December 6, 2017

The D-Words: On Disruption, Despair and Dumpster Fires — 20 Trends for 2018

by William Turner in News

2017 was a bumpy ride, with the disruption of a presidential election that left everyone spinning off in different directions. That’s why Havas PR North America’s annual trends forecast focuses on that disruption, as well as some other disturbing D-words that will shape the year ahead: “destruction,” “depression,” “deception,” “defiance” and “discontent,” to name a handful.

Marian Salzman, world-renowned trendspotter and Havas CEO, explained that rather than attempting to leave the past year behind, the report—titled “The D-Words: On Disruption, Despair and Dumpster Fires—20 Trends for 2018”—offers “an understanding and embrace of how those themes will blossom into shifting behaviors and beliefs that will transform the world in 2018.”

Key themes from the report:

Efficiency, but not at the expense of humanity: Across the globe, anxiety continues to permeate daily life, not least of all because many people are worn down to the emotional nub after so many mass shootings, terrorist attacks, celebrity deaths, natural disasters, rounds of political name-calling, and tales of police brutality. That’s why, even within Havas PR’s trends on artificial intelligence, gaming at work and social media-bred FOMO, humans’ need for real-world connection and warmth prevails, so much so that kindness earned its own trend in this year’s report.

This vs. that: Conflict and polarization are rampant. In particular, the agency hones in on the STEM vs. STREAM trend, which once more finds the arts—and literacy—struggling to stake a place of importance among those subjects that promise students a more direct path to employment and prosperity as adults. A tension has also emerged between married and unmarried people over the old-fashioned notion that companionship equates to fulfillment and between couples who have faced infidelity and decided to stay together vs. those who have divorced after cheating. And with more baby boomers sticking around in today’s workforce, an old workers vs. young workers battle has begun with cries of “ageism.”

Wake-up calls for cities: With suffocating smog causing serious health and logistical problems in major cities around the world; overtourism that’s driving locals in Barcelona, Amsterdam and Venice to the streets to protest; and serious concerns that national politics and governments can no longer deal with the issues facing their citizens, cities are emerging as the most promising entities for effective action.

Click here to download a copy of “The D-Words: On Disruption, Despair and Dumpster Fires—20 Trends for 2018.”