32 New Trends That Are Doing A Lot Of Damage But Many People Don't Realize It

The more popular the trend, the greater the impulse to follow suit. You don’t want to stand out from your friends, family, and coworkers, do you now?! Many of us feel the pressure to fit in, even if we’re aware that we’re dealing with a new trend.

Maybe you feel the hype on the internet and feel the itch to watch a new TV show or play a specific video game. Or you feel like you have to make a certain type of content because the format is popular right now. 

Perhaps all of your coworkers have been sporting a specific hairstyle or a particular type of jacket that’s all the rage in town, and now, you feel like you should follow suit. Or maybe there’s a fresh diet that everyone’s been proclaiming is a godsend (and is totally better than the last half-a-dozen trendy diets they tried in the last year alone). Trends are inescapable. But it comes down to us to decide how to react to them.

If you’re going to follow every single trend, you’re going to end up utterly exhausted. Whether we’re talking about fashion, content, or entertainment, trends are flashing by us quicker than ever. We live in a heavily interconnected world. 5.44 billion people around the world use the internet, of which 5.07 billion are social media users, according to Statista. With so many users and different ideas, opinions, and online activity, which get seen and iterated on by others, trends pop up and get replaced incredibly quickly. 

So, unless you aim to be at the cutting edge of trends all the time (e.g., you’re a famous content creator or reviewer and your livelihood depends on this), it’s better to aim for long(er)-lasting trends or to ignore most of the ‘noise’ and do what feels right to you.

Of course, before you commit to any trend, make sure to do your research. Take your time, and don’t rush into anything! Especially if you plan on testing out some hyped-up diet or workout. A diet that might work for one person might have adverse effects for someone else with different genes and lifestyle. Similarly, a random workout isn’t going to give you a six-pack in ten days, no matter what you’re promised. Remember your own workout goals and go from there. Be very careful where your health is concerned.

Don’t drastically change your life just because you’re scared you won’t be as cool as your friends. If you want to be trendy, be trendy, but do that from a position of confidence, not fear. And, let’s be honest, you should consider the people in your social circle who follow these trends: do they commit to one of them or do they bounce to whatever’s the most popular?

Previously, Bored Panda got in touch with historian Dr. Jane Nicholas from St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo, who shared her thoughts on social media and the desire to look beautiful. According to her, seeking ‘perfection’ has long been sold as something attainable; it’s nothing new. There’s a semi-hidden suggestion that we can look ‘perfect’ if we try harder or spend more money.

“Many cosmetics, for example, promise the ability to achieve a certain look with their use. Social media is driven by different, more individual forces than traditional media, but it is caught up in many of the same patterns, specifically selling goods,” she told us during an earlier interview.

According to the historian, the trends that we see these days may actually be continuations of previous trends or reactions to them. So, if you know your history, you might just see certain trends make comebacks under a slightly different name and in different packaging. 

What new trends do you personally think are the most damaging, dear Pandas? On the flip side, do you think that there are any trends that have been genuinely good for society? What trends do you personally follow, whether consciously or unconsciously? If you have a moment, share your thoughts in the comments.