1 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Hello everybody. I'm Jemma Spake and welcome back to the 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: Psychology of Your Twenties, the podcast where we talk through 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: the biggest changes, moments, and transitions of our twenties and 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: what they mean for our psychology. Hello everybody, Welcome back 5 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. It is 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: so great to have you here back for another episode 7 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: as we, of course break down the psychology of our 8 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: twenties today. After the love and the enthusiasm that I 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: received for our Psychology of Fashion episode and our Psychology 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: of Personal Style episode, so many of you demanded an 11 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: episode specifically on micro trends. So many of you wait, 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: my damns, being like that part of the podcast was great, 13 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: can you do a full episode on it? And I 14 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: thought that this week we would. Micro Trends have flooded 15 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: our fetes recently. I just feel like the Internet cannot 16 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: go more than a few weeks without circulating like the 17 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,759 Speaker 1: new It fashion trend, the new It top, the new 18 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: It print. And I also think nearly every single one 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: of us at some stage has participated. I bought a 20 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: La booboo last year. I have to admit it. I 21 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: currently have a pair of office siren glasses that you 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: guys are never going to see that are they are 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: incredibly impractical considering I actually wear glasses and they are 24 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: so small, and they are so tiny, And that is 25 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: a discussion for a whole other time. The question really is, 26 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: despite the fact that we know its marketing, despite the 27 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: fact that we know these trends aren't going to last 28 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: more than a year, maybe a few months, why do 29 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: we participate in micro trends, particularly in our twenties. What 30 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: is the pool? What is the drive? Especially when things 31 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: do tend to be cheap and poorly made and you know, 32 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: break after a couple of wars. Would you believe me 33 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: if I told you it all came down to human psychology, 34 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: I think you probably would, especially since this is a 35 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,959 Speaker 1: psychology podcast. But micro trends, especially the way they influence 36 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: human emotion and human behavior, that is why they are 37 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: so hard to escape and so hard to kind of 38 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: walk away from. So today we are going to break 39 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:37,119 Speaker 1: it all down, from the role of dopamine to social contagion, 40 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: our nervous system, frontal lobe development, identity politics. They all 41 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: have some role to play in this, as you will 42 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: soon be aware. So if in the past year, the 43 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: past couple of years, you've found yourself suddenly wanting to 44 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: buy animal prints or an impractical shoe, or an impractical 45 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: bag or trink it. This episode, it's hopefully going to 46 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 1: give you some answers, and it's not going to shame 47 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: you from buying those things if they bring you joy. 48 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: It's just going to explain the psychology behind why you 49 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: want to buy them. So, without further ado, let's get 50 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: into the psychology of microtrends to begin to really understand 51 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: the emotions and the psychology behind all of this. Let's 52 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: start by talking about what a trend actually is and 53 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: what a micro trend actually is within that space. So 54 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: in general, when we traditionally refer to trends, we are 55 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: talking about a sustained change in preferences that represents often represents, 56 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: i should say, some larger social, political, esthetic, technological shift, 57 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: or advancement in society. To qualify as a trend, something 58 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: whether it's a style, whether it's music, it needs to 59 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: show direction, it's different on you from what we had before. 60 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: It needs to show duration, so it's persisting over a 61 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: meaningful period of time, whether that's a few weeks, months, 62 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: or years, it needs to show scale as well, so 63 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: basically enough people are buying it, consuming it, making it 64 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: so that it becomes a recognizable part of our broader 65 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: social world. We can see that particularly. Somebody was saying 66 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 1: this to me the other day with genes and gene 67 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: trends and how things have changed over the years. So 68 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: skinny jeans in the nineties and two thousands, when like 69 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: extreme thinness was really chic, Flared jeans in the seventies 70 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: and eighties when dance and music and grooving and moving 71 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: was like the big thing. Wide leg jeans in the 72 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: past decade, which shows like a movement towards comfort and 73 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: away from restriction. That's like a great example of how 74 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: trends what's going on in society, and the thing is 75 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: they can last decades. Like the active casual at leisure 76 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: wear trend we're still seeing right now. That is a 77 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: trend that is probably going to stay for a long time. 78 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: Or women wearing pants at some point that was a trend, 79 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: now it's just part of the culture. Now it's just 80 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: a dominant way that we see fashion. So again, a 81 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: few seasons or a few years or life changing or 82 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: throughout our entire lives like all of those things can 83 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: be trends. Unlike though, major trends, which sizeably push fashion 84 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: in a new direction, like the women wearing pants thing, 85 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: or the you know, athletic wearers clothes or casual clothes thing, 86 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: micro trends are short lived, They are niche, they are 87 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: forgotten about very quickly, and they are overwhelmingly driven by 88 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: social media. Like social media trends, you know, they inflate 89 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: really fast as everyone wants to get on board and 90 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: everybody wants to make money, everybody wants to be seen 91 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: as cool, and then the next thing comes along and 92 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: they get dropped very quickly. Micro trends, like social media trends, 93 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: only last as long as as our attention does, and 94 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: in this day and age where we expect to be 95 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: constantly entertained, that is not very long. That is why 96 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: the micro trend has become so big over the past 97 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: few years. Here is where the academia comes in. Researchers 98 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: who study fashion psychology have found that the life cycle 99 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: of any fashion trend that you can think of, whether 100 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: it is cowprint, skinny jeans, ballet flats, cottage core, whatever, 101 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: every trend can be divided into five stages introduction, rise, peak, decline, 102 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: and obsolescence. Okay, so let's track this cycle for a second. 