SLA No.

1: Trends: Definition, Characteristics, and Kinds

Subject Code/Number: HUMSS 07
Subject Title: Trends, Networking, and Critical Thinking in the 21 st Century
Subject Description: The course provides opportunities for students to discover patterns and extract
meanings from emerging trends. It aids in developing their critical and creative thinking skills – essential
tools for decision making and understanding “ethics of care”, Global trends in the 21st century are
examined and are either accepted or rejected on a sound set of criteria. Students will be asked to create
and analyze scenarios that will challenge them to (1) formulate their stances on issues or concerns; (2)
propose interventions and; (3) formulate alternative futures. The students will realize the
interconnections between their neural connections and social realities.

A. Learning Competency

 HUMSS_MCT12Ia-b-5 Describe the different characteristics of a trend


A. Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Understand the characteristics of the new trend;
2. Explain the process on how to spot a trend;
3. Recognize what trend to value.

C. Learning Content

DEFINITION OF A TREND
 TREND IS DEFINED IN VARIOUS WAYS:
a. In the field of arts, fashion, and music, it is a prevailing style or preference such as realism
movement in art, emergence of the miniskirt, and popularity of jazz music.
b. 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.
c. 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.
d. In sports (wearable devices that monitor training performance)
e. Food (rise of oatmeal products, inclusion of moringa or malunggay in food products)
f. Cosmetics (whitening supplements)
g. Travel (paperless tickets and online check – in)
h. Manufacturing (3 – D printing)
i. Environmental management (home solar electric system)
 A trend is a pattern of behavior demonstrated by a big number of people within a particular
period.
 Trends can also refer to movements, ideologies, concepts, beliefs, and more.

SPOTTING A TREND
 Someone or something starts or causes as 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 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 predicts the future, especially on the
basis of current trends)
 Trendspotting refers to “the study of trends and the way they develop and affect society,”
whereas a cool – hunting 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.
 Trendspotting seeks broader subjects that lead to changes in human perception, say, in clothing
and music imagine how the marketers of the denim jeans, notably Levi’s positioned denim jeans
from being a work wear to being quality wear that exudes individuality and informality. Soon,
the denim jeans became ubiquitous in every country and a must – have. Think of composers and
performers of pop music that help define the taste of a generation of listeners, possibly
touching emotions and upholding attitudes. Original Filipino Music (OPM), which started in the
late 1970’s, provided songs with a uniquely Filipino pop feel different from the previous
colonially influenced songs and art songs.

Trendspotting is the basis for trend analysis, which has applications in several fields.

CHARACTERISTICS THAT A TRENDSPOTTER SHOULD POSSES, BASED AND ADAPTED FROM REHN AND
LINDKVIST (2013)
1. ADOPT A BEGINNER’S MIND – know how to unlearn things. With a beginners mind, you can see
things in a new light, as if everything is new and strange; thus you will be able to detect even
small changes and shifts that field experts tend to ignore.
2. KNOW WHY AND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR – ascertain first the reason why you are
looking for trends. Only then can you focus on what kinds of trends to spot and how to
specifically look for them. The reasons of a businessman are different from those of an
enthusiast or a traveler or a writer.
3. MOVE AND SEARCH IN MANY PLACES – look beyond what and where others are looking for and
searching at. Dare to look for something different and do not remain in your comfort zones. As
an analogy, instead of going where most do not go to or even notice. When you are led to the
mostly used hashtag, for example, you are merely cool – hunting. Learn to take note what is
happening now to imagine and search what will be happening in the future.
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. Things
that are less visible (the pigeons) effect changes in culture and society. Just think about how the
mundane plastic chairs (monoblock chairs) influenced how people gather and how ubiquitous
they have been.
5. NEVER JUDGE SOMETHING A 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. Pay attention to anything related to it and be critical, too. For
example, some may find internet memes as unattractive, tasteless, or ridiculous, but their mere
 presence and popularity speak a ton about a kind of Internet user that finds more sense of the
world through visual culture.
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. Taking note the upsurge and downturn
of phenomena will help you to expect or pick weak signals that become strong.
7. LOOK FOR SHIFTS RATHER THAN NOVELTIES – observe for changes in how things are done of in
people’s behaviors when something new is introduced. Do not delve on the novelty of a gadget ,
for example, per se. an undergoing shift is a good sign of developing trend. At first, the remote –
controlled drone was seen as a fad with many enthusiasts purchasing one. Then we see drones
being used in filmmaking, shooting documentaries, news reporting, taking photographs, and
even in delivering packages. In photography, the use of drones has given us new perspectives in
terms of seeing things, ushering in a bigger and better understanding or view of the world,
literally and figuratively. Also included in this particular characteristic is the importance of taking
note of what people actually do in contrast with what they say they do.
8. SPOT FOR COMBINATIONS 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. For example,
the case by which we can use social media today has been made possible due to a combination
of the following: internet connection, smartphone technology, apps development, globalization,
algorithms, and emergence of netizens, to name a few.
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 a better understanding of an emerging trend. Merely looking at the surface is
not enough. Considering something as inexplicable is not enough as well.

