Being a teenager in the 21 st century means that one is constantly surrounded by ever-changing trends and fads. Unlike previous generations where these fads used to comprise of mostly cheap commodities like yoyos, GenZ is notorious for embracing the finer things in life. The pressure to follow these fads is increasingly high. It’s safe to say that in this generation fads form a prominent part of one’s personality and how he/she is perceived by the world.
Trends come and go faster than lightning, here are the current existing fads:
OFF WHITE
This brand is on the verge of or in the opinion of many has already surpassed massively popular Luxury clothing brand “Supreme”. Founded by Louis Vuitton’s artistic director Virgil Abloh it is known for its collaborations with brands like Nike and Ikea and it’s unique, albeit an extremely pricey take on streetwear like hoodies, t-shirts and sneakers. A stand out product of this brand is its “EXCLUSIVE INDUSTRIAL BELT”. The belt’s design is true to its name as it resembles a safety belt used in construction sites.
AirPods
The list would be incomplete without an Apple product. Since the launch of the iPhone 1 some 12 years ago, Apple has become the preferred electronic brand, despite the ever-rising prices of its products. Launched in 2016, the AirPods have become a staple in the lives of vanity embracing teenagers. While in terms of cost they are a mere fraction compared to your typical iPhone / iPad /Mac, they are in the context of earphones or even wireless earphones extremely expensive, with even the cheapest model setting you back by ₹14,900.
TikTok
This is the vine for 2000s kids. Launched outside China in 2017 it has since then rapidly risen to become the most downloaded app in the United States. This video-sharing app is extremely popular in India too.
Travis Scott X Nike sneakers
Travis Scott without a doubt is one of the hottest artists in the music industry right now. His latest album “Astroworld “ and a high profile personal life have been the catalysts for his superstardom. His popularity has reflected on his sneaker launches in collaboration with Nike. They get sold out in mere minutes. The resale price of a pair of Nike -X Travis Scott Airforce 1 sneakers is approximately 2 lakhs, hence being a paragon of its insane demand in the market.
David’s Disposable
Disposable Cameras have had a renaissance in popular culture. Popularised by celebrities like the Kardashians and David Dobrik (who has an entire Instagram account dedicated to disposable pictures known as “David’s Disposable “ which currently has 2.9 million followers), pictures taken by one are considered “cool” by today’s youth and our currently a staple in every popular Instagram influencer’s feed which millions try to emulate.
Netflix
I remember using Netflix when it first brought its operations in India in 2016. I had known about Netflix due to its immense popularity on social media sites like Instagram, so I was extremely eager to try it. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed as there were such limited choices, however, this isn’t the case any more -today Netflix has become a streaming juggernaut. It offers a wide variety of TV Shows like Friends, Big Bang Theory, etc. , movies, documentaries, features and so on. It has also started producing its own regional content. In 2019 its most-watched release was the season 2 of Sacred Games. Netflix’s burgeoning popularity and it’s emergence as a fad is evident from the 700% increase it experienced in its revenues in 2019. I remember being only one of the few people having Netflix in my social circle when it was first launched but now I don’t know a single person who doesn’t use it (this is not an exaggeration).
Juuls
It seems like this fad has come to an end not because people have gotten bored with this product but due to law enforcement. Juul is an e-cigarette remarkably popular amongst teens. Marketed through rhetoric information that it’s harmless to health it has become a huge hit amongst teenagers well below the legal age, because of which USA (the biggest market for Juul) has raised the minimum age for buying e-cigarettes to 21, India altogether has banned E-cigarettes.
These are some of the hot commodities in the world of GenZone, it will be interesting to find out when each of them will lose their steam.
Aadyaa Shukla Tiwari, 16 is the founder of GenZone (the zonegenz.com) It is a news website for youth by youth.
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