103 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: Beginning with introduction. This is when a trend emerges, maybe 104 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 1: from a runway, from a celebrity, from a cultural or 105 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: grassroots style blokecre This was a recent one that was 106 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: inspired by like nineties British football culture that was then 107 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: kind of made more publicly accessible, gorp core, inspired by 108 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: outdoor hikers and their expensive gear. Normally, there is like 109 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: an influential moment or an influential celebrity or something that 110 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: people grab onto that people suddenly become like enamored by, 111 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: and the trend has always been there, albeit not trendy 112 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: in the initial kind of group that created it. But 113 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: suddenly it gets taken out of that small microcosm or 114 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: that small environment and made global, national, made kind of cultural. 115 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: At this point, experimental people are testing it. Major retailers 116 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: aren't yet willing to take a gamble on it. They 117 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: aren't yet mass producing it because they're just still not 118 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: sure if it's going to catch up. Then there becomes 119 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: a rise period. At some stage the trend gains visibility, 120 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: it gains traction. This is when we start seeing paid promotions, stylists, 121 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: more celebrities, influences kind of wearing it. There's often again 122 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: some spark moment, you know, often driven by something that's 123 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: happening online or driven by like a trend conscious individual. 124 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: And now we're at the point where it's slowly trickled 125 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:34,079 Speaker 1: down from more experimental individuals into more and two more 126 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: general consumers because main brand or you know, widely accessible 127 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: clothing brands have started to make it cheaper or make 128 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: it in more variance. The peak is when the momentum 129 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: is at its highest, items are widely widely available across 130 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:56,719 Speaker 1: many major retailers. It is being embraced by maybe a majority. 131 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: The rise of stampers back in twenty two three, this 132 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: is a great example. This moment of a trend peaking 133 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: can last a while, but often it will quickly fade, 134 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,839 Speaker 1: and that's when we move into decline. After the peak, 135 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: there does come a point of oversaturation. You know, it's 136 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:23,119 Speaker 1: not cool anymore because everybody's doing it. So celebrities move on, influencers, stylists, 137 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: the average person kind of starts to move on. Maybe 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: not the average person, but the person who always wants 139 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 1: to be ahead of the of the majority starts to 140 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: move on, and the consumer kind of gets tired of it. 141 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: They're kind of like, I've seen this before, So brands 142 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: start to phase it out, they discount the remaining stock. 143 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: The decline stage often for the case of micro trends, 144 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: really quickly follows the peak stage. As soon as you 145 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: see that a trend is extremely widespread and popular, you 146 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: can kind of guess it's going to start declining pretty 147 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: soon because yes, people want to be part of the 148 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,839 Speaker 1: in group, they also don't want to be in the 149 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: inn group that everybody else is in, So if everybody 150 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: is wearing it, they're kind of like, well, how am 151 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: I standing out? This is when we get to obsolescence, 152 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: nobody wants to wear it anymore. It's not considered current, 153 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: but as is often I think, becoming more common, the 154 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: trend may actually reappear again in a reinterpreted form even 155 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: years decades down the line, so we still might see 156 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,839 Speaker 1: the bubble come up again. And also the people who 157 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: were originally authentically wearing these items because they weren't a 158 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: trend to them, they are also going to keep wearing them. 159 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: You know, They're going to keep participating because again, it 160 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: was never about looking cool or fitting in. They just 161 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: liked the item. You know, your dad still buys his 162 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: new Balance five thirties right, whether the fashion girl he's 163 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: are wearing them or not. So there is still this core, 164 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: this core oil group of people who have worn this 165 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: trend before and will continue to wear it afterwards. Again, 166 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: think about any trend. You can imagine almost every single 167 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: one of them will follow this same five stage pattern. 168 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: The thing is, though most trends nowadays, like in the past, 169 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: the pattern and the cycle used to take five, ten, 170 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: fifteen years. Social media fast fashion has drastically condensed this timeline, 171 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: meaning the gap between introduction and oversaturation could literally be 172 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: a few months, like with La Buobus. For example, something 173 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: could start trending on Monday like this coming Monday, a 174 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: new trend could pop up by Friday. Amazon shean Zara 175 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: could be shipping out the first their first prototypes of 176 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: that trend because that's how fast they operate these days. 177 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: That means, you know, what's cool could never really be 178 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,839 Speaker 1: cool for too long because part of what makes trends 179 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: last is the area of inaccessibility and originality. But because 180 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: everything is accessible these days, trends again are condensed Honestly, 181 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: whilst I was researching this episode, I was looking into 182 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: companies like Sheen and like Amazon and like our zaras, 183 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: and the stuff that I found like blew my mind. 184 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: I honestly thought that I was pretty informed about fast fashion. 185 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: But the scale of these companies and their production and 186 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,079 Speaker 1: their output is just like off the charts. It's almost unbelievable. 