Fads

vs.
Trends
OBJECTIVES
❖ differentiate a trend from a fad
❖ give examples of a trend and a fad;
and
❖ explain the process on how to spot a
trend
 What I K n o w
Directions: Identify the following terms as FAD or TREN D . Write your answers
on a separate sheet of paper.
1. 3-D printing - ______________
2. loombands - ______________
3. virtual pets - ______________
4. online banking - ______________
5. medical tourism - ______________
6. touch screen devices - ______________
7. candy crush a p p - _____________
8. fidget spinner - ______________
9. animated films - ______________
10. puka shell necklace - ______________
11. d e n i m jeans - ______________
12. business process outsourcing - ______________
13. face app - ______________
14. powerbank - ______________
15. distance learning delivery mode - ______________
 Fads vs. Trends
The 21st century is a deluge of overwhelming demands from a
digital society; hence, enormous trends have emerged. Global trends
have been increasingly given attention and anchored to socio-
cultural, economic, and political dimensions. Unconsciously,
individuals like you do not realize that they have been into certain
trends.
 What’s In

Directions: Answer the following questions.

1. Are you fond of watching Korean Pop Artists or Korean Dramas? Why?
Why not?
2. Have you done a hip-hop? Rap?
3. Have you tried creating TikTok videos? Why? Why not?
4. Do you have electronic gadgets? Name them.
5. W h o influenced your fashion, style and interest?
6. W h y do you think these have become part of your
lifestyle/culture/standards?
 What’s New
Directions: T h e following are random words associated with fads and trends.
Rank by putting 1 as your most liked and 10 as your least liked in the blanks.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. cologne 7. denim jeans 13. smartphone

2. sports 8. online chatting 14. rubberband
3. m alling 9. M onopod 15. facebook
4. cinemas 10. Instagram
5. h aircut 11. B rick game
6. fashion 12. powerbank
 Trend
Trend 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.
It is defined in various ways depending on the orientation
of these individuals or groups. In the fields of arts, fashion and
music for example, it is a prevailing style or preference such as
realism movement in art, emergence of the miniskirt, and
popularity of certain genre of music like jazz, classical and rock.
 Trend
M a n y of you must have had an experience of listening or watching Vi d e o -
Ka ra oke singers during festivities o r celebrations. Yo u w o u l d notice that song
selections are dependent of the singers.
Older singers tend to opt for older songs while younger singers opt for newer
songs.
W h y do you think so?
Well, it is because their song selection was dependent on the most prevailing
genre of songs during their respective era or generation.
T h e trend toward portable music players, is another example which started
with the invention of big, heavy, portable “ b o o m boxes” and transformed into
personal C D players– continuing to grow and change into the M P 3 portable music
player phenomenon that w e see today.
 In the sphere of economics, trends
m a y co m e as a general m ov e me n t
registering statistical changes for a long
period such as the increasing cost of living
and rate of unemployment.
A typical example of this is the long
prevailing capitalistic mentality of people all
throughout the world which in one w a y or
another dictates their economic movement.
W h y do you still pursue your studies
despite the difficulties brought about by the
current pandemic? Well, most of you if not all
would say, “because I have a dream to
fulfill. I want a good life, a good and stable
job, a career, etc.
 In politics, trends refer 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.
Well, this will also remind us of our own history when there
was a point in our time when people felt that their freedom and
liberty were disregarded which brought them to a struggle to regain it
– the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, which eventually
became a kindling reminder of how the true spirit of democracy
works.
Other areas also exhibit p r e v a i l i n g p r e f e r e n c e s u c h a s in s p o r ts ( w e a r a b l e d e v i c e s
th a t m o n i t o r t r a i n i n g performance), food (rise of oatmeal products, inclusion of
moringa or malunggay in food products), medicine (stem cell treatment), cosmetics
(whitening supplements), travel (paperless tickets and online c h e c k -in),
m an uf ac tu r ing ( 3-D printing), environmental m a n a g e m e n t ( h o m e solar electric
system).
To s u m up, a tr e nd is a pattern o f b e h a v ior d e m o n s t r a t e d b y a b ig n u m b e r o f p e o p l e
w i t h i n a particular period.

