A few days ago I came across an article from a few months ago published in The Cut which I found interesting to reflect on. In it, its author Allison P. Davis talks about “vibe shift” which would be something like a “change of environment”.
But what does a “change of environment” mean? Basically, it is a concept proposed by the consultant Sean Moham to account for what happens when trends that once dominated social culture suddenly, overnight, cease to be so and new ones emerge.
Mohan argues that the cycle or anatomy of a trend follows a process made up of certain components that are what make the “environment change”. Namely:
-Where or Location:Trends come from a specific context, be it the place where they originated or the spaces in which they found particular traction.
-Why or Motivations: Changes in technology and society create problems and opportunities.
-Who or Mindset: The early adopters are the ones who develop the trends in response to these problems.
-What or Objects, Experiences and Inspirations: Trends start with the things in our daily lives, that is, what we buy, what we like, what we do.
-How or Lifestyle: As trends achieve mass adoption, they begin to be associated with brands, social movements, and new products.
Although this proposal is not something new because in culture, things change, and a trend that was once dominant begins to run out, giving way to another and so on. loop, The question is, are we facing a change of environment today or is it just a response to the consequences left by the pandemic?
Says Davis in his article, “It was reassuring to think that the pandemic had put life on pause, or at least put things in slow motion (…) while we were inside (…), the culture was not really moving forward. (…) I did not feel FOMO (…) It turns out that two years could have become a black hole, but I was arrogant to think that something would not fill the void. (…) Those were still real years. People’s opinions were changing, things were happening (…)”.
If we think that the pandemic, structurally, acted as a milestone event that marked a before and after in our lives, then the 2020s may be about to mark the beginning of a new era.
In fact, we already see indicators of change such as the so-called “Great Resignation”, in which a record number of people between the ages of 30 and 45 quit their jobs in the wake of the pandemic. This could represent a “change of atmosphere”, just like the movement detox of social networks in pursuit of mental health care that have already been carried out by renowned actors, musicians and influencers. In fact, according to Mohan, people increasingly tired of this state of burn out permanent by the consumption of social networks, work on-line and concern for global affairs, urgently needs to reconnect with itself and with the local.
More than two years have passed, but the aftermath of the pandemic continues to be felt and puts us on the cusp of monumental change. As human beings we will survive due to our innate desire to remain relevant, but brands will have the challenge of carrying out communication that allows them to connect with their audiences in a genuine way because the concept of “vibe shift” is to understand that the cultural changes that used to occur between people, from generation to generation, now also occur in the digital sphere and increasingly rapidly, even in those times when it seemed that the world had stopped for two years.