Saint Vincent Institute

Poblacion, Maribojoc
S.Y. 2020 - 2021

Name: ________________________ Year and Section: _________________ Date: ___________ Score: _______

TRENDS, NETWORKS, & CRITICAL THINKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY 12 (HUMMS AND ABM)

FIRST QUARTER: TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND SOCIETIES (WEEK ONE)

Lesson 1: TREND
CONCEPT NOTES
Defining Trend
Trend is defined in various ways. In the field of arts, fashion, and music, it is prevailing style or preference such as realism
movement in art, emergence of the miniskirt, and popularity of jazz music. In economics, it is a general movement registering
statistical changes for a long period such as the increasing cost of living and rate of unemployment. In politics, it refers to a tendency,
drift, or bend toward a certain stance, thought, or policy as when democratic southeast Asian countries favored authoritarian
governments at a certain point in their histories. Other areas also exhibit prevailing preference such as in sports (wearable devices
that monitor training performance), food (rise of oatmeal products, inclusion of moringa or malunggay in food products). In other
words, a trend is a pattern of behavior demonstrated by a big number of people within a particular period.
Sociologist view trend as a collective behaviour or mass involvement which is acceptable to society and shows a “line of
historical continuity” as it can be downplayed today but can resurface sometime in the future. The tight pants, for instance, was the
trend toward the end of the 1960s, after which, the bell-bottom pants relegated the former to the side. Nowadays, tight pants have
made a comeback, especially in the form of skinny jeans.

Commerce as an academic course became a trend for a long period of time in the past until new courses and degrees such as
computer engineering, nursing, and hotel and restaurant management became popular and demand. It can be observed, however,
that commerce as a popular course has made a comeback due to heightened globalization where business and entrepreneurship play
a key role. The so called line of historical continuity shows in a trend’s continuing existence although with varying prominence or
intensity over an expanded time frame.

Activity #1
What have I Learned So Far?

1. Define trend and give a situation to support your definition.

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2. What is the concept of “line of historical continuity”? Give an example.
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3. Can you say that the hot pants fashion(short shorts for girls) has the same track record as skinny jeans & bell-bottom pants?
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Activity #2
Reflect Upon
Why is it important to spot a trend? How will it affect you?
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How will it affect you?
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Spotting a Trend
Someone or something starts or causes a trend. A person who starts a trend is called trendsetter. The individual’s act or the
event has attracted attention, earned acceptance, and created strong interest and influence on the people whose number keeps
snowballing as days go by. The act or event is something different from what is currently going on and it becomes “the next big
thing”. It demonstrates an accelerated spread among various sectors and areas and creates a deep and wide scope of influence on
people, sectors, and the environment. It leads to change.
According to futurists (a futurist is one who studies and predict the future, especially on the basis of current trends),
trendspotting refers to “the study of trends and the way they develop and affect society.” This should be differentiated from cool-
hunting which is “a hunt for those things that will become popular before they are popular.” Trend analysis is “based on
trendspotting but it extends this into developing future scenarios.
Cool-hunting can be understood as looking for things that are going to be popular, while trendspotting is looking for future
trends, generally including those that are less or not obvious, that ultimately affect society and the way people live. Trendspotting
requires more analysis. For example, discovering what accessories will hit the fashion markets in the next season is cool hunting, as
well as a record label producer looking for the next singing sensation.
Trenspotting is the basis for trend analysis, which has applications in several fields. Below are the characteristics that a
trendspotter should possess, based and adapted from Rehn and Lindkvist(2013).

1. Adapt a beginner’s mind – Know how to unlearn things. With a beginner’s mind, you can see things in a new light, as if everything
is new and strange.

2. Know why and what you are looking for – Ascertain first the reason why you are looking for trends. Only then you can focus on
what kinds of trends to spot and how to specifically look for them.

3. Move and search in any places – Look beyond what and where others are looking for and searching it. Dare to look for something
different and do not remain in your comfort zones.

4. Beware of the obvious – do not join the bandwagon of the obvious- the flashy things (the peacock). Remember that if something is
easy to spot, everyone most likely sees it, too.

5. Never judge something as good or bad – Set aside your biases and be objective in looking for trends. You may not like a topic, but
you have to pursue knowing more of it if you are to be an effective trendspotter.

6. Be sensitive in looking for signals – Study how trends gain momentum. Not all things new and novel can become a trend, but they
sometimes do.

7. Look for shift rather than novelties – Observe for changes in how things are done or in people’s behaviours when something new is
introduced. Do not delve on the novelty of a gadget, for example, per se.

8. Spot for combination of things – Do not think of trends as a singular evolution or development of things. They come as a
combination of shifts or individual spots.

9. Find the reason for something – However difficult this may be, seek logical explanations and causes for everything.

By understanding the reasons behind things, behaviors, changes, and shifts, you can get better understanding of an emerging trend.
By spotting a trend, you can think of ways to maintain your lead In your field of specialization, detect new opportunities to
grab, and “invent” a future life for you, your family, and your close friends.

Activity #3
Reflect Upon
How can the consequences of a trend affect your studies or family business?
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Why do we need these guidelines for us to determine and spotting a trend?
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Trends versus Fad

Trend and fad are both group patterns of behaviour but not without differences. A trend lasts for a longer period of time
than a fad. It may take years before a trend slows down, while it only takes a few weeks or months for a fad to stay. Thus, a fad is a
temporary or short-lived pattern of group behaviour. The Beatlemania in the 1960s and the hippie trends lasted for decades whereas
the fad of the song “Gangnam Style” was short-lived.
Trends and fads can happen In areas of life where change or transformation continuously occurs. This means that while you
are alive, you will encounter and experience various trends and fads.

