Top Trends 2020
We’ve almost made it out of a tough year. It’s been one for the record books, and one way to glance back on 2020 is by considering all the new trends. Out went the rulebook as we learned that helping others is cool, comfort is king, and showing our authentic selves is the way to really connect with each other.
Here are 10 of the Top Trends of 2020.
1. Mental Health Goes Mainstream
2020 inflicted a devastating impact on mental health. The isolation, economic stress, and rising COVID cases created a rise in mental health issues. Social media became an amplifier for mental health services and everyday advice. Support groups met online in video chats and popular memes focused on dealing with pandemic-related stress and depression.
Men who suffer from mental health problems have new resources available like Tethr. It’s an app that allows men from all sorts of backgrounds and lifestyles to connect, form support groups and chat with each other about their mental health and wellness.
Related: A Few Reasons Why Men Should Start Journaling
2. Loungewear Everywhere
There was nothing pretty about 2020. The COVID-19 virus robbed us all of opportunities to get dressed up and show off our best attire. Sweatpants, mule slippers, and comfortable athleisure clothing were the preferred style choices of the year. There were no rules on where or when you could wear them, either.
Attire that normally took us from the bed to the kitchen and back again, slowly worked its way into our outer wear options. Retail fashion brands picked up on the trend almost instantly and began offering more loungewear to potential buyers. You might have stayed at home most of the year, but that didn’t mean you needed to throw away your fashion sense.
Related: The Best Lounge Shorts on the Market
3. Mass Media Consumption
With so much time on people’s hands, the need for diversions reached a crescendo in 2020. People worked in their pajamas, studied at home, and required more forms of media to stave off boredom. Movie theaters, sporting venues, and live entertainment providers suffered under social distancing restrictions, but video game producers and streaming services noticed a sharp uptick in sales.
Studios and production companies are opting for straight-to-streaming releases in the wake of the pandemic. Netflix is the most used video streaming service in the world with 182 million subscribers, according to TechJury statistics. Even with 41% of viewers watching for free through pirating, Netflix remains king of the small screen.
4. Science Be Praised
2020 was a groundbreaking year for scientific achievements. With the COVID-19 virus wreaking havoc on the world’s health and economy, scientists raced to find viable vaccines. Immunologists and virologists rose to near celebrity status in the process.
Yet, there were other amazing advancements in science during 2020. Astronomers found a chemical in the upper atmosphere of Venus that could possibly harbor life and Japanese scientists took their first look at samples from a near-Earth asteroid.
5. A Golden Age of Self-Care
Amidst a global pandemic, priorities shifted from outward forms of materialism to inward-focused products and services in the self-care niche. People spent more money in 2020 on personal beautification and wellness than in previous years. This allowed for small businesses to grow exponentially and launched a golden age of self-care rituals.
The Body Shop polled people in the UK and found that as a nation, the UK spent more than 3 billion dollars a month on self-care products and services. Men increased their interest in self-care during the pandemic of 2020. With so much free time on our hands, we were bound to dip and dabble in assorted facial cremes, toners, and self-tanning products.
6. Shopping from Home
Online shopping wasn’t a new trend for 2020, but shopping from home almost became a necessity. With lockdowns, quarantines, and shop closures, the primary method for acquiring goods was to have it delivered directly to your doorstep. This gave rise to new delivery methods from big retailers like Amazon and expansions of pre-existing services like Uber Eats.
In fact, Uber dominated the online marketplace worldwide. According to Statista market data, 52% of online shoppers used Amazon to search for products. Supermarkets experienced the largest COVID-related shift in shopping patterns with a 34% spike in online ordering and home delivery.
7. Education is Your Responsibility
For the most part, students were expected to home school in 2020 with the help of their parents and Google. Institutions went digital and video classrooms were implemented across the nation. It remains to be seen whether this trend has helped or hurt students in the long run.
Learning online isn’t a new trend. People have been doing it for years to earn certificates and degrees at their own pace. However, this became the primary way for children and teens to learn in 2020. It left some parents scratching their head at math problems and made for some funny candid moments on Zoom.
8. New Social Media Metrics
Social media became the primary source for personal interactions in 2020. However, the social media environment changed drastically. Vanity metrics such as “likes” and “followers” went out of favor. Social media influencers also lost some of their allure. Emotional connection, stories and niche engagement rose to take the place of these social media mainstays in 2020.
TikTok proved to be unstoppable, even as Donald Trump and other national leaders tried to ban the social media platform. TikTok has over 1.5 billion users, most of them young and all-too ready to perform the latest dance trends. Marketers are scrounging for a way to capitalize on TikTok’s organic outreach, but the platform has unanimously selected authenticity over capital gain.
Related: Is Instagram Reels Going to Replace TikTok?
9. Authenticity Ranks High
2020 was a year that brought back authenticity in nearly every aspect of social interaction and across all classes. From celebrities and news reporters, to educators and activists, everyone felt more comfortable in their own skin.
In that sense, the pandemic brought people together because it didn’t spare anyone according to class. People were more inclined to let their hair down and reveal their authentic selves to the world. We saw celebrities in their PJs and the latest headlines were delivered from the couches of our favorite news anchors.
10. Polarizing Viewpoints
In 2020, people came out of their bubbles to protest social injustice and to vent frustrations about a number of political issues. It was a big year for Black Lives Matter and other groups who chose to make public expressions of their viewpoint. It was dramatically clear who believed what in 2020. It was a year when people chose a stance to support and vehemently attacked anyone who sided against them.
According to Google Trends, election results were second only to the coronavirus in searches and news. The 2020 presidential election had the highest voter turnout in over 100 years. The battlelines were firmly drawn and presidential candidates became lightning rods for polarizing viewpoints.
Trends from 2020 – The Takeaway
It’s hard to call anything about 2020 – trendy. That word implies that these were passing fads or options that people chose because of popularity or some other benign reasons. The truth is that these trends were created largely out of necessity and helped people to survive.
The whole world slowed down for a moment and that allowed people to reassess what really mattered in their lives. This dark moment presented the world with an opportunity to make these changes more permanent. For example, we’ll never look at the standard business office the same way again.
Some of the trends of 2020 will change our world for years to come. Some trends are welcomed additions to our lives while others should remain in the past. Authenticity, the acceptance of mental health matters, and the flexibility of the home space would be welcomed changes.
Yet, the harmful outbursts of polarizing viewpoints and political upheavals are some of the things that remind us of the shadow side of humanity. Hopefully, these dark traits will taper off as society gradually returns to normal.
We will find our suits and ties again. We will gather en masse to have a good time. We will hug strangers again. Well, maybe our social circles will remain small for a while longer, but hopefully in 2021 we won’t forget that it’s okay to show our true selves to the world.
