Trends

Every generation has chased trends. But to some members of Gen Z, the objects of teenage yearning feel more plentiful and less durable than ever before.

For the past few years, opening up social media has felt like standing in front of a fire hose of fashion and internet fads and cranking open the nozzle, full blast.
New “it” water bottles are anointed almost quarterly. Influencers urge their viewers to style themselves as coastal grandmothers, ballet dancers, indie sleazers and coquettes — looks that have little in common besides the consumption they require. Specious fads like the “mob wife aesthetic,” recognized by publications including this one, prompted The New Yorker’s humor column to predict what might come next: How about “Supreme Court casual” or “spotted-lanternfly goth”?

To keep up would leave most people broke, not to mention disoriented. And while a majority of these crazes are labeled “Gen Z trends,” members of that generation may be the ones most fatigued by the churn.

Of course, there have always been trends. Lately, though, trends feel more overwhelming. Young people have described an online trend ecosystem that resembles a soupy flood plain of fads — trends that are at once flimsy and a genuine source of stress for young people eager to fit in. The insecurity that young people feel when they don’t have the “it” item is amplified when there’s a new “it” item every week.

In a relatively short period of time, smartphones have grown to a near-ubiquitous status. With each passing new release, smartphones are becoming more powerful and all-encompassing. Understandably, this is leading to increased user adoption and a surge in daily screen time.

Here are some highlights (2024 Statistics):

• On average, Americans spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phones each day.
• People check their phones an average of 58 times each day. And almost 52% of phone checks occur during work hours.
• Worldwide statistics show that the top 5 nations in cell phone use were the Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, and Ghana, averaging just over 5 hours a day on their smartphones.
• Around 1 in 3 (36%) Americans believe they spend too much time on their smartphones each day.

There is a correlation between generations and phone screen time per day:

Gen Z - 6 hours and 5 minutes, with 56% feeling addicted Millennials - 4 hours and 36 minutes, with 48% feeling addicted Gen X - 4 hours and 9 minutes, with 44% feeling addicted Baby Boomers - 3 hours and 31 minutes, with 29% feeling addicted

One study found that, on average, children get their first phone at age 12. That means that the average American is expected to spend approximately 12 years of their life looking at their phone.

More than half of Americans believe they are too dependent on their phones (52%). As many as 3 in 5 (59%) use their phones in the bathroom, while 27% will text when at stoplights.

By 2027, there are expected to be 7.69 billion smartphone subscriptions.

In today's digital age, selfies have become a global phenomenon. Millions of people, especially young adults, spend countless hours capturing and sharing images of themselves. This trend reflects a growing desire for self-expression, social validation, and personal branding. Here are the most current stats as of the end of 2024:

• 92 million selfies are taken every day.
• Individuals spend 54 hours a year (or 7 minutes a day) taking selfies.
• The average “selfie-taker” is 24 years old.
• Women take 1.5 times more selfies than men.
• A full 95% of youth have taken selfies, compared to 63% of those aged 35–54 and only 44% of people over 55.
• Roughly 33% of pictures snapped by 18 to 24-year-olds are self-portraits.
• Millennials are forecast to capture around 25,700 selfies over their lifetime.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Kind of makes you think that the world was a little less narcissistic when we had to pay for film.

Internal documents from Tik Tok executives and employees reveal that the social media platform is driven to capture the attention of users. Here were some of their own internal statements:

• An internal presentation on the 2021 strategy for TikTok describes the company as being in an “arms race for attention.”
• “It’s better to have young people as an early adopter, especially the teenagers in the U.S. Why? They’ve got a lot of time.”
• “Teenagers in the U.S. are a golden audience.
• “The product in itself has baked into it compulsive use.”
• “The reason kids watch TikTok is because the algorithm is really good... But I think we need to be cognizant of what it might mean for other opportunities. And when I say other opportunities, I literally mean sleep, and eating, and moving around the room, and looking at somebody in the eyes.”
• As an internal guide on push notifications explained, a key goal of TikTok’s push notifications is to “Activate & Engage users with the right content at the right time, to encourage users to open the App more and stay longer.”
• In a chat message a TikTok employee confirmed that the company’s “goal is not to reduce the time spent” on the TikTok app, but rather to ultimately “contribute to DAU [daily active users] and retention” of users.

