Have you ever contemplated posting or purchasing something just because it might not be trendy the next week? Should the money really go waste when it will be out of style by the time it ships?

Trends may be lots of fun for some, but they can also have a few negative aspects.

When someone mentions trends, the first thing one might think about is likely the latest dance on Tik Tok or the most popular pair of shoes that everyone is wearing. Yes, these are trends, but there are others.

It may surprise people to learn that trends actually fall into four distinct categories: megatrends, macrotrends, microtrends, and fads. Fads are most popular among teenagers. Each of these four trends impacts society in one way or another.

In order to keep up with the latest fads, teenagers often turn to celebrities and social media for direction. 

“The most popular influencer I like to keep up with is Emma Chamberlain,” said senior Julianne Bone. “She keeps me up-to-date on what’s trending fashion-wise, and I get excited when she tries something different.” 

Fashion trends are usually the quickest to change on social media. Celebrities and influencers will often post pictures or videos wearing new clothes, and small business owners tend to send those influencers their own merchandise for them to advertise. This affects small businesses positively that publicize their brands on their platforms. It allows for an easier way to promote their products and be recognized by their target audiences. 

“I have really figured out what style I like to wear from social media,” explained senior Evan Buzzard. “I see other people wearing something that I think is cool, and it gives me the confidence to take it upon myself and wear what I like.”

The same concept can be applied to music trends. Algorithms on social media are aimed to please the person using the application, so the algorithm suggests songs based on an individual person’s interests. For lesser-known artists, their music has a greater chance of being noticed. This allows the listener an opportunity to expand his or her taste in music.

An example of a band whose popularity skyrocketed through Tik Tok is Mother Mother. Prior to their popularity surge, the band had an average of 1.08 monthly listeners. Through Tik Tok however, their numbers have gone through the roof as they now average at 7.33 million monthly listeners as of February 2022. There are approximately 635,000 videos on Tik Tok under their most popular song “Hayloft” from their album Oh My Heart released in 2008, according to habitmusic.com.

“I have found some of the best artists I currently listen to from Tik Tok and Instagram,” said junior Gabriella Vasquez. “When I’m scrolling through people’s stories and posts, I see songs I like and expand from there.”

Dances are publicized across social media every day, especially on Tik Tok, where dances are the most viral. Talent is recognized from one user to another, and it spreads throughout the app like wildfire. Smaller creators have the opportunity to gain a following and have their original ideas recognized throughout the app. 

A huge example of a Tik Toker blowing up because of dance videos is Charli D’Amelio. She started out as a fifteen-year-old girl just having fun. Now, she’s seventeen, has brand deals with multiple companies, and her net worth is an estimated 12 million dollars according to sports.yahoo.com.

On the opposing end, however, other trends can negatively affect society. Yes, on one hand, social media trends can be very entertaining, but on the other hand, they can impact people negatively. 

Another concern is the decrease in the concept of originality with the spread of viral trends throughout the social media world. When scrolling on the app, it is clear that certain trends become more popular than others, which can result in many of them becoming fairly repetitive.

“Every day when I go on Tik Tok, I see the same things over and over again,” noted senior Angelina Colon. “It gets old very quickly, but then the next day something new is trending and the cycle starts over again.” 

New songs, dances, clothes, and ideas are thrown in people’s faces every day, and it can be overwhelming. 

“Sometimes when I’m with my friends, all they can talk about is new Tik Tok dances that have recently become popular and wanting to partake in them,” said senior Anita Mendez. “It can get really annoying sometimes when I just want to spend time with my friends.”

The same concept can go for fashion. Trends in fashion have existed for about as long as humans have been wearing clothes. Magazine companies such as Vogue and Cosmpolitan have always proposed the newest looks in the past, but with the number of influencers on social media constantly advertising new clothes, product promotion now comes from practically every direction one turns. That is why fashion is at an all-time high. 

Often, teenagers and young adults are the target audience for many of the fads and trends. Knowing full well that these young people do not have a lot of money, the advertisers take a unique approach in trying to hook them.

Brands considered fast fashion are usually what advertisers lean towards.

Fast fashion brands offer expensive-looking clothes for significantly less money than slow fashion brands. According to PRNewswire.com, the numbers of fast fashion brand sales have skyrocketed over the last few years, due to their cheaper items and easily purchasable clothes.

Clothing items usually go out of style very quickly, and it’s almost as if there isn’t enough time to wear the items. Trends are also very quick to adjust.

For example, colorful patchwork jeans were very popular about a year ago. They were seen on multiple influencers including Jamina Cruz and were seen all over the place. This specific trend lasted about a month, if that, and now videos on Tik Tok are circulating around calling these pants outdated when they were barely current, to begin with.

“I usually tend to shop on sites like Shein,” said senior Alysa Bianco. “I only make so much money working, so I gravitate towards inexpensive clothing.” 

It is difficult to disagree that trends can have an incredible impact on everyone’s lives.