GRADE 12 SENIOR HIGH

TRENDS, NETWORKS & CRITICAL THINKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

MODULE 1: The Connection between Fads and Trends

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, the learners will have:
1. Defined fads and trends, and differentiated one from the other;
2. Associated fads and trends to what they see, smell, hear, taste, feel, and know in their
everyday
lives;
3. Understood the emergence of fads and trends;
4. Pointed out the use of fads and trends in their lives;
5. Correlated and connected the emergence of trends and patterns from causes and
consequences; and
6. Integrated their knowledge of fads, trends, causes, and consequences in their daily lives.
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A story, before everything else:

The maiden lived a solitary life, spending her time in the company of her garden, livestock,
and kitchen. Despite being alone, she was blessed always to have an abundant harvest and
numerous livestock. Without anyone to share her blessings with, she made into meals all she
had harvested.

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Years of doing this made the maiden very fat, to the point of being obese. Now unable to
tend to her garden and livestock because she cannot work anymore like she used to, the
maiden resorted to watching television and surfing the internet for weight-loss methods.
Television shopping prescribed belts that melt fat, abs-crunchers, and the like, while the
internet informed her of the existence of slimming pill that guarantee results in just one
week.

Desiring to be back to the way she used to look, the maiden bought all that was mentioned,
while still maintaining her regular food intake. A month later, she did not lose weight –
worse; she gained more.

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The maiden felt helpless and hopeless, until a runner passed by her house. The maiden
spilled to the runner all her troubles and worries, and the runner left only one piece of
advice; “Have a proper diet and do regular exercise. That is all you need.”

Enlivened with what the runner told her, the maiden started having a proper diet and regular
exercise. A month after, there was a gradual difference in how she looked like and how she
felt about herself and her body. She continued doing what was advised.

To be continued.

Checkpoint A: Questions to Ponder On

1. What do you think happened to the maiden months after the first month?
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2. What were the things she did in order to bring her former body back?
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Understanding Fads and Trends

The story presents several “fads” and “trends” in our society that we are also aware and
even susceptible. However, what are “fads” and “trends”?

In everyday parlance, “fads” and “trends” are almost always used interchangeably: “Trending
in Twitter…”, “There’s a new fad in school”, “What are the hottest trends today?”, moreover
soon.

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However, one is different from the other. According to Trend Spotter, one of the leading
consulting firms in Canada, a fad is an

“…Intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived
and without basis in the object’s qualities.”

From the story above, examples of fads are the fat-melting belt, abs-crunchers, and slimming
pills that guarantee results in one week.

Meanwhile, still according to Trend Spotter, a trend is a

“…General direction in which something is developing or changing.”

Examples of trends in the story are proper diet and regular exercise

How do fads and trends come about?

Events + People’s Reaction to said events = fad/trend

Given this, the nature of fads and trends can both be tangible and non-tangible. Tangible fads and
trends are those that can be felt by the five senses: can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted, and heard.
Examples of this are diet pills, changes in demographics, the newest fashion statement, and the
most-read book for a year, among others.

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Meanwhile, intangible fads and trends are those that cannot be felt by the five senses but form part
of the behavior and attitude of the people. Examples of this are the change in buying behavior of
consumer after every economic crisis. This was seen before and after the great depression in 1929,
more recently, the global financial crisis of 1997 and the late 2000s. If people spent more on material
goods and didn’t mind getting more than one credit card, after every crisis, the people began a
culture of saving and risk avoidance which entailed limited spending and cutting credit card
subscriptions.

Is this situation a fad or a trend? For some experts, it is a fad, as they argue that when things return
to normal, the original state, including their spending and consumption behavior, will return.
However, for some, it is a trend, as consumers can now live with their limited purchases as they
realized where to allocate their hard-earned money. Their buying and consumption patterns have
changed.

What’s the Use of Knowing Fads and Trends?

Knowledge of fads enables one to dig the reason why such fads exist. Once these reasons are
identified, one will be enabled to identify more long-term and sustainable alternatives, which are
trends.

Once one identifies a trend, the knowledge must be put to practical use. For example, trends are
very helpful to businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and marketing people, because they can invest their

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capital and other resources to trends.

Aside from businesspeople, doctors and those in the medical profession also benefit from the
knowledge of trends, as they will know what to advise their patients which will prove effective. This
practice applies to teachers and educators as well. Even to book-writers and those who need to sell
to a particular “market”. They are just a few of those who will benefit from a knowledge of fads and
trends.

For you, knowing fads and trends is important especially in planning. Recognizing patterns and how
long those would last are skills that make one a good planner.

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Checkpoint B: Where and When Are Fads and Trends Useful to You?

Now that knowledge of fads and trends can bring about a multitude of benefits to various sectors of
society, it is high time for you to know where and when your knowledge of fads and trends can
benefit you.

Write a 1-page essay on how fads and trends can help you in your life.

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Differentiating Fads and Trends

According to David Zach, a futurist, one must be able to notice and play with fads; and work and plan
with trends. However, instead of this, we are too often seduced by fads and ignorant of trends.
What’s more, we often suppose that fads are the trends – what is cool, what is in, what is attention –
grabbing that causes bandwagoning. However, the quick entry and surge of popularity of these fads
also mark the manner of their exit – fast and often unnoticed.

