@Darth_Algar There was a joke about that very paradox in South Park where Stan was asking the goth kids if they would join him in this dance contest and they were all refusing, dismissing it as a “conformist” activity, but when Stan asked the last kid if he’d do it he said “I’m such a non-conformist that I’m not going to conform with the rest of you, and I’ll do it”.
As for me, I started to care when I was around 8–9 years old when I realized certain things were “cool” and I wanted to do what the other kids were doing and made a special effort to be as like everyone else as I could. I started caring less when I was in high school and then I started caring more again in college. Now I’m in the middle somewhere. I follow most norms and some trends, but openly reject others. And I’ve never cared less about other people’s personal opinions of me.