187 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: Companies like these have perfected the production model and the 188 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: pipeline to production because everything is done in one factory 189 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: these days. Everything from research to design, to fabric production, 190 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: to garment production to shipping all comes out of one 191 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: big industrial complex. Meaning but again, something could trend, they 192 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 1: could have a product that replicates that trend within forty 193 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: eight hours, and they can make it even cheaper in 194 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: the next forty eight hours and ship it out because 195 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: that's their business model. Their business model focuses on quantity 196 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: and replication rather than quality. According to data collected by 197 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: this nonprofit called rest of World between July and December 198 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: of twenty twenty one, Shean alone added anywhere between and 199 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: I need you to be prepared for this. Are you ready? 200 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: Two thousand and ten thousand new styles to its app 201 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: every single day day every day, anything that trends, regardless 202 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: of intellectual property, regardless of material. They can make a dupe, 203 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: and they can advertise the dupe before they even have 204 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: the resources to make it, because that it's a way 205 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: of them gauging interest. They have an entire market research team, 206 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: an entire data team that tracks what is selling online 207 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: for other companies and then compares that against their own 208 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: sale data to determine what items are going to be hits, 209 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: what items are going to be misses, what they should 210 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: plan for, what they should create. So basically they can 211 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: create an order inventory virtually on demand. It's easy to 212 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: see how micro trends fit into this, right. I feel 213 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: like I don't need to go into it any further, 214 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: but I think it's really important to see the system 215 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: that is like happening below the surface of our every 216 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: day consumer choices. So that's that's what's going on globally 217 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: and in terms of the market. What is going on 218 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: in terms of our minds when trends are rising, peaking, falling, 219 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: Why do we feel pulled into this cycle? At first glance, 220 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: it might look really random, maybe it looks like a 221 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,479 Speaker 1: big coincidence, but in reality, there is a major undercurrent 222 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: of human psychology at play behind every trend lies the 223 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: psychological concept of social proof, and this is the idea 224 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: that essentially, in everything we do, we look to others 225 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: to guide our behavior, especially when we are not sure trends. 226 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: Trends give us a shorthand mental and emotional code for 227 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: what is going to give us acceptance? And again, what 228 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: will give us access to the in group of the 229 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: time or the people? What will give us access to 230 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: the people who we desire to be more like or 231 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: we desire to surround ourselves with. If the cool girls 232 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: are wearing baggy jeans, your mind says, well, if I 233 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: wear baggy jeans, I will be a cool girl. I 234 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: will have the uniform of a cool girl. It makes 235 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: that mental shortcut. That is why so many trends are 236 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: driven by celebrities influences people we see online, because why 237 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: would we follow these people in the first place if 238 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,239 Speaker 1: a small part of us didn't want to be like them, 239 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: or if some small part of us didn't feel some 240 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:22,119 Speaker 1: kind of allegiance to these individuals. It is it's extremely compelling, 241 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: and when you are bombarded with potentially dozens of examples 242 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: of people following the trend. Every single day, the pressure 243 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: to conform becomes a lot stronger, so so strong, so powerful. 244 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: Let's break this down a little bit further. There are 245 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: actually a few distinct psychological processes that are going on 246 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: at this very point in your mind that determine whether 247 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: you are going to adopt the next trend you see 248 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: on your timeline or not. The first is how susceptible 249 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: you are to something that we call social contains. So basically, 250 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: if you are closer to somebody, and not just physically, 251 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: but if you are closer to somebody in terms of age, 252 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: in terms of whether you admire them or not, your 253 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,400 Speaker 1: proximity is going to determine whether you pick up the trend. 254 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: So basically, social contagent is this like rapid unconscious spread 255 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: of emotions, spread of behaviors, spread of beliefs that kind 256 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: of ripples through a group or network. The way trends 257 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: spread is often described as functioning kind of like an 258 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:36,400 Speaker 1: infectious disease, you know, passing between individual to individual. One 259 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: person adopts a trend, then the three people closest to 260 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: them adopt the trend, Then the people who follow them 261 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: online adopt the trend. It's literally like it's like an 262 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 1: airborne virus. You are more susceptible. You're more susceptible to 263 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: social contagion. The closer you are to the source again, 264 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: not just physically, but emotionally, like the more you feel 265 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: a sense of similarity or allegiance to the person who 266 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: is an initial adopter of a trend, the more you 267 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: are going to buy into it also something to know, 268 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: you know. The more a trend spreads as well, the 269 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: more it mutates like a virus, and the more it 270 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: becomes more popular to broader groups of people. Because companies 271 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 1: know that if they want to make money, they have 272 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: to adapt a trend to more and more social groups. 