Trends, Networks, and Critical Thinking in the 21st Century Culture

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Trends

Trends

What is a trend?
What is a trend? Before we go into the details, let’s do a little experiment.
Take a look at the group of numbers below:

Can you tell what number should come before 32? You probably answered
64 and you are correct. That was quite easy. Now ask yourself, how did you
come up with the answer? Did you take a quick look at the numbers in the
series and realize that each one is twice the value of the one before it? If so,
you just observed a trend and predicted its outcome.
If you're starting to realize that a trend is a pattern, then you are partially
correct. A trend’s dictionary definition, according to Merriam-Webster is “a
general direction of change: a way of behaving, proceeding, etc. that is
developing and becoming more common”.
So yes, a trend is some sort of pattern. More specifically, trend is a pattern of
change. The puzzle that you just solved is a simple example. The numbers
were changing but they were doing so towards a general direction. No
numbers were the same but by observing the the way each of them changed
in relation to one another, you were able to recognize a shifting pattern
which is very likely to repeat itself.
That’s what a trend is. A trend is any event or behaviour that occurs and
changes in a regular manner and is very likely to continue. A trend can
happen in a small or large scale. It can happen to only one person or it can
affect everyone in the planet.
For example, if you have a new hobby and you practice it regularly, you are
starting an observable trend in your personal behaviour. Like if you regularly
practice playing the guitar, the average amount of time that you spend on it
can define a trend. For example, if you practice for an average of 1 hour every
day for the past year, but you’ve been spending a few minutes more on it in
the past few months, then there is a rising trend of you spending more time
with your hobby.

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 Hours Spent Playing the Guitar
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1
1
1
1
0
0 Hours spent
0
0
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The same goes for huge trends. The collective behaviour of a group of people
or a repeating occurance of an event that affects a lot of people can
determine the rise and fall of trends. For example, the number of people in
the entire planet that own smartphones is a closely observed trend because it
can have important effects in the economy and society in general.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-
users-worldwide/
According to this bar graph provided by statista.com, the number of
smartphone users has been steadily rising from 2014 up to the present.
Based on this trend, it can be predicted that the number of people that own
smartphones will continue to increase.
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Trends

This is a chart from NASA showing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels in

recent years. If they took just one test, then they will only have data that
represents that one particular time but by taking multiple measurements in
different times and comparing them to each other, they found out that the
levels of CO2 in the athmoshere is steadily rising. At this rate, it is safe to
assume that it will continue to rise unless a major factor appears and affects
it.

Why are trends important?

Now that we have a good idea of what a trend is, the next question that
comes to mind is why is it important to know about trends? Trends come and
go. So why do you need to learn about them? Here are some reasons:

1. It gives a better understanding of the world around us

A lot of the questions that we have about the world around us can be
answered by observing trends. Furthermore, it helps to understand the
trends that have a direct effect on our daily lives. Think of the things that you
need in your every day life; food, clothing, shelter, human interaction,
entertainment, money, etc. If you take a closer look at each of these, you will
definitely find trends and an even closer examination can reveal how these
trends affect you.
2. It helps build better social interactions
Knowing what trends are being followed by the people around us helps us to
better deal with them. For example, about a decade ago, back when texting
was the preferred method of communication, many people, especially
teenagers used a heavily stylized shorthand typing method known as
jejemon. (This won’t be in the quiz, btw.) Back then, knowing how to read this
type of writing was almost essential in communicating with others.

