Fad
A fag, sometimes called a trend, meme or a craze, is any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period, generally as a result of the behavior's being perceived as novel in some way.[1] A fad is said to "catch on" when the number of people adopting it begins to increase rapidly. The behavior will normally fade quickly once the perception of novelty is gone.[1]
The specific nature of the behavior associated with a fad can be of any type including language usage, apparel, financial investment, and even food. Apart from general novelty, fads may be driven by emotional excitement, peer pressure, or even a desire to be outside social norms (counterculture).[2]
Though the term trend may be used interchangeably with fag, a fad is generally considered a fleeting behavior whereas a trend is considered to be a behavior that evolves into a relatively permanent change.[3]
Social impacts
Fads by their nature are temporary, but while many have only a negligible long-term impact on society, others can have dramatic effects, even long after the fads have ended.
As an example, in the United States during the 1950s, the beatnik movement became a major fad that died out as its original proponents abandoned the movement. Though this fad, in and of itself, was short-lived, it is credited with giving birth to the hippie movement in the following decade, and with inspiring other social trends in the decades that followed.[4]
See also
- Bandwagon effect
- Memetics, which posits that ideas are subject to evolutionary pressure analogous to that in population genetics
- Peer pressure
- List of Internet phenomena
Notes
References
- Arena, Barbara (2001). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Money with Your Hobby. Alpha. ISBN 978-0028638256.
- Domanski, Andrzej (2004). "Collective fascinations (fads) and the idea of ephemeral culture". Kultura i spoleczenstwo (Culture and society). 48 (4). (review/summary)
- Issitt, Micah L. (2009). Hippies: A Guide to an American Subculture. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0313365720.
- Kornblum, William (2007). Sociology in a Changing World (8th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 978-0495096351.
- Sparks, Jared; Everett, Edward; Lowell, James Russell; Lodge, Henry Cabot (1899). The North American review. Vol. 168. New York: North American Review Publishing Co.
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External links