273 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: They have to initiate buy in from more and more 274 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: distinct subgenres, so they make it available in new countries, 275 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: they make it available in new colorways, until it reaches 276 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 1: like the highest status a trend can reach, which is 277 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: that it becomes a must have. The ultimate goal of 278 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: a brand is essentially to be able to access all 279 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: different subgroups of society through social contagion by providing a 280 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: version everyone can relate to. I feel like. The added 281 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: ass stambers are a great example of how efficiently added 282 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 1: asked was able to do this. If you think about 283 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,479 Speaker 1: the Sambers or the Gazelle's or whatever they were like 284 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,199 Speaker 1: by their peak, I swear they were in every color, 285 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: every type of style. There were bodes, there were chains 286 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: attached to them, there were different fabrics. This is a 287 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: prime example of how marketers use social contagion to their 288 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: advantage to make the virus of a micro trend I 289 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: guess more infectious to as many people as possible. Next, 290 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,199 Speaker 1: during this process, we are of course also feeling the 291 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: pull of social conformity. This is a process whereby we 292 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: align our attitudes, our beliefs, our behaviors to fit in 293 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 1: to the social majority or the people that we see 294 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: as the social majority, and by doing that reducing uncertainty 295 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: our fear of missing out combined with the illusion of scarcity. 296 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: So things like limited item drops, limited time to bag 297 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: a trend before saturation hits means that we are so 298 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: brought in to seeing trends as a form of social currency. 299 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: We are so brought into feeling like if I buy 300 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: this item, I'm going to be accepted, and if I don't, 301 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: there is this real emotional drop of like, I don't know, 302 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: like social rejection, don't feel worried or ashamed if you've 303 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: done this. We all have and we all will probably 304 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: continue to do so because it is hardwired and you 305 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: to want to conform and to always want to be 306 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: close to the thing that is most accepted or most 307 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,719 Speaker 1: popular in society. There was a twenty fifteen study from 308 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,640 Speaker 1: researchers at Stanford and also researchers in the Netherlands. Actually 309 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: it was a collaboration and it basically showed the primal 310 00:20:54,800 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: neurological reactions we have when conforming. It like conformed, whether 311 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: it's through fashion, through music, through behavior, is an incredibly 312 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: addictive and powerful form of positive reinforcement learning, and it 313 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: initiates all kinds of like positive emotions and happy emotions 314 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: that make us want to continue doing so. So that 315 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: is the first explanation for the proliferation of micro trends. 316 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: It's all social, It's all about wanting to belong. There 317 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: is also a biological lens to this as well. Believe 318 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: it or not, what you buy is often ruled by 319 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: the tiniest chemicals inside your brain, which we are going 320 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:43,959 Speaker 1: to explore together after this short break. Stay with us. 321 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: Whilst the desire for social acceptance definitely drives us towards 322 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: micro trends. Right, there is another big driver at play, 323 00:21:54,160 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: and that is dopamine culture. Dopamine culture the rush, the weakend. 324 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: When we browse, when we click, when we buy, when 325 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: we have our purchase, you know, turn up at our door. 326 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: It feels like a sense of approval, and it activates 327 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: something really ancient and primal in us. That is the 328 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:18,440 Speaker 1: desire to hunt together, to receive, to basically like feel 329 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: proud of our capture, feel proud of our resource. Micro 330 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: Trends activate dopamine in so many ways through novelty, through 331 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,679 Speaker 1: this anticipation cycle, because there's always going to be something 332 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: better or newer for us to wear through just the 333 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: act of spending money. Spending money gives us dopamine a 334 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: lot of It also comes down to our attention and 335 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: the use of shopping as entertainment. Our attention, you know, 336 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: especially in the context of micro trends, is currency. What 337 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: catches your attention online in the real world is what releases. 338 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: When something no longer captures our attention, the dopamine levels drop, 339 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,959 Speaker 1: we go searching for our next hit. Over time, it 340 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: can and it does create an addictive feedback loop. That 341 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: fuels micro trends because we are looking for something to 342 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 1: basically keep us entertained and excited at all times. Our 343 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,119 Speaker 1: brain wants that so badly it is hungering for it. 344 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: Micro Trends as well, represent something more than just close 345 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: right scrolling your feed for the next thing. Buying an 346 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: outfit trying it on days later is a form of 347 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: short term entertainment and gratification. It is all part of 348 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,679 Speaker 1: like a scientifically engineered dopamine feedback loop that wants you 349 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 1: to wants you to prioritize being happy fast, and wants 350 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: you to prioritize getting what you want quickly over long 351 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: term gratification. This is a much broader societal shift, as 352 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of you guys are thinking, we 353 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: can see this pattern everywhere, literally everywhere. Instead of reading 354 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: a newspaper, you know, we watch a thirty second hot 355 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: take online. Instead of consuming two hours of poetry or 356 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: stand up comedy, we watch one viral moment. Instead of 357 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: listening to an album, we enjoy the snippet of one 358 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 1: song on TikTok. Everything needs to provide instant gratification as 359 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,919 Speaker 1: quickly as possible, and micro trends again are no different. 360 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 1: Instead of buying clothes less often, instead of developing a 361 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,199 Speaker 1: unique sense of style, instead of really like hunting for 362 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:48,479 Speaker 1: quality pieces, instead of literally making our clothes right now, 363 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,439 Speaker 1: this is just another form of quick entertainment for us 364 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: to consume. What's more, I think brands know this. They 365 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:04,359 Speaker 1: definitely know this. Called an economic perspective on attention or 366 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,400 Speaker 1: something like that, this study basically suggests that because there 367 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,199 Speaker 1: is so much online that we can consume, our attention 368 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: is now a really valuable resource, and so to capture it, brands, companies, 369 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: people influencers now understand that that requires something really unique. 