Activity #4
Identify which of the following items are trends and fads. Write T on the blank for trend and F for fad.

_________1. Online banking _________6. Animated films _________11. Rubik’s cube

_________2. Medicines _________7. Instagram _________12. Fidget spinner
_________3. Puka shell necklace _________8. “PPAP” song _________13. CCTV camera
_________4. “Gwiyomi” song _________9. Twitter app _________14. 3 in 1 coffee
_________5. Denim jeans _________10. Radio _________15. Drone

Activity # 5
Reflect Upon
How can you be a trendsetter?
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How can the consequences of a trend affect your studies or family business?
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Saint Vincent Institute

Poblacion, Maribojoc
S.Y. 2020 - 2021

Name: ________________________ Year and Section: _________________ Date: ___________ Score: _______

TRENDS, NETWORKS, & CRITICAL THINKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY 12 (HUMMS AND ABM)

FIRST QUARTER: TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND SOCIETIES (WEEK TWO)

Lesson 1.1: TREND
CONCEPT NOTES
Elements of a Trend
The following are elements or components of a trend:
1. Number of Participants – A trend may be started by an individual but the number of the people who follow it becomes bigger as
time goes by. The group grows into community which, not long after, swells into national and international societies.
Examples: Follows what celebrities are wearing or what fashion designers offer.
2. Pattern of behaviour – A trend formed from repetitive actions of people.
Example: The simple act of taking a selfie has now become a cultural trend.
3. Long period of time – A trend has a long time frame, sometimes running for decades. A trend may experience some ups and downs
in popularity, may fade away, and may recur.
Example: For many decades, the telephone was the main line of voice communication. It revolutionized modern living and had great
impacts socially, both positive and negative. Soon, it was overtaken by the popularity of mobile phones in the late 1990s.

4. Cause – A trend has a starting point which can be a starting point which can be an idea, technology, event, or person.
Ex: Portable audio players were popularized when Walkman was introduced in the 1980s, allowing people to listen to recorded music
(Cassette tapes) through headphones or earphones. Later, it would evolve in the form of portable CD player. Then came another
revolutionary trend with the advent of digital audio players where the music playlist could be saved onto the device or to be
downloaded online. Now, mobile phones and smartphones also function as a portable music player.
The culture of portable music has come a long way, from the invention of the transistor radio, and is still evolving depending on new
emerging technologies.

5. Consequence – A trend makes considerable influence or impact. Social networking has become an encompassing trend that
tends to influence behaviors of online users.
Ex: 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.

Activity #1

What Have I Learned So Far?

1. Who or 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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Characteristics of a Trend

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,

Rehn and Linkdkvist (2013) mention of 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.

Microtrends – are “little things that happen all around us all time, the tiny shifts that occur in everything from clothes we
wear and the snacks we eat to the way we work, play, and love. These trends happen right now and are outright observable.

Macrotrends – on the other hand, are “aggregated microtrends or more sweeping changes that are affecting society”. They
provide major changes that are perceptible in the societal level for a longer period. These are more stable than microtrends,
which can fizzle out.

Megatrends – are “macrotrends that have grown up and moved out. They are big, bold and affect the lives of great swathes of
the human race.” They can last for decades and are “so pervasive as to be generally known.” Because of this condition,
megatrends are regarded as so obvious and evident. In other words, they have become the prevailing condition that has
become too normal.

Gigatrends – are “trends that are so general that they affect most areas of human life ore more than one industry.” Gigatrends
are usually identified to define an era.

Activity #2
Reflect Upon

Name five trends and classify them according to the hierarchy of trends. Explain why each trend and why you classify
it as such based on the hierarchy of trends.

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Identifying Parts of a Whole

It was mentioned that trends are formed from the combination of things. Thus a trend has constituent parts or
portions that are interrelated. Their confluence, as well as how the people adopt them, makes the trend viable, especially the
megatrends and gigatrends.

Take as example the Japanese animation (anime) trend that is associated with several generations spanning decades. In
retrospect, popularity of anime was brought about by a number of developments such as the ones shown below.

Emergence of otaku Japanese pop Manga (Japanese Home video Widespread

(enthusiasts) music comics) availability syndication

Artistic experimentation and Information

stylistic expansion sharing
through
Movie Industry internet

Development of Subcultures
Electronic Subtitling
ANIME
Influences from Walt Disney films
Digital piracy

Popularity of seiyuu Penetration of

(voice actor) international
market

Television Industry
Animation Technology and Rise of animation
Cosplaying
Another example is the visual culture innovation studios from various trends-digital camera,
we experience today. It was developed
English dubbing
smartphone, internet, wifi technology, social media, mobile apps, computer, fashion art, photography to name a few. Internet
memes, infographics, and sharable videos seemed to be a microtrend only, but they eventually became a mainstay in
disseminating information. Even large news organization and government Websites use them. This visual culture trend (can
be considered a megatrend) has evolved further with the advent of the internet. The smartphone and Wi-Fi access greatly
helped the new form of visual cultures which is subscribed to by many social media users, if not all.

Remember that microtrend can become macrotrends if they affect more lives and societies. Then macrotrend can
become a megatrend if it can affect a much bigger large group for a longer period like a decade. Megatrends can become
gigatrends if they have ever-lasting effects and influences. Therefore, it is evident that a larger thing (the whole) consists of
smaller things or parts.

Reflect Upon

What do you think are the parts that gave way to the selfie phenomenon? Briefly explain each part.

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