Style is a funny thing, as of course, we each have or different tastes, but they are also informed by our surroundings and where we spend our time. And because of this, there ends up being clear trends in styles within our consumer groups. However, because we are consuming globally now, the style trends are not only much larger, they are also less distributed and are far more transient, especially since trends are driven by "influencers" who's "job" it is to push their own agenda, which tends to be trend based agendas for attention.
But, because of the shortened timeframe of trend longevity, it makes it hard to create something that is going to have lasting style appeal, like a kitchen. In the last decade for example, there have been around four trends that have been introduced and then replaced and because of the nature of social media consumerism now, "everyone" (many) knows what is in trend and what is not.
And because everyone knows, the people who have just spent a great deal of money being on trend, find themselves quickly off-trend a couple years later, making them more quickly feel like what they have created is dated and needs updating. This makes them dissatisfied faster and is therefore also going to shorten the consumer lifecycle, where instead of something like a kitchen lasting 20-30 years like it did in the past, there are many people updating on a 10-15 year cycle.
And kitchens aren't cheap.
But, this is happening with everything, isn't it? And it can be argued of course that it always has, because for as long as we have been a species, there have been trends in style. However, it is the "shortening" of the lifecycle of a trend that is the issue and the way it comes about, as often it isn't because of innovation like in the past going from the stone age, bronze age to the iron age across millennia, it is just done on whimsy - on trend.
My parents wore the same clothes for decades and even when I was young, there was the concept of the "little black dress" staple, that meant that it never went out of style. However, does that remain true today? Is there anything that "never goes out of style"?
It seems not. Even manners.
We are designing our kitchen now and while I thought we had everything settled, my wife now wants to change plans quite drastically, because she has seen some trends online somewhere (probably Instagram) that she thinks would suit. And, they would suit, but for how long? And, once we have invested so much into it, how long is it going to be suitable for her once she keeps scrolling through the kitchen images and seeing emerging new trends, which could actually be throwbacks to what we have planned already?
This is something that most people don't sem to acknowledge with the "cost" of social media, because they feel that they aren't being sold something, because it is not a direct advert. The amount of times I have heard people say "I am not influenced" or "I don't click on the advert links" is incredible, but looking at what those same people are wearing - they are on-trend. How's that possible? Ah, because click or not, we are influenced, like it or not. And even if we aren't on social media, the majority of people in this world are and they are going to sporting the latest trends also, which is going to be an indirect influence on us anyway.
This isn't just with clothing styles either, it is with what we read and watch and of course, how we think. We are influenced by our peer groups more than we are by our parents supposedly, and this likely increases further as we age and make our "own decisions" based on the collective decisions of others - because we want to fit in with our peers.
Do as they do.
But, are we any happier for fitting in when fitting in means a constant chasing of the material aspects of life as if that is what is important? Apparently not, if the global condition of mental health is anything to go by, but this is interacting with ancient parts of our brains that make it very difficult to overcome, no matter how many "inspirational" posts on Facebook are read saying, "Love yourself the way you are".
It is just more advertising.
Well, now that my wife has got it in her head that we might need to change the style, I have to go looking for something that is going to demonstrate the changing trends and find a suitable solution that will actually be in style, because it will be suitable for us moving into the future, not just suitable to meet the transient trends of today. And, there is only a couple weeks until the work starts.
Damn it.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]