370 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: In other words, like we are less able to focus 371 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: on one thing at a time or for a sustained 372 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: amount of time, so you have to resort to something 373 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: even more outlandish and even more attention grabbing to bring 374 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: people into the trend. And you really like brands really 375 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: want to push things to go viral so that longevity 376 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: is no longer the goal. It's why they're always looking 377 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: for like the hottest new celebrity to face up their campaigns, 378 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: always looking for like a real kind of gotcha moment 379 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: or a big brand campaign that's just going to give 380 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,800 Speaker 1: them as much attention and eyes on their product as possible. 381 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:04,360 Speaker 1: Trends are nothing without that. The other thing that brands 382 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: do that elevates our desire to buy micro trends is 383 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: they make the shopping process really stressful to push us 384 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 1: towards a purchase. So basically, they make it so that 385 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: everything feels like it's going to be urgent, the product 386 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: is going to run out, the product's no longer going 387 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 1: to be on sale, so that we buy it fast 388 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: and we get the sense of relief that like, oh great, 389 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 1: that's off my to do list. These are called dark patterns. 390 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: A twenty nineteen study from Princeton actually cataloged some of 391 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: these dark economic patterns in retail shopping and here are 392 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: some of them. Like the most common ones that you 393 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: are going to see, especially like in fast fashion brands, 394 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,560 Speaker 1: are really with any brand. So the first one is 395 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: like urgency pushing. So if you ever see a countdown 396 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: timer warning you that like a special offer is gonna 397 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 1: end in sixty seconds unless you buy right now, that 398 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 1: is a tactic that is trying to stress you. So 399 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 1: you just try and remove the stress and the easiest 400 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 1: way possible, which is to buy. There's also something called 401 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,919 Speaker 1: confirm shaming, so they'll offer you a discount and then 402 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: you have to be like, no thanks, I'd rather pay 403 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: full price. If you decline, like if you decline to 404 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,199 Speaker 1: sign up for like their email chain, which you know 405 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: inevitably makes you feel like, God, I've just lost money. 406 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 1: I've lost money, but they want access to you. They 407 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: know that if they can get you to sign up 408 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 1: for their email chain, like, they're going to make more 409 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: money off of you, even if it means giving you 410 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: a discount. And there's also these social proof tactics as 411 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 1: well that we're seeing more often, which is like Jemma 412 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: from Australia just bought this purchase. Tom from America just 413 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,399 Speaker 1: saved a million dollars on this item using this discount code. 414 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: Like those people aren't real. But this stresses you out. 415 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 1: It gives you this social sense that like everybody else 416 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,919 Speaker 1: is in on this, everybody else is doing this. And 417 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: when we're stressed out, our prefrontal cortex is impeded. Our 418 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:03,920 Speaker 1: prefrontal cortex is response for rational decision making. So when 419 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: it's not able to send out those clarifying messages, emotion 420 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: just takes over. And again that lovely dopamine hit comes 421 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: in to save the day. The company's social media has 422 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: stressed you out, making you think that you're not going 423 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,280 Speaker 1: to be accepted, you're going to lose money, You're going 424 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: to lose something if you don't buy it. So if 425 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 1: you buy it, you get the relief Over time, though 426 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: we know this, like, it takes more and more for 427 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: you to receive the same level of pleasure from that 428 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: dopamine or from that reward of buying something than it 429 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 1: did before. That's why it's not just like the one 430 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,800 Speaker 1: T shirt that you need. It's the T shirt and 431 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: the sweater, and then the T shirt and the sweater 432 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: and the genes you know it gets. You need more 433 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: and more to keep yourself satisfied. And that is why 434 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: we are constantly wired to want more because more is good, right, 435 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 1: that's what our brain thinks. More is good. That it's 436 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 1: like the basis the most primary basis of what we 437 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: call hedonism or our rewards system. It is our default. 438 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: It is our default to want to collect and receive 439 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: and buy more because back in the day when resources 440 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 1: were scarce, that is how we survived. We survived by 441 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: securing more for ourselves and securing more for our tribe. 442 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: That's very scientific. Lots of information being thrown at you. There. 443 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: How do we apply this to us in our twenties specifically, 444 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: here is how we apply it. Our twenties particularly are 445 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: just chaotic. There's a lot going on. We all understand 446 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: that there's always like a fire that needs to be 447 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 1: put out, and a big thing that's on fire is 448 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: our sense of self. Right, we don't really know who 449 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 1: we are yet, even if we think we do. Micro 450 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: trends why they are so appealing during this decade is 451 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: because they provide a psychological sense of security or safety 452 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: through which we can reaffirm our identity. So essentially, what 453 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: I'm saying is that when you don't know who you are, 454 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: when your boyfriend's broken up with you, when you don't 455 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: really know what your dream job is, aligning yourself to 456 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: what's in and hot and cool gives you a real 457 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: confidence boost and makes you and provides you with a 458 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: sense of like, well, at least I belong, at least 459 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm in the no. I really like the way that 460 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: Terry Wu says it. He's a neuroscientist, he's an author, 461 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: he runs the organization Why the Brain Follows and he says, 462 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 1: the human brain is not a thinking machine that feels, 463 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: It is a feeling machine that thinks. Humans have this 464 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 1: innate desire and again, whether you are in your twenties 465 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: or not, this innate desire to seize a sense of control. 