However, what indeed is the difference between fads and trends?

Zach gives us an analogy. If compared to a river, fads are the waves, while trends are the currents.

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While the waves just rock the boat and capture our attention, trends move the boat. Even though
currents are difficult to see, they are stronger than waves and have long lasting effect on the boat.
Given this, we must learn to navigate the currents of trends instead of paying attention to the waves
of fads.

However, how does one differentiate a fad from a trend? It is hard, especially at face value but
possible. The following serve as features of trends;
1. East
Trends do not require many adjustments on the part of subscribers. In fact, trends are smooth
and straightforward to follow.

2. Consistent
Trends generate uniform and tangible results. Unlike fads which claim to deliver results in the
often-unrealistic timeframe, trends are steady and dependable.

3. Sustainable
Trends exist and can be maintained for a long time. Unlike fads which are brief and fleeting,
trends are for the long-term.

4. Broad application
Trends are consumed by a large group of people from different sectors of society and various
walks of life. Unlike fads which are contained in one segment of the society, trends almost have a
general acceptance among people.

Based on these features, what do you think are the fads and trends in today’s society?

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Checkpoint C: Which is which?

Determine which is a trend and which is a fad from the items below, by writing “trend” or “fad”
before the number:

_____________ 1. Slimming pills that promise unrealistic results in less than a month’s time
_____________ 2. Brown and organic red rice that seems a healthier option than white rice
_____________ 3. Existence of memes in online media

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_____________ 4. The appearance of “carrot man”, “cabbage man”, “water man”, etc.
_____________ 5. Diet and exercise for a healthier you
_____________ 6. Investing in the stock market, never worried of the crashes here and now
_____________ 7. E-books
_____________ 8. E-commerce
_____________ 9. Online banking
_____________ 10. Email
_____________ 11. Digital touch screens in shopping malls that serve as information kiosks
_____________ 12. Crowdsourcing
The Evolution of Fads to Trends

Despite fads being temporary, some fads last longer than others, and can even help determine a
trend. An example of this is the “low calorie” fad that started in the late 1980s and continued until
early 2000s.

Now, this fad has been waning due to new studies showing that calories are not the culprit in weight
gain, but sugar. Through this, more people are now aware that they must lessen their sugar intake,
not calories.

Another fad that began roughly the same time was the “low carb” fad, which gradually brought in
the trend of choosing healthier carbohydrates, leading to the trend of whole grain, and for rice, the
brown/red organic strains.

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Fads are helpful in that way – in that they are indicators of what consumers want to do, achieve,
and/or experience and these discoveries lead to the identification of consistent and lasting trends.

It is indeed difficult to discern when a fad becomes a trend. In these situations, hindsight is
necessary, as well as one’s understanding of causes and consequences.

What’s the Connection between Causes and Consequences?

What is your understanding of the relationship between causes and consequences? When two
events happen at the same time, is the first one the cause, and the other one the
consequence/effect?

“causality” is the connection of phenomena in which one thing the cause gives rise to or
causes something else the effect under certain conditions. Its essence and importance lie in the
generation and determination of one phenomenon by another.”
- Alexander Spirkin

There are two essential variables in this phenomenon: one is “cause” and the other is “effect” or
“consequence”. Causes are active. They bring for effects. However, as rightly stated Spirkin, “after
this” does not always mean “because of this.”

The Space-Time Element

The connection between cause and effect takes place in time. However, there are different views as
to the co-existence between the two.

One view states that the cause always precedes the effect. After some time, the effect appears. The
cause and effect will then co-exist for a period, until the cause dies out and becomes the cause of
something else.

Meanwhile, another view states that the cause and effect are always simultaneous.

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In a given situation, is the consequences directly attributable to one cause?

Pressing an elevator button from the inside does not automatically close the doors. There is a certain
amount of time before the command can be interpreted by the system, which then closes the door.

It is usual that there is a clear and present relationship between cause and effect. However, the
keyword here is “usual”. It is not all the time that effects and consequences can be seen after
activating the cause.

What is the Connection of Fads and Trends to Causes and Consequences?

Having foresight or being able to anticipate events, in addition to having hindsight and knowing the
background and all available details, will lead to more informed decisions and decisive actions. These
skills are critical in predicting trends and patterns.

There is no such thing as “it just happened”.

Checkpoint D: 100 Years of Fads and Trends

The last century saw many changes in fads and trends. What were once considered as fads are now
trends, and many trends in those decades remain.

In order to see the changes throughout the decades, you will be divided into ten groups, with each
group representing a year from 1910 to 2010. Your group is tasked to showcase fads and trends in TV,
clothing and fashion, toys, music, movies, etc., as long as the presentation spans 20minutes at most.
Presentation formats may either be through video or live performance.

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Points to Ponder

1. Fads and Trends are born from people’s reaction to events.

2. A fad is an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived
and without basis in the object’s qualities, while a trend is a general direction in which something is
developing or changing.

3. Fads and Trends are both tangible and non-tangible.

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4. Knowledge of fads and trends translated into practical use helps businesspeople and
entrepreneurs, people in the medical professions, and teachers, among many others.

5. Play with fads, work with trends.

6. There is no such thing as “it just happened.”

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