Understanding

the Elements
and
Characteristics
of a Trend
OBJECTIVES

❖POINT OUT THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP A TREND

❖DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF A
TREND
❖ ILLUSTRATE THE ELEMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
A TREND THROUGH SYMBOLS.
A. Matching Type:

Directions: Match the terms in Column A with the descriptions in Column B. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper.
Column A Column B
______1. number of A. affect the lives of great swathes of the
participants human race
______2. pattern of behavior B. formed from repetitive actions of people
______3. long period of time C. element of a trend that has a starting point
which can be an idea, technology, event, or
person
______4. cause D. synonymous with fads
______5. consequence E. a recurrent phenomenon that takes place over
time and gives rise to speculation on the future
______6. microtrends
F. started by an individual and the number of people
who follows it becomes bigger as time goes by
 ______7. macrotrends G. provide major changes that are
perceptible in the societal level for a longer period

______8. megatrends H. refers to a trend that has a long-time

frame and sometime running for decades
______9. gigatrends
I. element of a trend that makes
______10. trends considerable influence or impact
J. trends that are so general that they
affect most areas of human life
K. the ability to understand
something instinctively without the
need for conscious reasoning
B. Multiple Choice:

______11. Which of the following is not an element of trend?

a. truth c. pattern of behavior

b. consequence d. number of participants
______12. Which of the following statements is not true about the characteristics
of a trend?
A. A trend makes considerable influence or impact.
B. A trend is formed from non-repetitive actions of people.
C. A trend has a starting point which can be an idea, technology, event
or person.
D. A trend may be started by an individual, but the number of
followers increases in a certain period of time.

______13. A good number of Filipinos have migrated to the Middle East and the US to seek greener
pastures. This trend has continued because of severe economic depression, political
repression, and the lack of viable job opportunities in the Philippines. Which of the following
significant social trends is being described in this given scenario?
A. the rise of OFWs
B. changing roles of women
C. religious fundamentalism
D. high overseas employment
______14. The current obsession with health and well-being is one of the
positive trends today. Which of the following practices is not a
manifestation of coping up with this given trend?

A. hair straightening and skin whitening as beauty regimen

B. the immensely popular application of meditation
practices
C. organic farming as an alternative to synthetic and
chemical- laden products
D. exercise and extreme sports for those who can afford
the luxuries of enrolling in a gym or engaging in elite sports
______15. As the workforce continues to relocate across the country and out of large cities,
organizations will need to invest heavily in technology that enables the future of
remote work. While this trend continues, which of the following
predictions/inventions or events do you think is most likely to happen?
A. People will come into the office less and potentially on a staggered
schedule.
B. Consumers will demand more than just a functional product from
technology brands.
C. Companies will need to optimize their in-office setups to make sure that days in
the office have collaboration benefits worth the cost of a commute.
D. Technologies will impact our lives the most in the next year and beyond and will
enable people to shift into a new work-life balance where they have more
flexibility to choose when and where they do either.
 Understanding the Elements and
Characteristics of a Trend

When you see cumulonimbus clouds suddenly formed within the horizon, you would
probably guess that a rain or thunderstorm is imminent. When rain comes moments later, surely
you would exclaim that you were right about your guess. You were able to spot an incoming rain.
That was about spotting an incoming rain, but, how about a trend? Can you spot a trend?
In the previous module, you were introduced to the descriptions, definitions and
distinctions between a trend and a fad. In this module, you will learn to spot the elements of a
trend, and what characterizes it from microtrends and macrotrends at one end to megatrends and
gigatrends at the other. What starts as barely perceptible oscillations in our immediate
environment may become the great movements of history. The trick is to spot which ones will
develop and how far it will last. Some people like to categorize trends and a good place for you is
to start this hierarchy.
 What’s In

Directions: Read and analyze the statements carefully. Identify whether the given descriptions
pertain to a trend or a fad. Write T for TREND and F for FAD. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper.

