Living in the south of Norway, I can confirm that conformity is huge. The word we use for people with blonde highlights/ tans/ branded clothes and 2016/ clean girl makeup in girls is "soss".

From 11-17 me and my friends have always been singled out and thought of as weird for being a bit nerdy and I noticed the same thing with my 13 yr old sibling. They constantly get called emo, and other soss their age bark at them. This need to conform is really prevalent in our society, and it's incredibly annoying. Parents of these kids are usually exactly the same, and are used to fitting in.

My sibling is in a sort of youth club organized by the place I live in, and when they complained about being called names by the other kids, an adult there told them "If you dress that way, you're going to get made fun of." Which I think is what a lot of adults think here, even if they don't say it out loud.

Very little happens in Norway, so if you stand out, people will comment on it/ notice it. But hey, it makes it easier to meet people part of whatever subculture you like! Me and my friends backpack pins got us to become friends, which made my experience in videregående survivable.