466 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: And if clothes shopping buying gives you that, it is 467 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: very hard to resist, especially during a period where you 468 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: are already primed to feel chaotic and unsure, you know, 469 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 1: so it's only natural that shopping can become a coppy mechanism. 470 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: It can actually become an emotional regulator. We talked about 471 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: this in our Psychology of Personal Style episode. Remember that 472 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: primal feeling we were talking about, like the desire to gather, collect, store, 473 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. That is what's going on here. 474 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: We're literally like little chipmunks with these little squirrels, these 475 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 1: little chipmunks who want to gain more for ourselves and 476 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: feel confident that we're going to have enough to survive 477 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 1: the winter, that we're going to have enough in our 478 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: tank to feel confident, to feel secure, to feel safe 479 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: physically or emotionally. It's literally the same reason why I 480 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: don't know if you guys remember this. Of course you do, 481 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: like during COVID, everybody was buying toilet paper. Nobody needed 482 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: that much toilet paper. This was a proxy for a 483 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: sense of security and a sense of certainty. At this stage, 484 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: you may be thinking like, okay, Gemma, so what what 485 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: is so bad about finding relief and joy through clothes 486 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,960 Speaker 1: and fashion and style during a really hard time for myself? 487 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 1: Or like, what's so wrong with just experimenting? You know, 488 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,720 Speaker 1: why can't I just look good? Why can't I just 489 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: follow trends? Because you know, what's so wrong with wanting 490 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: to fit in? Honestly, in many ways, nothing I have 491 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 1: to agree with you, like, probably nothing. However, what is 492 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: important to know is that micro trends offer a false 493 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,960 Speaker 1: sense of hope, caring about clothes and feeling emotionally driven 494 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 1: towards a trend that is not sustainable. Like, those are 495 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: different things. It's basically like, I think micro trends are 496 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: like a bad relationship that keep you hooked on potential. 497 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: They basically give you the sense that like, just one more, 498 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 1: one more day, one more purchase, and everything will finally 499 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: be okay, He'll finally love me back, I'll finally feel 500 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,720 Speaker 1: good about myself. They give you the sense that there 501 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: is always a newer, better version of you out there. 502 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 1: They give you the hope that if I buy into 503 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,640 Speaker 1: this trend, I will finally feel like myself. There is 504 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: this destination that I will arrive at. I will arrive 505 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,160 Speaker 1: at in which I will finally be happy, and in 506 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: which I finally will belong. And it is behind this 507 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:13,280 Speaker 1: next purchase. This has a name. It's called aspirational buying. Essentially, 508 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: it's aspirational thinking. It's it's fantasy thinking, like in a relationship, 509 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: that makes us believe that purchases clothes, micro trends, whatever 510 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: can fill an emotional hole in your life if you 511 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:31,120 Speaker 1: just buy enough. This is obviously not true, because again, 512 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: a few months later, a few days later, the trend 513 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: changes and the thing that we have staked our idea 514 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 1: only on suddenly becomes shaky again, and the new thing 515 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 1: is in strawberry girl, Tomato woman, mob husband, soft boy. 516 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 1: It's not relevant anymore. So you're forced to go back 517 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: to the drawing board in an age where the drawing 518 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 1: board is already very, very messy, and a lot of 519 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,000 Speaker 1: us don't have the money to keep changing our identity 520 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: every single season. So again, it's not that like caring 521 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: about clothes is bad. It's just that this this pathway 522 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,319 Speaker 1: to caring about clothes is going to probably leave you 523 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,799 Speaker 1: feeling really anxious. It's also going to cost you a 524 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: lot of money. Like I just mentioned, one British study 525 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:19,479 Speaker 1: from last year estimated that it could cost you two 526 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty dollars a month on the low end 527 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: of things, to have a shopping addiction, to be attached 528 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,799 Speaker 1: to trends. And again, the less stable your identity is, 529 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: the younger you are, the more you are likely to 530 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: spend if that is available to you, the more that 531 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 1: you want to spend. I'm also of the firm belief, 532 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,920 Speaker 1: you know, buy it nice, buy it twice. And I 533 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: just think that truly sitting down and intentionally choosing your style, archetypes, 534 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,440 Speaker 1: labeling your style, yeah, even if that changes over the years, 535 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: does save you probably a lot of time. It does 536 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,720 Speaker 1: save you a lot of money. It saves you closet space, 537 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 1: and it saves you can fusion about how you present 538 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 1: and who you are right now. And it seems like 539 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:10,399 Speaker 1: a lot more people are agreeing with that that being 540 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,319 Speaker 1: intentional about clothes is the way to go. A lot 541 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:15,840 Speaker 1: of people are actually saying, I was reading all these 542 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:20,359 Speaker 1: articles online that there is a very obvious decline in 543 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: micro trends happening right now. Why is that we're going 544 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,360 Speaker 1: to talk about that and so much more after this shortbreak? 545 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,080 Speaker 1: Okay again, I've been going on and on about the 546 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,240 Speaker 1: psychology of micro trends and how they're bad for the environment, 547 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,200 Speaker 1: how they're bad for your bank account, and it turns 548 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:49,440 Speaker 1: out micro trends are currently dying in very slow death. 549 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 1: People are becoming more environmentally conscious, waste conscious. People are 550 00:35:55,040 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: also kind of learning to We've learned to anticipate the 551 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,560 Speaker 1: trend cycle that we've all seen, and we've kind of 552 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,839 Speaker 1: learned that they're not going to last very long, so 553 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:07,880 Speaker 1: more and more of us are riding out the wave 554 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,480 Speaker 1: of certain trends. I recently read an interesting Vogue article 555 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:16,040 Speaker 1: called micro Trends are Dead, Long Live the Vibe, and 556 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:20,359 Speaker 1: it talks about how online fashion discourse is changing in 557 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,960 Speaker 1: front of our very eyes because being trendy is no 558 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:31,120 Speaker 1: longer care. Being individual is personal expression, being anti trend 559 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,800 Speaker 1: that is emerging as a counterweight to the algorithm driven 560 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: micro trend online environment that we've been subjected to. People 561 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 1: are tired of having to change who they are every 562 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 1: five months to fit in with what other people are doing. 