________1. It is something such as interest or fashion that becomes popular for a

short period of time.
________2. A recurrent phenomenon that takes place over time and gives rise to
speculation on the future.
________3. It is a pattern of group behavior that lasts for a long period of time.
________4. It is sometimes referred to as “rage or craze”.
________5. It is a pattern, a direction, or a movement in a way something is changing
towards a style or idea.
________6. Examples of this are hula hoop, yo-yo and virtual pets.
________7. It is a new item that stabilizes to an enduring product or a practice that
________8. It is characterized by a quick rise in sales and popularity followed by
a quick decline.
________9. It fades when the perception of novelty is gone.
transforms into a habit or a lifestyle.
________10. It appears suddenly, becomes enormously popular, and does
not disappear but rather gets stronger over time.
________11. It may come as a general movement registering statistical changes for a
longer period of time such as the increasing cost of living and rate
of unemployment.
________12. It is an intense but short-lived fashion.
________13. It is something that covers almost all of human activities such as
but not limited to politics, beliefs, economics, lifestyle, social life and
the like whether the individuals or groups of people are aware of it or not.
________14. It has a certain beginning at a particular time in history, but it
evolves and changes as it continues to grow.
________15. Examples of this are business process outsourcing, online ticketing,
and cashless transactions.
 What’s New
Directions: Examine the pictures below. Describe each picture briefly. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. 2.

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-NC

3. 4.
5. 6.

7. 8.

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-NC
9. 10.
 What is It
What makes a trend a trend? In the previous module, you have learned the distinction between a fad and a
trend. A trend is a pattern of behavior demonstrated by a big number of people within a particular period and that
which continuously grow and evolve overtime while a fad is an intense but short-lived fashion. With this
distinction, we can therefore identify the elements which comprise a trend. In this regard, Urgel (2017)
enumerated the following elements and characteristics of a trend:

Elements of a Trend

1. Number of participants pertains to people who follow a certain trend which is started by an individual or a
group of people. The group then grows into a community, and eventually swells into national and international
societies. For example, the prevailing fashion of a period, follows what celebrities are wearing or what fashion
designers offer. People often copy the trendsetters and so a new fashion trend develops. In the recent century,
styles of clothing are usually distinguished by decades. One example of this is denim jeans that became a
casual wear by all genders on a regular basis. Jeans are especially perfect for crafting swoon-worthy
ensembles mostly due to the fact that they work well with just about anything especially when it comes to
different looks (Griswold and Maguire 2020).
2. Pattern of behavior refers to a trend that is formed from repetitive actions of people. For
example, the simple act of taking a selfie has now become a cultural trend. It is almost impossible not
to see someone taking a selfie in any place - be it in a tourist spot, in a restaurant, in a hotel lobby,
beside a movie poster in a cinema, in a concert hall, and at an event, among others. Before
smartphones and portable digital cameras, pictures or portraits were taken by another person. The
selfie phenomenon enabled people to construct themselves visually and present it to the public by
putting it on social media. Others view the taking of selfies with disdain as a symbol of narcissism
and superficiality, while others consider it as an act of self-exploration and a gauge for acceptance.
 3. Long period of time is one of the crucial elements of a trend which means that a trend has to
have a long-time frame, sometime running for decades. A trend may experience some ups and downs in
popularity, may fade away, and may recur. A good example of this element of trend is the telephone. It
is a communication instrument that revolutionized modern living and created various social impacts. It
was soon overtaken by the popularity of mobile phones in the late 1990s that have text messaging
feature. Then newer technologies allowed smartphones to include many applications and internet
connectivity. Although telephones are still present in homes and offices, smartphones clearly have gotten
ahead in functionality and usage.
4. Cause refers to the starting point of a trend which can be an idea, a technology, an event
or a person. All trends have beginnings and someone or somebody definitely started it. The
question here is, how did it start? Now, this becomes quite obvious as all material elements
of a culture started with one’s ideas, therefore, it is also conclusive that one starting point
of a trend was an idea. Someone or somebody thought about it in the first place. Let us go
back to the evolution of telephone mentioned above. If you will try to think about it, it was
Alexander Graham Bell who first invented and engineered the very first telephone
back in 1876 (https://www.britannica.com). What do you think prompted him to
such an endeavor? Well, if you guessed that it began with an idea of bridging the gap of a
long – distance relations though live voice communication then you must be right.
So, besides the snail mails which were already prevalent those times, people had another option – the
telephone. Fast forward a bit, back in the late 1990’s, these messages through mails or letters evolved
and entered the digital world through beepers while telephones also evolved into cellular mobile
phones. At present, all those separate features plus some more were combined into the devices
we presently called “smartphones.” Believe it or not, all of these were one’s ideas which eventually
turned into a reality.