In a New York Times piece “Gen Z Has Regrets,” Jonathan Haidt and co-writer Will Johnson ask if young people wish social media had never existed. Between a third and a half say they do!

Nearly all American teenagers use social media regularly, and they spend an average of nearly five hours a day just on these platforms. 52 percent say social media has benefited their lives, and 29 percent say it has hurt them personally. We have found this pattern…in a wide array of surveys.

We’re not just talking about sad feelings from FOMO or social comparison. We’re talking about a range of documented risks that affect heavy users, including sleep deprivation, body image distortion, depression, anxiety, exposure to content promoting suicide and eating disorders, sexual predation and sextortion, and “problematic use,” which is the term used to describe compulsive overuse that interferes with success in other areas of life.

If any other consumer product was causing serious harm to more than one out of every 10 of its young users, there would be a tidal wave of state and federal legislation to ban or regulate it. In 2020 Sarah Condon said, “We are in the 1920s of cigarettes when it comes to social media.” In 2024, the prognosis seems clear!

Gen Z does not heavily regret the basic communication, storytelling, and information-seeking functions of the internet. If smartphones merely let people text each other, watch movies and search for helpful information, or interesting videos (without algorithms intended to hook users), there would be far less regret and resentment.

Respondents wished these products had never been invented:

Instagram (34 percent)

Facebook (37 percent)

Snapchat (43 percent)

TikTok (47 percent)

X/Twitter (50 percent)

It feels like kids’ slang is evolving so quickly that adults now need to learn a new language just to keep up. The latest viral phrase? “Six seven.” But what does it actually mean, and should parents be concerned?

The “six seven” trend started with the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by rapper Skrilla, where “6-7” refers to 67th Street in Chicago. The meme went viral on TikTok, especially in edits featuring NBA player LaMelo Ball, who is 6' 7" tall. These videos often splice together clips of Ball with the Skrilla song, and soon, tweens everywhere were making their own “six seven” content and repeating the phrase endlessly.

But the meaning behind “six seven” is intentionally vague. Some kids use it to mean “so-so,” often with a hand gesture, while others see it as a reference to height or basketball. Ultimately, the phrase is mostly nonsense-which is part of its appeal. As one TikTok commenter put it, “I think the point is that it makes no sense,” while another added, “but it’s provocative.”

Teachers have already voiced frustration about the trend disrupting classrooms, with some banning the phrase outright due to constant interruptions. On Reddit and TikTok, both educators and students have shared stories of “six seven” derailing lessons and becoming a classroom in-joke.

Should parents worry? Probably not, but context matters. Kids have always latched onto silly, context-free phrases for fun. Remember “YEET?” Still, it’s worth knowing that “six seven” comes from a rap song with explicit lyrics, which is inappropriate. If your child is using the phrase, ask where they heard it and what they think it means. It’s a good opportunity to talk about media literacy and responsible language online.

For most kids, though, “six seven” is just another catchy, meaningless meme-one that’s more amusing because adults don’t get it.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The “six seven” meme is an example of how quickly children’s culture can shift and how bewildering it can feel for parents. Scripture encourages parents to stay engaged, teach discernment, lead with humility, and model Christlike love. Rather than fearing or fighting every trend, use them as opportunities to build trust, teach wisdom, and shepherd your child’s heart toward God.

A study of YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook revealed that American Teens—by a large margin—use YouTube (71%) more than TikTok (58%). But they're more likely to scroll through the TikTok app "almost constantly," according to Pew Research Center polling.

The stat points to how addictive and unhealthy TikTok's endless feed of videos can be for teens.

