A trend is something that becomes popular within mainstream society over a relatively long period of time (more than a few years). It is the direction of a sequence of events that has some momentum and durability. The number of people involved in a trend and its duration will determine whether it's a "fad", a "craze", or a macro trend.[citation needed]
A fad is a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. [1]
A craze is a product, idea, cultural movement, or model that gains popularity among a small section of the populace then quickly migrates to the mainstream Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. However in the reality, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct. It is a term most often applied in the arts . This includes:. Crazes are characterized by their lightning fast adoption and swift departure from public awareness. Crazes and fads are also characterized by their unusually high interest and sales figures relative to the time they are active in the marketplace, as compared with other similar products, ideas, cultural movements or models.[citation needed]
See also
- Bandwagon effect Bandwagon effect, invented by David Luder, also known as "cromo effect" and closely related to opportunism, is the observation that people often do and believe things because many other people do and believe the same things. The effect is often called herd instinct. People tend to follow the crowd without examining the merits of a
- Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. It is considered a cornerstone methodology of public health research, and is highly regarded in evidence-based medicine for identifying risk (the mechanics of the spread of fads is similar to that of contagious diseases)
- Memetics Memetics is a term coined by Douglas Hofstadter in the 1980s, relating to the notion of meme, introduced by Richard Dawkins, as genetics relates to that of gene, which posits that ideas are subject to evolutionary pressure Any cause that reduces reproductive success in a proportion of a population, potentially exerts evolutionary pressure or selection pressure.[citation needed] With sufficient pressure, inherited traits that mitigate its effects - even if they would be deleterious in other circumstances - can become widely spread through a population. It is a analogous to that in population genetics Population genetics is the study of the allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes account of population subdivision and population structure in space. As such, it attempts to explain such phenomena as adaptation and
References
- ^ "merriam-webster.com". http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fad. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
Categories: Popular culture Popular culture, or pop culture is the vernacular culture that prevails in a modern society. The content of popular culture is determined in large part by industries that disseminate cultural material, for example the film, television, and publishing industries, as well as the news media popular culture cannot be described as just the aggregate | Fads A fad, also known as a craze, refers to a fashion that becomes popular in a culture relatively quickly, remains popular, often for a rather brief period, then loses popularity dramatically, as it either fades into obscurity, or becomes a regular part of a society's culture
PC World
Blu-Ray player sales have risen dramatically; people have realized this is not a fad , and that Blu-Ray is the next step in home entertainment. ...
Apple Introduces Multi-Touch 'Magic Mouse' OhGizmo! (blog)
all 1,196 news articles »