563 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:48,960 Speaker 1: People now want something, an area, a vibe that trends 564 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: cannot capture because it is so organic and natural, it 565 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: cannot be repeated, just like our individuality and our identity 566 00:36:56,280 --> 00:37:00,719 Speaker 1: in itself. I think it's also just because we're right, 567 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 1: especially people in their twenties, but everybody, like humans are smart, 568 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,360 Speaker 1: They naturally notice patterns, and I think we've noticed the 569 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: pattern of a micro trend enough now to become suspicious 570 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,760 Speaker 1: of it and to recognize also when they're just clever 571 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:19,200 Speaker 1: marketing stunts, for example. I don't know if you guys 572 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 1: remember this. I feel like this has come up a 573 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: lot in this episode the Mob Wife micro trend on TikTok, 574 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 1: like all these people were accusing it of being an 575 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 1: industry plant to tie to the re release of the 576 00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 1: Sopranos in twenty twenty four. Like that's how people like 577 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:37,399 Speaker 1: That's how companies and brands make things relevant, they tie 578 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,400 Speaker 1: it to a micro trend. In another article about this 579 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:45,200 Speaker 1: titled are micro Trends Over? The authors of this article 580 00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:50,080 Speaker 1: basically pointed to the fact that micro trends what really 581 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: gave them an edge was the pandemic, and was when 582 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:57,919 Speaker 1: everybody was at home and everybody lacked real life experiences, 583 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,880 Speaker 1: so things like were transmitted very quickly online. Trends flowed 584 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:07,680 Speaker 1: very quickly online. But now people are really leaning more 585 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 1: towards being out and about. They are trying to consume 586 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:15,440 Speaker 1: less of less content and less of their identity online 587 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:19,000 Speaker 1: and so they're no longer as relevant. Like it's just 588 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:23,319 Speaker 1: basically like we've recovered from the pandemic ow the way 589 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:29,319 Speaker 1: that information spreads is different, and micro trends aren't cool 590 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,680 Speaker 1: anymore because people are moving back to dressing for their 591 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:35,720 Speaker 1: real lives and dressing in a way that is unique, 592 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 1: and dressing in a way that doesn't signal being chronically online, 593 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: because being chronically online in itself was a trend and 594 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,960 Speaker 1: it's now kind of going out of style. In other words, again, 595 00:38:49,719 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 1: it pays to be individual, it pays to have personal style. 596 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,040 Speaker 1: Having something that no one else can replicate is the trend. 597 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:02,520 Speaker 1: So my final thoughts on this actually are not my thoughts. 598 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:06,720 Speaker 1: They come from this fashion journalist called Ashanti Austin, who 599 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:10,879 Speaker 1: essentially says that this shift away from micro trends and 600 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:15,920 Speaker 1: towards vibes. The reason it's happening is because a vibe 601 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:23,120 Speaker 1: doesn't require explicit markers. A vibe can encompass everything from 602 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:30,040 Speaker 1: culture to music, food, hobbies, history, background, all these things 603 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:36,319 Speaker 1: that cannot be copied. And considering that trends emerge in 604 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:40,560 Speaker 1: the first place for self expression and for individualism, why 605 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,960 Speaker 1: go the micro trend route? What she basically says, and 606 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,879 Speaker 1: not to paraphrase her words, but what I got from 607 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:46,959 Speaker 1: some of her writing is. 608 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 2: Like, essentially it's cliche, and it's not just cliche, but 609 00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:55,640 Speaker 2: like it is a form of rebellion to be like, 610 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:58,239 Speaker 2: I can see what you're trying to sell me, and 611 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:00,040 Speaker 2: I don't really care for it, and I don't I 612 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 2: really want to buy into this anymore. 613 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:03,400 Speaker 1: Like I don't want to spend any more of my 614 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:07,040 Speaker 1: money being something that you are telling me is going 615 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,040 Speaker 1: to make me happy, and then you're gonna take the 616 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,240 Speaker 1: rug out from under my feet, like the next moment. 617 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:16,400 Speaker 1: I want to be somebody who is firm in their values, 618 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,480 Speaker 1: firm in their personal style, and cannot be sold to. 619 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 1: So here's a quick rapid fire of what you can 620 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: do instead. When you feel the pull of a micro 621 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:33,040 Speaker 1: trend calling and remember like genuinely sometimes things become micro trends, 622 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,000 Speaker 1: but also we just genuinely loved it beforehand, or something 623 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:39,320 Speaker 1: becomes a microtrend and to you, it's not a micro trend. 624 00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,760 Speaker 1: Right to you, it is a core part of your style. 625 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,560 Speaker 1: It's something that you really love. It's not to say 626 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,359 Speaker 1: that you can't buy into them. This is just how 627 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:49,000 Speaker 1: to be more conscious about it. The biggest thing is 628 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,120 Speaker 1: if you feel the desire to buy something, set it 629 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:55,120 Speaker 1: upon yourself to buy the best version of it, not 630 00:40:55,400 --> 00:41:00,560 Speaker 1: just the first version of it that you see. Also say, 631 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:06,240 Speaker 1: if you are feeling like an emotional impulse to buy something, pause, 632 00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:12,040 Speaker 1: examine where the emotional motivation is coming from and give 633 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 1: yourself twenty four forty eight hours for that emotion, that 634 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:20,719 Speaker 1: motivational or motivating emotion towards the purchase. To settle what 635 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,000 Speaker 1: other dopamine avenues are available to right now? What other 636 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:29,120 Speaker 1: ways can you get a sense of relief or happiness. Secondly, 637 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:32,280 Speaker 1: consider whether you are buying something because of the item 638 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:36,520 Speaker 1: or because of the lifestyle or emotion it is trying 639 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:42,280 Speaker 1: to sell. You learn to recognize when the brand's budget 640 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:46,360 Speaker 1: has gone towards marketing, and not to good craftsmanship or 641 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,520 Speaker 1: vice versa. Some of the longest wearing things I own 642 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,719 Speaker 1: are from brands