Follow-up On Trends

Thanks for all the great comments. I have receive other comments outside of the post as well. I appreciate the thoughtful and honest answers.

My personal response:
I guess I am about a 3 on the scale- I don't run from trends and I lean towards negative feelings about them. Most of the time I show interest in trends just to see what the fuss is about, but my standards are pretty high when it comes of devotion. I also run the risk of keeping my "favorites" to myself. I like to financially support bands/artists/authors who I like, and, if asked, I will give an enthusiastic answer and recommendation- I just don't volunteer the information on a regular basis.

I don't know that much about other cultures so I cannot answer those particular questions.

I believe it is mostly possible to make choices without influence or pop culture, but I don't think it is ever 100%.

Pondering on Trends

I've been thinking about trends a lot lately. I might be wrong, but I generally see two attitudes towards trends with a varying degree of intensity. Here is a list of different trend areas that I specifically have in mind: books, movies, clothes, music, decor, hobbies. This is not an exhaustive list. I just want you to have a clear picture of the topic.

Some people like trends and are usually called "trend-followers" or "trendy." In the extreme, a trendy person might encourage others to be trendy and look down upon those who don't follow trends. We might even see a fanatic devotion to certain trends. "I love this item WAY more than you ever could!"
To a lesser extent we have people who follow trends in perhaps dress or decor but maybe not as much in music, movies, books, or other areas. I don't particularly know all motivations for trend-following. I thought perhaps it is a mix between actually liking something that has become popular and wanting to fit in with the popular crowd. (I realize it could be either or neither.) They take pride in being with the popular instead of taking pride in being a creator. I'm not saying that trendy people aren't trend-setters. I am merely discussing the two different attitudes towards trends themselves.

The other attitude I will call "anti." Again, there are varying degrees. In the extreme we might see anti's who rebuke trendy people, perhaps calling them "sheep" or "followers" with a negative connotation. They might even go out of their way to not appear to be following any trends. Now there is, of course, plenty of discussion on whether they are truly independent of trendy influence or perhaps "following" the anti-trend pop culture. The rebellion for rebellion's sake.
The lesser extreme could include people who don't like the idea of trend-following, but will still like something "despite" its popularity. People in this group might not broadcast any of their favorites, for fear of a growth in popularity, and might be defensive when something becomes popular. The phrase "I knew it back before it was popular" is a bragging right found in this group. They take pride in being with the "firsts" instead of taking pride in being with the popular. They might believe that they are trend-setters or independent of pop culture. Motivation might be our individualistic upbringing or a result of being rejected by trendy people from a young age.

My questions:

• Can anyone really be outside of trends or pop culture? Is there a way to actually make these preferential decisions without influence?
• Is there a third attitude?
  
• Is this battle of attitude found only in the USA, where we are taught to strive to be independent individuals, or can we see it in other cultures? Is this battle found more in capitalistic societies? Is it found more in developed countries as opposed to undeveloped (using it as a subjective term as we learn in elementary school)? Is this battle a youthful battle or do we see it throughout all ages?
• Is one attitude better than another or more correct? Is this battle simply over a subjective preference that is beyond what's right or wrong? Can taking one attitude to the extreme be classified as "wrong"?
  
• Which are you? The scale below is from 1-10. One being "anti" trend and ten being "totally trendy." Five would be "I am not either" or "I do a little of both depending on the item in question."

Please respond to whichever questions you would like to talk about. Some of you might be more qualified to discuss certain questions over others. I just want some outside input. I will put some of my answers in a follow-up blog. I know my readers are very limited in number so each answer counts!