A study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that new TikTok accounts were shown self-harm and eating disorder content within minutes of scrolling.

• Suicide-related videos popped up within 2.6 minutes.
• Eating disorder content popped up in 8 minutes.

Because of this, there's suddenly a roaring national debate over fears about teens' privacy, their data security—and all the misinformation going straight to their phones. Citing national security concerns, Congress is pushing to force the platform's Chinese parent company to sell TikTok or face a ban.

Psychologist Jean Twenge says. "It's of course possible that people will replace TikTok time with YouTube time or Instagram time. However, TikTok's algorithm is particularly effective at getting you to spend more time on it."

Augustin Lignier, a photographer in Paris, created a photo booth for rats. He took inspiration from B.F. Skinner, the famous researcher who made The Skinner Box, designed to dispense food pellets when rats pushed a designated lever.

It became one of the most well-known experiments in psychology. Reward-seeking rats became lever-pressing pros, pushing the bar down over and over again in exchange for food, drugs, or even a gentle electric zap directly to the pleasure center of the brain.

Mr. Lignier built his own version of a Skinner Box—a tall, transparent tower with an attached camera—and released two pet-store rats inside. Whenever the rats pressed the button inside the box, they got a small dose of sugar and the camera snapped their photo. The resulting images were immediately displayed on a screen, where the rats could see them. (“But honestly I don’t think they understood it,” Mr. Lignier said.)

The rodents quickly became enthusiastic button pushers. But then the rewards became more unpredictable. Although the rats were still photographed every time they hit the button, the sweet treats came only once in a while, by design. These kinds of intermittent rewards can be very powerful, keeping animals glued to their slot machines as they await their next jackpot.

In the face of these unpredictable rewards, the rats ignored the sugar even when it did arrive, and just kept pressing the button anyway. To Mr. Lignier, the parallel is obvious. “Digital and social media companies use the same concept to keep the attention of the viewer as long as possible,” he said.

Indeed, social media has been described as “a Skinner Box for the modern human,” doling out periodic, unpredictable rewards—a like, a follow, a promising romantic match—that keep us glued to our phones.

Singer-songwriter and author Sandra McCracken writes in an issue of CT magazine:

Greek mythology may not be a guide to the Christian life, but I appreciate the clever commentary the ancient stories offer. I was recently reminded of Narcissus, the young man who neglected all other loves and physical needs so he could stare endlessly at his own reflection. Narcissus eventually dies while sitting by the reflection pool—the tragic and ironic conclusion to his selfish love.

The old, dark comedy still applies—maybe especially applies—to our modern ego and pride. We have more than just pools and mirrors to contend with. ... Aided by our phones and social media, many of us spend more time with our reflections than even Narcissus did. The overwhelming majority of Americans now own smartphones. And with billions of mobile devices in circulation around the world, the situation is the same in many other countries. We are a selfie society, encouraged to view and post about ourselves often, in hopes of attracting more likes and boosting our “brand.”

To see only ourselves and to spend life captivated by our own dim radiance is, in effect, to die. And death is always a tragedy. To see God, however, is to see resurrection and new life. When we look to Jesus to remember more fully our true worth, we gain freedom from vain self-reflection, knowing instead that we belong to the one Source of true delight.

Some experts call it “the new great depression.” Since the rise of social media, depression and feelings of hopelessness have skyrocketed among teens. According to a new poll, nearly half of teens now say they agree with phrases like “I can’t do anything right,” “I do not enjoy life” and “My life is not useful”—roughly twice as many as did just a decade ago.

Psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge says, “These are staggering numbers, just enormous increases, and parents are rightfully very concerned about their children’s mental health.”

The poll, conducted by the University of Michigan is just the latest startling revelation about youth mental health, as rates of teen anxiety and depression have grown.

The number one cause, according to Twenge, is social media and screen time. In fact, rates of teen depressive symptoms have increased massively since the mass popularization of the smartphone in the early 2010. “There’s no question that is the primary cause of the increase in teen depression now,” Twenge said. “It’s by far the largest change in teens’ everyday lives over the past 10 to 12 years. Nothing else even comes close.”

