It’s hard to know when something is becoming a fad until it’s already ingrained itself into our culture. What futurists attempt to do is to measure trends and spot patterns in modern culture that make it’s way into everyday life. I’ve scoured the internet and took a look at different trends that I’ve seen around the internet and tried to make heads or tails of what I think is working, and what I think needs work.

Intermittent Fasting

This is a trend that I’ve actually witnessed myself all over reddit. Swarms of people’s before and after photos litter the front page. The weight loss “technique” is supposed to include fasting for a period of time to improve your metabolic health and overall well-being. The most popular form of intermittent fasting I’ve seen is the 16:8 method. Fasting for 16 hours (say 8pm until noon the next day), with an 8 hour window to indulge. I’m not super woke – but that just sounds like eating less to me.

I personally think this trend is dangerous. Knowing that this could easily slip into anorexic behaviors and unhealthy binge-eating is worrisome. Every few years, I feel like there’s another one of these trends (South Beach Diet, Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Keto) all of whom claim to have the “magic cure”. The truth is that diets are PROVEN to fail, and for a reason. The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry….why would they want to lose their proverbial bread and butter? Additionally, Psychologists have dumbed down this inability for us to stay on diets as “because we’re weak, and food tastes good”. Stress can be quelled so much faster when I have a taco in my hand, just saying.

Bottom line: I think this trend is so dumb that it works. Eating less, who would have known! I think it can be very useful in moderation.

Online Boxes

A trend I’ve seen popping up on my Facebook feed (probably after a self-indulgent search for clothes I don’t need online), is the boxing industry. Until Jeff Bassos graced all of our lives with the ease of shopping online at Amazon, we used to drag ourselves to actual brick and mortar stores. Today, people have less time, less patience, and less money. They want it now, and they want it CHEAP. What the boxing industry interestingly came up with was to get their customers to take a quiz about their tastes, pay for the box, and whatever they send back will not be charged on their cards.

I actually think this is a passable idea, but not yet perfected. I like the idea of someone picking out something that maybe I would not have. However, I’m also super picky about style and fit unless it’s a basic t-shirt and jeans. I also see an issue with sizing (which has always been the downfall of online shopping – no trying on!). Each country and company has slightly different sizing rules, making the World Wide Web that much harder to navigate for consistency.

Bottom line: What if you forgot to send back what you don’t want? Are you stuck with clothes that don’t suit you and now you have to become some unintentional LuLu Roe salesperson? By this point, I’d rather just stop by Target and try something on that I like. I see this costing me more time in waiting and finding what I need, so that’s a no-go for me.

What trends have you noticed moving into every day culture? Comment below. Stay tuned for part 2!