The Walkman revolutionized music

playing. Portable audio players today can trace back their roots to the
Walkman.
5. Consequence refers to the considerable impact or influence of a trend.
Social networking has become an encompassing trend that tends to influence
behaviors of online users. With the popularity of smartphones, users began
subscribing to various social networking portals which enable them to post
activity statuses and photos, and even connect with celebrities. Currently, these
social media platforms and their messaging and video conferencing features
are finding their relevance today especially for the students and teachers. For
example, due to the pandemic, teachers, students and parents use these features
for the virtual teaching and learning process. However, this trend can also
create a rather negative consequence among its followers. One example is
depicted on the illustration below.
Quality time among family members to share one another’s presence is being diverted
to other less relevant concerns brought about by the social media. They can literally be
described as “near yet so far” which means that they may be physically near each other,
in fact, sharing food on the same table, yet their attention is far from the family
moment.
Characteristics of Trends
Trends are difficult to study and analyze. Studying them is like predicting the
future and determining what changes may possibly last and thus have wide effects on
society and the people. Just like predicting an incoming rain or storm, it is quite
difficult to measure its impending aftermath. It may yield a good outcome for the
farmers especially when they are in great need of water for their crops, but at the
same time it can also yield damages to other areas.
Rehn and Lindkvist (2013) mentioned a so-called hierarchy of trends, which
explains why trends seem to have varying reach, effects, and influences on people.
This hierarchy is a representation of the scale of the development of a trend. To
better explain this, here is the tabular representation of these characteristics with
some examples.
Characteristics Microtrends Macrotrends Megatrends Gigatrends
These are “little These are These are These are
things that happen “aggregated macrotrends “trends that
all around us all the microtrends that have grown up are so general
time, the tiny shifts or more and moved out. that they affect
Descriptions
that occur in sweeping They are big, bold Most areas of
and Features
everything from human life─ or,
changes that are and affect the lives of
at least, more
clothes we wear and affecting great swathes of the Than one
the snacks we eat to society.” human race.” aspect of life or
the way we work, They provide They can last for more than one
play, and love.” These major changes decades and are industry.” They
trends happen right that are “so pervasive as to are usually
now and are outright perceptible be generally identified to
observable. in the societal known.”They have define an era
level for a become the
longer period prevailing condition
that has become too
normal.
Characteristics Microtrends Macrotrends Megatrends Gigatrends
Example/s Smartphone Varying Smartphones Internet or the
Apps/Games which Smartphone Which are World Wide
are dependent on brands (iPhones Dependent on Web which may
the capabilities of a vs. android the internet. be considered
smartphone (these phones) Smartphones as the soul of
apps/games Battle for are widely used by almost all
oftentimes lose their popularity of almost all people technology.
Popularity these in the world.
overtime). smartphones

Besides the above example, trends can also refer to movements, ideologies,
concepts, beliefs, and more. The important thing in studying trends is to observe them
closely for subtle and sudden shifts that ultimately affect people, cultures, and societies
in general. In the next module, you will be provided with a more in-depth study of the
characteristics/ hierarchy of trends.
 What’s More
Directions: Illustrate through symbols the elements and characteristics of a trend and why everyone
needs to cope with them. Draw your illustration on a separate sheet of paper.

Elements of a Trend Characteristics/Hierarchy of a Trend

Number of participants Microtrends

Pattern of behavior Macrotrends

Long period of time Megatrends

Cause Gigatrends

Consequence
 What I Have Learned

1. What generates a trend? Who are involved in creating a trend?

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2. Why is time frame important in a trend?

__________________________________________________________________________________
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3. What are the issues and opportunities brought about by trends? How did we respond
during the time of pandemic?
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4. Name five trends and classify them according to the hierarchy of trends. Explain why each is
a trend and why you classify it as such.

Trend Classification Reason Hierarchy