The CDC’s bi-annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2023) showed that most teen girls (57%) now say that they experience persistent sadness or hopelessness (up from 36% in 2011), and 30% of teen girls now say that they have seriously considered suicide (up from 19% in 2011). Boys are doing badly too, but their rates of depression and anxiety are not as high, and their increases since 2011 are smaller.

What are the causes behind this concerning trend? It’s complex, but in a thorough overview of hundreds of studies, here’s how researcher Jon Haidt summarizes the data:

There is one giant, obvious, international, and gendered cause: Social media. Instagram was founded in 2010. The iPhone 4 was released then too—the first smartphone with a front-facing camera. In 2012 Facebook bought Instagram, and that’s the year that its user base exploded. By 2015, it was becoming normal for 12-year-old girls to spend hours each day taking selfies, editing selfies, and posting them for friends, enemies, and strangers to comment on, while also spending hours each day scrolling through photos of other girls and fabulously wealthy female celebrities with (seemingly) vastly superior bodies and lives. The hours girls spent each day on Instagram were taken from sleep, exercise, and time with friends and family. What did we think would happen to them?

The Federal Aviation Administration sent a letter to Trevor Jacob on April 11, 2023, informing him that his pilot’s certification was being revoked. The letter read, “On November 24, 2021, you demonstrated a lack of care, judgment, and responsibility by choosing to jump out of an aircraft solely so you could record the footage of the crash.”

Jacob had denied the accusation on numerous occasions, including in a statement to The New York Times, stating flatly, “I’ll happily say I did not purposely crash my plane for views on YouTube.” In May, however, as part of a guilty plea he admitted the truth that the crash intended to boost views for a sponsorship deal on his YouTube channel.

That lie was only the tip of Jacob’s iceberg of falsehoods related to the crash. He lied to FAA investigators by telling them he didn’t know the location of the plane’s remains, when he’d previously contracted a helicopter firm to airlift the wreckage to a nearby hangar for disposal. Jacob also lied when he told investigators the initial reason for the crash was that his plane lost all its power and he parachuted after not being able to find any safe landing options. In their letter, the FAA noted that Jacobs’ own footage showed that he’d failed to take all the necessary steps to attempt a safe landing. According to the FAA’s analysis, Jacob’s actions were “egregious and intentional.”

Andew Madsen is a representative of the Los Padres National Forest, the location where Jacob’s plane crash landed. Madsen called the stunt dangerous and noted that anyone who intentionally causes a wildfire can be held liable for all costs associated with fighting the fire. He said, “Thankfully this incident did not spark a fire.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Taking shortcuts to fame and success often involves reckless behavior that can threaten our safety and/or ruin our reputation. You can lose more than you can gain.

At the intersection of social media platforms and fast-food trends lives a new entry into the category of viral posts: the secret menu item. Influencers are making videos about food combinations, and the surge of interest is wreaking havoc, causing annoyance for workers across America.

After a TikTok user created a video of her customized Waffle House order—a Texas bacon melt with waffles instead of bread—Waffle Houses across the south were inundated with orders for the improvised delicacy. Managers at one store in Georgia created a sign stating, “Order from the menu. We are not making anything you saw on TikTok!!”

Another TikTok user experienced success after her fast-food hack video got almost two million views. At a friend’s prompting, she ordered a Chipotle quesadilla with steak and veggies inside, and dipped it in a combination of sour cream and vinaigrette. The friend, a Chipotle manager, said it tasted like a Philly cheesesteak.

According to industry analyst Adam Chandler, such makeshift delicacies can bring extra revenue to fast-food chains, but they can gum up the workers at the store if they haven’t prepared for the scrutiny and attention. Chandler said, “It really places a lot of stress on fast-food workers.”