NOTA BENE: 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.

ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS OF A TREND (NPLCC)

1. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
 A trend may be started by an individual but the number of people who follow it becomes bigger
as time goes by. The group grows into a community which, not long after, swells into national
and international societies.
 The prevailing fashion of a period, for example, follows what celebrities are wearing or what
fashion designers offer.
 People often copy the trendsetters and so a new fashion trend develops.
 In the recent century, styles of clothing are usually distinguished by decades.
2. PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR
 A trend is formed from repetitive actions of people.
 The simple act of taking a selfie has now become a cultural trend. It is almost impossible not to
see someone taking a selfie in any place – be it in a tourist spot, in a restaurant, in a hotel lobby,
beside a movie poster in a cinema, in a concert hall, and at an event, among others. Before
smartphones and portable digital cameras, pictures or portraits were taken by another person.
The selfie phenomenon enabled people to construct themselves visually and present it to the
public by putting it on social media. Others view the taking of selfies with disdain as a symbol of
narcissism and superficiality, while others consider it as an act of self – exploration and a gauge
for acceptance.
 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. 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, which is portable and has the text
messaging feature.
 The newer technologies allowed smartphones to include many applications and Internet
connectivity. Although telephones are still present in homes and offices, smartphones clearly
have gotten ahead in functionality and usage.
4. CAUSE
 A trend has a starting point which can be an idea, technology, event, or person.
 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 a portable CD player.
 Then came another revolutionary trend with the advent of digital audio players where the music
playlist could be saved on to the device or 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 lends to influence behaviors of online users.
 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.
 People could now air their opinions on diverse matters and say almost anything instantly.
 Social networking users have reached billions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRENDS
 Rehn and Lindkvist (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 the 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. For others, microtrends are
synonymous with fads. The importance of microtrends is that they offer a glimpse about the
future through the clues they possess.

 MACROTRENDS – 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 quickly fizzle out.

 MEGATRENDS – are “macrotrends that have grown up and moved out. They are big and 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 – or, at
least, more than one aspect of life or more than one industry.” Gigatrends are usually identified
to define an era.

NOTA BENE: To illustrate this hierarchy of trends, study the following examples.
a. Internet connection is now considered a gigatrend as its functions are now tied up to the
everyday activities of people all around the world. It has become too normal such that it is now
the base of several vital activities like banking, business, online communication, information
gathering and dissemination, research, entertainment, transactions, gaming, shopping, and
more.
b. Smartphones can be considered a megatrend (if not bordering on being a gigatrend itself). They
have affected many lives and industries. In fact, many check their smartphones first thing in the
morning to read text or private messages, surf the Net, and so on. Many human activities also
depend on smartphones, whether directly or indirectly. Texting, likewise, has changed how
people communicate. In the past, communication was done through audio signals care of the
telephone. With texting, which traces its roots to a mobile phone function, communication can
now be done through digitally written words sent instantly.
c. Social media can be considered as a macrotrend, but it can arguably turn into a megatrend
considering how common it is nowadays. The continuous development of platforms and apps
made the concept of social media pervasive across computer and smartphone users. While
social media would not have been a trend without the overall influence of the Internet has,
nonetheless, given many people a venue to be heard and to exchange thoughts, opinions, and
ideas.
d. Popular games and apps on smartphones are examples of microtrends. One game can create a
mania that later wanes to give way to another. A few games have attained a higher level in the
trends hierarchy, like Super Mario, which actually started in the 1980s but has resurfaced
through different gaming platforms. For some, this particular game is a representation of an era
to which they belong.

NOTA BENE: The important thing in studying trends is to observe them closely for subtle and sudden
shifts that ultimately affect people, cultures, and societies in general.

D. Self-learning Activity

Activity 1: Derive an idea through a 100-word essay, artwork, and other graphic representations
about the definition and characteristic of trends.
Criteria
Content: 30
Creativity: 20
Organization: 20
Total: 70 pts.
Activity 2: Make an infographic about how to spot a trend.
 References:
https://depedshs.blogspot.com/2017/06/trends-networks-and-critical-thinking.html
https://www.slideshare.net/CenthiameBelonio/elements-and-characteristics-of-trend#:~:text=1.,2.
https://www.academia.edu/41906234/PRELIM_MODULE_TRENDS_2C_NETWORKS_2C_AND_CRITI
CAL_THINKING_IN_THE_21ST_CENTURY_CULTURE20200208_23064_hwp05s

Submitted by:
Ms. Sheryl Flores______
Senior High School Teacher

Reviewed by:

Ms. APPLE JOY RUPEREZ, LPT

Academic Program Coordinator

Noted by:

MADAME ANDRESA S. BULAWAN, LPT

Assistant Principal

Approved by:

Mr. BERHN VINCENT DOSDOS, LPT

ACT-SHS Bulacao, Officer-in-Charge

Final Approval:

DR. JUNREL P. ZARCO

Senior High School Principal/Vice-President for Academic Affairs