expression, godan verb (-u)
follow the crowd; go with the times
Archaic expression meaning to conform to societal trends or the prevailing mood. Rare in modern speech; more common equivalents include 時代に合わせる or 流れに乗る.
昔の人は「世に従う」と言って、時代の流れに逆らわなかった。
People in the past said 'yo ni shitagau' and did not go against the current of the times.
Composed of 世 (yo, 'world/society') + に (ni, particle) + 従う (shitagau, 'to follow'). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it reflects a classical Japanese idiom for conforming to societal norms.