This entry was posted on 12/11/2006 4:57 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
As time becomes increasingly valuable in our busy lives, we rely more heavily on catchphrases to quickly express new ideas and concepts. They help us express where our society is at during a particular moment in time. These are some “now” phrases that serve as snapshots of where we’re heading:
Adultescence—Many young people are settling at the crossroads between autonomous living and relying on the ’rents. It’s happened quietly and it’s here to stay, says David Morrison of Twentysomething Inc., who identified this growing demographic, also sometimes termed “kidults.”
Alpha Moms—The new face of motherhood: a well-informed, strong, decision-making multitasker who wields great personal and consumer power. The modern mom is confident and in control. There’s an Alpha Mom cable channel, and NBC aired a pilot titled Alpha Mom for its 2006-07 season.
Brand Sluts—A term first heard in the blogosphere to mean an obsession with consumerism but adapted and popularized by Marian Salzman in 2005 as a way to define consumers who flit from one brand to the next with no sense of fidelity to any one of them. While the connotation is negative, brand sluts are in fact savvy consumers.
Gastroporn—Preparing, cooking, tasting and eating food have become voyeuristic pleasures separated from physical reality and carried out by experts who go through the moves with practiced ease.
Microgeneration—Believers in personal sustainability are increasingly generating their own energy, by way of solar panels and miniature wind turbines installed in the home. Another aspect of the sustainability movement involves growing one’s own produce, a trend that has taken off in the U.K. with mini-allotments in urban areas.
Peerents—Parents are increasingly treating their kids more like peers. “Peerents,” a term coined by Schuyler Brown of Skyelab, work through issues with their children and share experiences candidly in a form of collaborative parenting.
Truth Lite—It’s the shoulder-shrugging way people shrink from accountability, cloud the truth and dance around the facts. Living in a culture of rampant lies and half-truths creates uncertainty, anxiety and cynicism. Greater demand for the whole truth will see accusations of “truth lite” leveled at politicians, the media and brands.
What are some recent catchphrases that have caught your attention?
