Fad

"Fads" redirects here. For other uses, see Fad (disambiguation) and Fads (disambiguation).
"Trend" redirects here. For other uses, see Trend (disambiguation).
Pet rocks were a short-lived fad in the 1970s.
A man performing the floss, a dance move that became popular in 2017

A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period.

Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short-lived popularity but fade away.[1] Fads are often seen as sudden, quick-spreading, and short-lived events.[2] Fads include diets, clothing, hairstyles, toys, and more. Some popular fads throughout history are toys such as yo-yos, hula hoops, and fad dances such as the Macarena, floss and the twist.[3]

Similar to habits or customs but less durable, fads often result from an activity or behavior being perceived as popular or exciting within a peer group, or being deemed "cool" as often promoted by social networks.[4] A fad is said to "catch on" when the number of people adopting it begins to increase to the point of being noteworthy or going viral. Fads often fade quickly when the perception of novelty is gone.[4]

  1. ^ Best, Joel (2006). Flavor of the Month: Why Smart People Fall for Fads. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520246263.
  2. ^ Aguirre, B.E. Jorge L.; Mendoza, Jorge L.; Quarantelli, E.L. (1988). "The collective behavior of fads: The characteristics, effects, and career of streaking". American Sociological Review. 53 (4): 569–584. doi:10.2307/2095850. JSTOR 2095850.
  3. ^ Griffith, Benjamin (2013). "College Fads". St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture.
  4. ^ a b Kornblum (2007), p. 213.