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 3. It opens doors to new opportunities
Whatever field you’re in, whether it’s IT, business, art, food, etc, being up-to-
date with the latest trends gives you a competitive edge. For example, the
financial sector spends a lot of time, effort, and money observing, recording,
and analyzing economic trends. This is because keeping up with these trends
can mean the difference between profit and financial ruin.
4. It shows new and better ways to do things
Trends are all about change and many trends revolutionize the way we do
things. For example, the ongoing trend involving social media gives us new
ways to get in touch with people, even those who are in different parts of the
world. Instead of writing letters and making expensive long distance phone
calls, now we can just send a quick chat message or even talk face to face
using Skype.
5. It helps predict the future
Because a trend is an observable pattern, it can be used to predict future
events. Take the examples that were discussed earlier. The smartphone
ownership diagram and the NASA athmospheric CO2 chart are records of
actual trends that have important effects in people’s lives. Experts closely
monitor these trends to help them predict their outcomes. Observing the
trends that affect our lives can help us make important decisions about the
future.

How to spot a trend

Spotting a trend is not always as easy as predicting the next number in a
series like what we did at the beginning of this chapter. Trends are not
always obvious, especially in a large scale. What appear to be random
occurrences can be parts of a trend.
Trend Analysis
According to Sanders, Soper, and Rothwell, trend analysis is “The
examination of these phenomena (trends) and speculation on the likely
impact they will have in the future.”
Trend analysis is the practice of collecting data with the goal of finding a
pattern or a trend. Many different fields use trend analysis such as statistics,
finance, advertising, and history.

Characteristics of a trend
Before we can spot a trend, we have to know what to look for. The following
are three common characteristics shared by trends according to Cornish
(2004) and Canton (2006):
1. Trends are a complete synthesis of information from a wide variety of
fields.
2. All trends use pattern identification and recognition to make
predictions when talking about the future.
3. Trends use time frames to evaluate their evolution.
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Trends

How to spot a trend

The following are the simplest steps that you can take to spot a trend:
1. Observe the present
First, you need to take a close look at what is currently happening. Are people
acting a certain way? Is an event happening more often? For example, you
may have observed that a lot of people are into social media and you want to
know if this trend is rising or falling.
2. Study the past
After you’ve established the existence of a recent pattern, you should now
examine historical data to better understand it. In the case of social media,
you can do some research to determine how popular it was in the past few
years.
3. Connect the dots
After you’ve made observations and gathered facts, it’s now time to analyze
all the information that you have in order to come up with a conclusion. For
example, once you have collected sufficient data regarding the popularity of
social media in the past and present, you can then analyse these data in order
to predict the trends future behaviour.

Trend Vs Fad
The term “trend” gets used a lot these days. A piece of clothing is said to be
“trendy” if it is immensely popular. A person is called a “trendsetter” if his or
her fashion sense gets imitated by the masses. In social media, the term
“trending” can be used to describe anything that is getting a lot of attention.
However, “trend” may not be the best term to describe popularity. In most
cases, “fad” is the more proper term to use.
A fad is anything that is extremely popular for a short period of time then
eventually disappears almost entirely. The best way to identify a fad is it is
short-lived. Here are some examples of fads through the years:

1. The Tamagotchi is one of the most popular children’s toys back in the
mid-90’s

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 Source: commons.wikimedia.org

2. The colorful tie-die shirt was popular during the 60’s and early 70’s.

Source: commons.wikimedia.org
3. Shawarma is a Middle Eastern delicacy that became an extremely
popular snack in the Philippines during the late 1980’s up to the early
90’s

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

4. Launched in the Philippines in August, Pokemon Go is one of the

biggest fads of 2016.

Trends, on the other hand tend to stay for longer periods of time. Fads only
last for a few months while trends can last for years. Another difference is
that trends have a wider impact on society while fads tend to be superficial in
nature. More specifically, a trend can mean a new of thinking, a new direction
in technology, a major shift in culture while a fad is something cool and
popular.
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Trends

Fads within Trends

While there is a big difference between a fad and a trend, the two are often
connected. A fad can be an indicator of the rise, fall, or continuation of a
trend. Several fads can be a part of an ongoing trend. Here are some
examples:

Trend Fad

Social Media Outfit of the day (OOTD)

Duck face
Throwback Thursday

Digital Music Limewire (music download)

Ipod
Spotify

Hipster Movement Man bun (hairstyle)

Beards
Plaid shirts

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