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How Not to Get Caught in a Fad
Tradition, progress, and two perspectives on time — diminishing and progressive.
Introduction — The Age of Pet Rocks
Having grown up in the 1990s, the phenomenon of the pet rock eluded my purview. I’ve also noticed that many owners of the pet rock no longer maintain possession of the previously exuberant hobby. This is because the pet rock was a fad.
The interesting dynamic of what makes something a fad is that nothing subsumes the concept to sustain it over time. Fads emerge not because they are interested in longevity; nor is there a deep-seated intention of existential value and meaning within the oracles of time. They exist for a present, momentary validation — often with the potential of short-term profit. Fads are not concerned about rooting themselves in the strain of the history or memory they come from and their growth ceases as soon as the moment is complete.
Yet, fads continue to pervade the landscape.
What is new and exciting and cool and trendy rises to immediate awareness and then goes away just as quickly. Like a transplant in the garden with no connection to the soil; not being properly rooted may give a moment of glamor and pleasure, but the plant will wilt just as fast as it was sown. Trends and fads come and go because they are not built on anything. They are not continuing anything. There is no intention of long-term endurance. And they evaporate with little effect.
Our culture, it appears, adores the young, hip, fresh, and popular as if it is the climax of existence. What is now is what is captivating. We glamorize the next best thing with no concern for what came before us. Short-sighted myopia dazzles us with unknown possibilities. The long game of sustained continuation is no match. Why grow a meager seed into a tree when the department store had a sale on pre-grown tomato plants?
And we’re left with a bunch of obsolete pet rocks.
