What is a trend?
Blueberry-milk nails. Hot rodent boyfriend. Tomato-girl summer. What do these things have in common? Absolutely nothing. They are all utterly meaningless. That and, within the last year, each one has become a micro-trend, a niche and short-lived yet pervasive fad that sweeps the Internet.
Cazzie David • The "Vibe Trends" Are Out of Control
70% of people would rather brands ‘serve their needs by understanding what they care about’ vs. 30% of people who’d rather brands ‘appear relevant by leaning into the latest trends’.
Matt Klein • ‘Trends have lost all meaning’
Does this actually have weight? Does this actually “mean” something? Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes, it’s just about entertainment for entertainment’s sake. What’s the undercurrent of human truth here.
Many of these declarations are not meant to be taken seriously, and plenty will not succeed (see: Hot Vax Summer and, less consequentially, The New York Times’s endorsement of the Dirty Shirley). But all arise from a desire to identify some distinct flavor of each summer that can be captured and stored like strawberry preserves.
Callie Holtermann • Why Do We Brand the Summer?
Trends have become synonymous with TikTok trends
In the span of maybe four months, we saw “mob wife,” “ballet core,” “rockstar girlfriend,” and “tradwife.” There was also the “office siren” aesthetic, which attempted to synthesize the sterility of the office with the mythological seductiveness of the siren.
Cazzie David • The "Vibe Trends" Are Out of Control
While the general rule in fashion is that trends and items begin to reappear after two decades, at this point teenagers — who were too young to participate the first time around and who are some of TikTok’s most ardent users — are already remixing styles that were popular just five or ten years ago, as is the case with the 2014 Tumblr aesthetic.
Rebecca Jennings • Fashion is just TikTok now
Trend cycles are shortening
Are trends fun or actively undermining development of healthy coping. Trends and brain rot?
- Physics 101: remembering the true definition of force — does this actually have weight and sustained energy?
- Psychology 101: remembering the human — does this actually mean something to a real person, not an algorithm?
- Business 101: remembering ROI — does this actually move a needle and is a sound investment of time, energy, and resources?