Why Trends Are Getting Shorter

Globally our collective attention span has been shrinking by the minute and the cultural landscape has shifted to match it - the speed of our trends is at an all time high, so what is all this rush going towards?

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Script: Hanna Peterson
Editor: Sam Askew
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand

[DavidHancock]

Fad is the word you're looking for with this. What you're defining as "trend" is the definition of a fad. Another great colloquialism for this is "flash in the pan."

[Immudzen]

On the plus side you can ignore all of these things and not miss anything. If it is only going to matter for a few weeks I don't see why it even matters.

[comradecid]

"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need."

[Magurkz]

People starting to lose their personality because marketing teams says so

[MLin]

Concerning fashion trends, I work with historical manuscripts and remember working with a collection of letters from the 1850s in which a woman was complaining to her sister that the fads in collars and cuts were changing so dramatically month to month that keeping up was an odious expense. We don't see the extremely fast trends of the past because we aren't spending time looking closely at that past.

[Hereisfae]

I was an outcast and teased mercilessly as a kid bc of my secondhand and budget clothes (can we hear it for Giant Tiger boutique, Ontario?). Now as an adult I feel blessed to have gone through that bc I literally do not care at all about what other ppl think as long as I’m comfortable in my clothing…relieves a lot of anxiety I used to have about how I look to others

[connors]

I have worn the same tan cargo shorts and black t shirt for 15 years and i have gone from cool to uncool to cool again and honestly i just dont care

[nicoleh]

I actually have a scrapbook that I made in the early 2000s. Movie theatres used to give out magazines for free, one version of which was geared towards teens. I had cut out a photo of a girl who was wearing the trendy look at the time, complete with bandana. It never occurred to me that this would become a snapshot of the past eventually.

[spode]

You're wrong about one thing - we're not distracting ourselves, we're seeking meaning.

We've lost track of who we are. This loss of meaningful identity is driving us to desperately look for meaning and a sense of community wherever we can get it. Our identity is derived largely from our relationships with other people and our positions and roles in our communities, and these are collapsing under the isolating weight of being always online.

[VaticDart]

The best place to be in these trend cycles is outside of them entirely, watching the silliness through the enjoyable window that is Future Proof.

Build your own aesthetic. Evolve it over time, intentionally and slowly. That way when you look back at pictures of yourself you can easily recognize the decade.

[UBERsnosluoc]

I think a big part of these microtrends is that companies hire psychologists specialized in hacking consumers' brains with forms of media like TikTok. Also, since there is so much exposure on these platforms, you are constantly bombarded with the next best pair of shoes, water bottles, or anything. People are also trying to find their value in material items, which companies are taking advantage of.

[Yawbus]

The people following these trends aren't expressing themselves, they're expressing someone else.

[traildoggy]

I usually don't even know about a trend until it is large enough to be almost over. 👍✌
My clouting criteria:
1 - Is it comfortable ?
2 - How long it will last vs What does it cost ?
3 - If I fall in cold water miles from the road will it help keep me alive?

[jordanmcgrory]

I'm in the same position as you. A trend emerges, happens and dies before I notice it. It's quite relaxing to not even try to follow the latest, but I say that as an adult. I cannot imagine how stressful being a teenager must be right now.

[deathsyth]

You know what isn't going out of style anytime soon? A t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It's lasted more than a hundred years and I don't see that stopping right now.

[lylewalker]

Saw a Stanley in a homeless camp tipped over on its side just yesterday, and started thinking about this exact concept. Waiting to see them at Goodwill for $7.99.

[vsznry]

As a 90s baby / Oughts kid, I'm strongly considering a "dumb phone".
Starting to understand I really don't care about what others are doing anymore.

[SanderEvers]

Trends are just that, ways to fit in. And there also lies the issue, humans are social animals. Which means we are naturally inclined to follow others. What you should do is just do not follow others and find your own path. Don't follow the trends.

[NikolaosPolymeris]

the only way i am keeping up with trends and whatever happens on social media platforms is through this channel. I deleted all my social media accounts about a year ago and once a week its like a reminder why i did it. I love your content.

[niedarb]

As a person with ADHD, this video made me realize that the old definition of trend is, literally, ADHD behaviour. Which for someone who has to take medication to function in modern society, is absolutely baffling.
I understand it with teenagers trying to find themselves, but "healthy" adults? It feels more of the declining atention promoted by tiktok in action.