy weight, they are less likely to advise healthy weight gain goals during pregnancy out of fear of fat-shaming. Physicians may not be aware that they are not addressing the gestational weight gain as soon as necessary. A survey conducted from January to April 2010 of obstetrics and gynecology residents found that of those surveyed, only "7.6% selected correct BMI ranges for each category, and only 5.8% selected correct gestational weight gain ranges". More recently, in an Australian study published in 2013, researchers surveyed maternity health care providers in Queensland and discovered a lack of knowledge of body mass index and body weight guidelines for pregnant women. The lack of guideline knowledge was identified as a barrier to effective care, while the researchers also addressed the social stigma associated communicating guidelines and recommendations for overweight and obese pregnant patients. The study acknowledged that the stigmatisation traditionally associated with excessive weight is increasingly challenged by broader acceptance of overweight and obese people worldwide, something that has occurred slowly. As of 2013, people considered to be of a healthy weight were only 39.40% of the world's population.
Economic crises
Although economic crises, such as the European debt crisis, can appear as a sudden and drastic change or anomaly, foreshadowing indicators such as innovation and changing practices that go unnoticed or unheeded illustrate creeping normality in economic change.