Chandler noted that while social media trends offer the potential for increased revenue, they can cause problems. “Service has slowed down, in part because people have started modifying their orders. So, we’re looking at a context where fast food is becoming less fast.”

The trend sometimes has results that are more positive. One TikTok user initiated a viral video after posting about a favorite snack idea at Momofuku. VP Ryan Healy at Momofuku said, “It’s not the way we set out to do this, but she’s bringing more people into our world. We see [TikTok trends] as a positive thing and hopefully broaden people’s minds — to help change the way people eat and eat more adventurously.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Selfishly demanding that things be done our way is never God’s plan for believers. We should instead be considerate of others who are working hard to do their jobs to serve many people.

The number of teenagers who say they are chronically online has nearly doubled since 2015, according to a survey from Pew Research Center. YouTube is the most popular platform among U.S. teens, with 95% of the coveted demographic saying they use the site or its mobile app, the survey found. TikTok, which was launched in the U.S. in 2018 and thus didn’t exist the last time Pew performed a similar survey, is now used by about 67% of those between 13 and 17-years-old.

Almost half of U.S. teens reported that they are online “almost constantly,” a jump from the 24% who reported similar behavior to Pew in 2015. On social media specifically, 35% of U.S. teens reported that they were on at least one of the major platforms almost constantly.

Just when pandemic-related misinformation was started to recede from public awareness, the Food and Drug Administration had to recently issue a warning against a new dangerous trend: misinformation resulting from viral video challenges. The latest concerned something called “NyQuil chicken.”

The FDA said in a press release, “A recent social media video challenge encourages people to cook chicken in NyQuil (acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine) or another similar over-the-counter cough and cold medication, presumably to eat. Social media trends and peer pressure can be a dangerous combination to your children and their friends, especially when involving misusing medicines.”

One of the reasons why the challenge is dangerous is that the chemical properties of NyQuil change when the liquid is heated to a boil, and high levels of the chemicals can be inhaled as vapors. An FDA spokesperson said, “The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing – and it is, Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it.”

Parents can keep young people safe by following three common-sense practices:

Keep medicines away from children in a safe, inaccessible place.

Speak with children about the dangers of misusing pharmaceuticals.

Use all medications according to the directions given.

Possible Preaching Angle:

As Christians parents we need to protect our children from foolish pranks spread by social medial. Instead, in a supportive and loving way we should encourage our vulnerable children in wise living and thinking before they act on foolish trends.

In Ubang, southern Nigeria, men and women speak different languages. They view this unique difference as “a blessing from God.” Dressed in a brightly colored traditional outfit, Chief Oliver Ibang calls over his two young children, eager to demonstrate the different languages.

He holds up a yam and asks his daughter what it is called. "It's 'irui'," she says, without hesitating. But in Ubang's "male language" the word for yam, one of Nigeria's staple foods, is "itong." And there are many other examples, such as the word for clothing, which is "nki" for men and "ariga" for women.

"It's almost like two different lexicons," says anthropologist Chi Chi Undie. "There are a lot of words that men and women share in common, then there are others which are totally different depending on your sex. They don't sound alike, they don't have the same letters, they are completely different words."

However, both men and women are able to understand each other perfectly--or as well as anywhere else in the world. This might be partly because boys grow up speaking the female language, as they spend most of their childhoods with their mothers. But by the age of 10, boys are expected to speak the “male language” as evidence of entry into manhood.

Chi-Chi Unde explains: “Men and women operate in almost two separate spheres. It's like they're in separate worlds, but sometimes those worlds come together and you see that pattern in the language as well.”

Possible Preaching Angles: Communication; Gender Differences; Human Nature; Marriage – 1) There is a mysterious and delightful difference between men and women which God intends for us to recognize and enjoy (Genesis 2:20-25); 2) Wouldn’t it be great if you really knew your spouse’s emotional language and used it to communicate fluently with him or her? 3) In our society, there is an increased blurring of gender differences between male and female. But as this small community illustrates there are natural differences that are instinctively known (Romans 1:18-27).