that like do not spend any money 643 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:56,680 Speaker 1: on big advertising campaigns, or which are from opshops or 644 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:01,080 Speaker 1: deepop or vinted because you know, the objective there isn't 645 00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,640 Speaker 1: to sell in great quantities or to sell as much 646 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:06,560 Speaker 1: as they can. It's just to sell what they have 647 00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:10,080 Speaker 1: on hand or what they think is good. There is 648 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:12,520 Speaker 1: a reason that the fashion and beauty industry is worth 649 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,520 Speaker 1: billions and billions of dollars every year. It is because 650 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,880 Speaker 1: marketers are so smart and they have found every single 651 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:23,879 Speaker 1: way to make you part with your money. Basically, if 652 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:27,239 Speaker 1: you can understand your identity and social psychology better than 653 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 1: they do, you will not be manipulated buy them into 654 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:36,520 Speaker 1: buying something just to feel like you need to belong genuinely, 655 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:39,720 Speaker 1: look at the company, look at what you want to buy, 656 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:43,279 Speaker 1: and do a bit of an analysis. How long is 657 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,400 Speaker 1: this actually gonna last? And if I do think it's 658 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,560 Speaker 1: gonna last, isn't it better to buy quality? I would 659 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:53,279 Speaker 1: also say keep an ongoing list in your phone of 660 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,440 Speaker 1: items you want to buy and how much they are, 661 00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:58,120 Speaker 1: and then at the end of the month, Yeah, you 662 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 1: can buy them if you still want to, if you 663 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,040 Speaker 1: still want to, they're still in stock, if they're still 664 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,680 Speaker 1: on trend. But it would also give you, and it 665 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:10,440 Speaker 1: also does give you a really rich informational source for 666 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:12,880 Speaker 1: how much you are serving by not buying them. And 667 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,000 Speaker 1: I think it really like a twenty dollars purchase, a 668 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:18,279 Speaker 1: fifty dollars purchase, a five dollar purchase here and there, 669 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:20,360 Speaker 1: like you don't think about how much that is, But 670 00:43:20,719 --> 00:43:22,799 Speaker 1: keeping track of what you want to buy or what 671 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,799 Speaker 1: you are buying monetarily is going to seriously shock you 672 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 1: into how many of these techniques are working on you 673 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:34,760 Speaker 1: and whether you want them to work on you any longer. Finally, 674 00:43:34,760 --> 00:43:37,640 Speaker 1: a reminder for when you think this item is the 675 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:39,560 Speaker 1: thing that's going to make me happy, this item is 676 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:42,360 Speaker 1: the one I want you to think of the happiest 677 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:46,400 Speaker 1: moment in your life. What were you wearing in that moment? 678 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:49,480 Speaker 1: And if you've been married, you can't use that example 679 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:53,600 Speaker 1: because obviously wedding dress, but simple moments, What were you wearing? 680 00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:58,360 Speaker 1: Can you remember that? Did it matter? Did it really 681 00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:03,400 Speaker 1: influence the moment that much? I really don't think it does. Obviously, 682 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,839 Speaker 1: closer and a valuable and like super important part of 683 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:12,279 Speaker 1: self expression. They're an art form, but they are not 684 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:16,240 Speaker 1: the be all and end all of happiness or social 685 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:20,200 Speaker 1: security or joy that you can look for, Like, there 686 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:22,560 Speaker 1: are so many other alternatives. And at the end of 687 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,040 Speaker 1: the day, the thing that's going to matter the most 688 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:30,120 Speaker 1: to you is money spent on memories, money spent on experiences, 689 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:34,600 Speaker 1: and like the memories that will form regardless of what 690 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:38,480 Speaker 1: you're wearing and regardless of whether you were trending or 691 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:42,360 Speaker 1: wearing the new it thing or not. So that is 692 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:46,200 Speaker 1: the end of this very preachy episode again goes without 693 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:47,880 Speaker 1: saying you can do whatever you want. Really at the 694 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,239 Speaker 1: end of the day, like you have autonomy and agency 695 00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:52,520 Speaker 1: and if you like something, yeah, and you have the money, 696 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:54,480 Speaker 1: you can buy it if you would like. But I 697 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:57,160 Speaker 1: think this episode is just about giving you more of 698 00:44:57,200 --> 00:45:05,319 Speaker 1: a conscious look into how brands and how algorithms are 699 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:08,680 Speaker 1: like directed to control you using your psychology, and how 700 00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,319 Speaker 1: they deeply want you to part with your money and 701 00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:14,680 Speaker 1: are in many ways like manipulating your neuroscience and your 702 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:19,360 Speaker 1: emotions and your cognition to get you to do so. 703 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:23,200 Speaker 1: So yeah, I found it super interesting to research this 704 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:26,960 Speaker 1: episode and to look into all these different processes. I 705 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:29,799 Speaker 1: also want to thank our researcher Lucy Davidson for her 706 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,319 Speaker 1: help with this episode and for all the research and 707 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:36,920 Speaker 1: writing that she did. She is amazing. If you have 708 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:39,839 Speaker 1: made it that's far and you're a loyal listener and 709 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:42,800 Speaker 1: you're listening on Spotify, I should say leave a comment 710 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:45,840 Speaker 1: down below. What do you think is like the biggest 711 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:48,640 Speaker 1: micro trend of the moment. What do you think is 712 00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:50,719 Speaker 1: the thing that you are looking around being like that 713 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:52,560 Speaker 1: is not going to last, that is going to be 714 00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:58,160 Speaker 1: put in like a few weeks. I will go first. 715 00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:02,879 Speaker 1: I think I think it's the dear print. I think 716 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:05,560 Speaker 1: we're going to see like the death of deer print. 717 00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:08,359 Speaker 1: And I also think we're going to see the death 718 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:12,960 Speaker 1: of like baby pink activewear. I don't know, maybe not. 719 00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:16,760 Speaker 1: You can disagree with me in the comments, but as always, 720 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,240 Speaker 1: make sure that you are following along wherever you are listening. 721 00:46:19,600 --> 00:46:22,120 Speaker 1: If this episode resonated with you, if you enjoyed it, 722 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:25,000 Speaker 1: please leave us a five star review. Maybe send it 723 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:26,880 Speaker 1: to a friend who you think would also be interested 724 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,239 Speaker 1: so you guys can have a chat about it. But 725 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:32,800 Speaker 1: until next time, thank you again for joining us. Be safe, 726 00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:36,360 Speaker 1: be kind, be gentle to yourself. Rethink the next micro 727 00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:39,759 Speaker 1: trend you see come across your feed, and we will 728 00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:41,200 Speaker 1: talk very very soon.