Here are some examples of trend:

 gadgets
 teleserye
 social networking sites
 social advocacies
 drone technology
 denim jeans
 business process outsourcing
 online ticketing
 cashless transactions
 fad
Trending ngayon sa YouTube ang… Trending sa
Twitter ang… Trending ngayon sa Facebook ang…
You might get confused at these headlines from the
News and ask, “how can these be considered as
trends based on the above discussion?”
 fad
A Fad is something, such as an interest or fashion, that is very popular
for a short time (Merriam– Webster ’s Learner ’s Dictionary).
A fad is a product that has little, if a n y, utility b u t is c h aracterized b y a
q u i c k rise i n sales a n d p o p u l a r i t y followed by a quick decline in sales and
popularity. This quick up and down in sales is because fad products usually do
not satisfy a strong consumer need.
Nevertheless, fads seldom completely die out with some diehard followers
remaining loyal. Now, if w e will look back at the first paragraph above, y o u
will n o w see that those things which are advertised as “trending” in YouTube,
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or any popular social media platforms are not
actually trends but are merely fads.
 Here are some classic examples of fad.

 hula h o o p  pet rock

 yo-yo  Friendster
 virtual pets  troll doll
 Frisbee  bucket challenge
 Pokémon Go  mannequin challenge
 Hello Kitty  “Gangnam Style” song
 Loomband  Tamagochi pets
 Candy Crush A p p  hoverboards
 iPod  fidget spinner
 kalyeserye

A fad is an intense but short-lived fashion. It is a widely– shared

enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived. It is a
temporary fashion, a craze, interest, or activity that people follow
enthusiastically, but lasts for a short period of time.
H o w does a trend differ from a fad? To simply put it, a fad has a definite beginning and a definite end while
a trend though has a certain beginning at a certain point in ti me or history but, it ev o lv e s a n d c h a n g e s as it
continues to g r o w.
Ev er y generatio n has its o w n set of fads. D o y o u n o w realize w h a t are those? C a n y o u n o w recall
s o m e stories o f w h a t f ad s c a m e a n d w e n t d u r i n g y o u r t i m e ? It will surely yield a very interesting list.

CATEGORIES FAD TREND

Notions of Change  the new things that we currently do  the way we do things
fade when the perception of novelty is
gone
Behavior  Intense  sustained behavior that turns into lifestyle,
mindset, and values
Effects  coolness
 meets needs, solves problems and issues
 me-too mentality
 starts with technology
Time and  appears suddenly  appears suddenly
Nature of Growth  enormously popular  enormously popular
 suddenly disappears  does not disappear
 unexplainable growth  gets stronger over time
 sticks around
Scope and Limitations  stays within one company
 can across over many companies
 single brand/limited  encompasses entire areas of Technologies
Brands
 Spotting a Trend
Someone or something starts or causes a trend. A person
w h o starts a trend is called trendsetter. The individual’s act or
the event has attracted attention, earned acceptance, a n d
created strong interest and influence on people whose number
keeps increasing asdays 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. (Urgel, 2017)
 Spotting a Trend

Let us put it this way, in 1986, the Philippines became very

popular to the world because of the Edsa People Power Revolution
which, as described by historians, a perfect example of a successful
peaceful revolution.
However, if we will still go a few more decades back, similar
peaceful revolution has also become very popular in India by the
leadership of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi which eventually
brought India’s independence in 1947.
What could have been that trend which developed and evolved overtime?
Well, obviously those are freedom and democracy in which we may
consider Gandhi as the trendsetter in India, while the 1986 Edsa People
Power m a y be attributed to the assassination of the late Benigno Aquino Jr.
A c c o r d i n g to futurists (a futurist is o n e w h o studies a n d predicts
the future, especially based on current trends.) Rehn and Lindkvist (2013),
trendspotting refers to the study of trends and the way they develop and
affect society. According to them, this should b e differentiated f r o m cool-
hunt in g w h i c h is a hunt for those things that will b e c o m e popular before
they are popular. Tr e n d analysis is bas e d o n trendspotting but it
extends this into developing future scenarios a n d so the y say that to
follow a trend, one must not only be conscious of what is currently
happening but be wise enough to predict the future. (Urgel, 2017)
 Arzadon [Link]. (2018) mentioned that trends and fads are
sometimes used interchangeably, and they are both important for
organizations and people to keep abreast with the changing
environment.
However, it is also important to distinguish the difference
between trends and fads to deepen our understanding of survival and
adaptability.
As members of society, we should know how fads and trends to
create changes in our society. Certain fads and trends are created b y
dominant cultures catering to their o w n interests. A s students, you
should be able to analyze h o w to respond to the issues and challenges
brought about by these changes.