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032 Social Media Co-opted “Trends” and We’ve Been Using The Word Wrong Ever Since.
DOC 08—03-25
Curiosity: If it doesn’t last for more than a few hours why do we call it a trend? Category: Insights
How important are words?
People often quote “actions speak louder than words” by Saint Anthony of Padua, who is believed to have first used it in a sermon in the 13th century, to imply that words are much less important than actions are.
I can understand the sentiment.
If someone says they love you, yet their actions are always in service of themselves and their interests while completely ignoring yours, those actions tell a different and more visceral story than their words do. However, without the initial "I love you," there is no context or meaning for the actions to be compared to.
Words are the infrastructure of understanding; they set the boundaries, build the bridges, give direction, and are one of the most important parts of the foundation of connection we stand on. Wars were won and lost because of words. Countries were formed because of words. Societies lasted because of words. We became fans of artists because of words.
Words are important.
Advertising used to have a reverence for words. But an industry once celebrated for its mastery of words, the measured art of persuasion, and insight is now hijacked by the psychology and terminology of hollowed-out digital platforms. For years, the term "trend" symbolized cultural, economic, or behavioral change. But now, it's little more than a buzzword used to describe whatever has managed to grab fleeting attention online for 24 to 48 hours.
What we’re calling "trends" today aren’t trends at all; they’re fads, another important word. And in this new age of instant gratification, allowing digital platforms to reduce the word "trend" to mean "fad" and eliminate "fad" from the discussion is presenting a serious problem.
A trend, back in the day, wasn’t something that materialized overnight or that you could predict with the same immediacy as you can track a hashtag now. Trends were the product of a slow burn. They evolved over months, sometimes years, and reflected deep shifts in our collective psyche. Think about the miniskirt of the 1960s. It was a fashion revolution that signified a change in women’s wardrobes and a shift in social norms.
From a fashion angle, the trend emerged in London, specifically in Chelsea. Designers like Mary Quant, inspired by what they saw women wearing and wanting, popularized the miniskirt at her King’s Road boutique. High-profile celebrities and models, such as Twiggy and Diana Rigg, helped cement the look as a must-see when they wore miniskirts on TV and in magazines. British pop culture was also dominant at the time, with acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Kinks becoming global icons, which helped spread the trend worldwide.
From a societal angle, the commercialization of birth control in 1961 fueled a “sexual revolution,” and the miniskirt became the embodiment of that era’s greater openness and experimentation with gender norms and sexuality. It became a visual symbol of women’s newfound freedom and the ongoing feminist movement as well. As birth control became more available and women fought for increased rights and independence, the miniskirt expressed autonomy over their bodies and lives. Activists like Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer wore miniskirts while campaigning for equal pay, reproductive rights, and other women’s issues.
That was a trend.
Another example of a trend was the rise of SUVs in the 90s and early 2000s, which reshaped the automotive industry and the popularity of the suburban lifestyle. As suburbs continued to expand in the U.S., there was increasing demand for vehicles that could comfortably carry families, groceries, and sports equipment. SUVs, offering a lot of space, flexible seating, and versatility, became the go-to choice for suburban households. Movies, TV shows, and magazines featured SUVs as the vehicles of choice for the cool, the successful, and celebrities, reinforcing their desirability and making them both a reliable choice and an aspirational one.
Culturally, the late 90s and early 2000s emphasized personal security, self-expression, and convenience, which aligned perfectly with the strengths of SUVs as a product. Changing work patterns (such as dual-income households and longer commutes), the boom in consumer credit, and a preference for larger, more feature-rich vehicles all played pivotal roles in making the SUV a symbol of the desired American lifestyle and the embodiment of a broader cultural shift towards comfort, self-reliance, and individuality.
See where I’m going with this?
Those moments didn’t happen overnight, and they didn’t fade away in the same instant they arrived. They reflected meaningful shifts in values, behaviors, and desires.
Fast forward to today. Thanks to social media, the concept of a “trend” has morphed into something completely different. A “trend” now is quick, bright, and loud. What was once a slow, deliberate cultural shift is now the result of manipulated algorithms and influencers feeding us a new shiny object every few hours.
A “trend” today is a meme, a viral challenge, a hashtag, or a keyword that soars across our feeds before vanishing into nothingness. And the fact that we’ve allowed ourselves to mistake this for something meaningful is a commentary on the state of modern culture and the marketing and advertising industries as a whole.
The current understanding of social media has taught us to appreciate the ephemeral. These moments emerge from nowhere; a hashtag, a meme, a random person going viral with a clever comment, and spread like wildfire. Then, as quickly as they arrive, they’re gone, replaced by the next clone of it. This might be exciting if you’re bored, don’t really get out much, or live vicariously through others; it might even be flashy, and it might capture the moment, but none of those things make it a trend.
It’s a fad.
Fads are fueled by novelty and social pressure. We’re quick to jump on whatever’s “in” because we want to be part of the conversation. A well-timed meme or challenge can ignite a brief surge of collective enthusiasm. If you ask yourself: What changed overall because of this? What shifts in behavior, attitudes, or culture did this spark? The answer is usually: nothing substantial, if anything at all.
Remember when everyone was saying “Very Demure?” Fad.
Remember when everyone was buying Stanley Cups? Fad.
Remember when everyone was turning themselves into fake Studio Ghibli with ChatGPT? Fad.
Look at the Ice Bucket Challenge of 2014. As viral of a moment as they get, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge encouraged people to dump ice-cold water on their heads to raise awareness for ALS. It was fun, it was viral, it was everywhere for about a while.
But did it change the way we think about philanthropy?
Did it change the way we approach disease awareness?
Not in any lasting way. That’s the nature of fads. Fads don’t endure. They burn hot and fast, like a drug high, but when you come back down, you go back to the world as you knew it.
This is where most of us in advertising and marketing have gotten lost in the sauce.
We’ve forgotten the importance of words and the responsibility that comes with the power of influence. Because of our sin, our behaviors have been perverted, and what now passes as the standard stands as evidence against us.
Advertising used to be about tapping into the deeper desires and needs of society, understanding what makes people tick and what shapes their worldview. We sold products and lifestyles, sure, but we sold them to people, not digital avatars of what those people are probably like. Campaigns that lasted, messages that stuck, behaviors that endured, none of it happened just because it was timely. A lot of it happened because they resonated with permanent things.
Now, it feels like we’re trapped in the endless churn of fads being pushed as trends.
The algorithms dictate what we see, not real cultural shifts that give rise to meaningful change. We’re spending all our time chasing after what’s “trending” today, never stopping to ask whether it’s worth our attention tomorrow. We celebrate novelty to such a degree, it’s now odd to consider the impact of what we’re witnessing.
Social media at its moral best has become a carnival, and we’re the carnies and the audience in attendance.
And that’s not to be dismissive of the power of viral phenomena. Fads have their place. They can bring attention to causes, spread ideas, and entertain us.
But we should be cautious not to confuse fads with trends. Trends signify a meaningful shift, something that moves the needle in a meaningful way. When everything is a trend, nothing is.
We know that. We shouldn’t allow for platforms to deceive us into thinkinng otherwise.
What we’ve got today is a marketplace full of fads, and that’s a far cry from the kind of source material we should be building brands around or driving messages through.
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