David Paul Morris/GettySteve Jobs introduced iCloud in June. Trend-watchers say we'll live in digital clouds, more than ever before.Out: Human interaction.
In: Saying you want to get together, but not actually doing it.
Out: High-fructose corn syrup.
In: Good ol' honey.
Out: Spending large on your wardrobe.
In: Going shopping, in your wardrobe.
So say two professional trend-spotters, at least.
Marian Salzman, president of the North American division of the public relations firm Euro RSCG Worldwide, has been spotting trends for 15 years. Her annual trends forecast is called "The Big Little Book of Nexts."
Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting at the advertising firm JWT, issued her seventh report on trends last month.
Here's what they say will transpire in 2012.
The rise of fiction
"Real life has been so much more real than reality TV," says Salzman. "We've been through a really traumatic year," she says, even if that has meant saying goodbye to some of the most reviled world leaders. Look for the rise of "curated drama," she says. Instead of finding solace in the antics of "Real Housewives," for example, we'll look for escape in "well-designed television programming," meaning shows that are scripted, not documented, she says.
APThey'll be working hard for us in 2012Honey and mushrooms
When corn syrup got a whole lot of negative press, people were looking for ways to sweeten healthfully, or at least naturally.
"If you can provide an alternative to that and call it 'natural,' good for you," says Mack. Honey, undeniably natural but also exceedingly saccharine, will be a big sweetener in 2012, she says. And not just in food but also in cough remedies and over-the-counter medicines. Mushrooms, too, fit the bill for something good-tasting that isn't so bad for you, she says, and are even, possibly, immunity boosters. Calling edible fungi "the next big thing in functional foods," Mack says to look out for a wide variety, including pricey truffles.
Buying local
The Year of the Dragon will also be the year of the locavore, says Salzman, locavorism being the pursuit of locally produced food.
"It's really going through the stratosphere," she says. "Local pies, local cheeses, the more local the better." Why? "It's a sense of control," says Salzman. The idea that we know the place a food is made, so it's therefore extra consumable. Which would make food grown in your backyard extra desirable, right? If only we weren't stuck in a cloud ...
Cloud life
"I think we're going to live our lives in a cloud," says Salzman. That cloud involves us, our mobile digital accessories ("Everybody's going to have a tablet. You might even have more than one," says Salzman) and a sense that we'd like to think we want to see more people in person, but really don't want to. When you're living "in 140 characters or less," social intimacy -- meaning actual face-to-face conversation -- "just feels like more work," says Salzman. "We'd rather read it than say it."
Darren MichaelsStrong women, slacker men?Inhaling
No, not that kind. The kind of inhaling that allows you to smell your flavors instead of eating them. If you're into that.
Mack points to Le Whif, a calorie-free "chocolate experience," and Breathable Foods' AeroShot Pure Energy, an inhaler that contains a mix of caffeine and B vitamins.
A new American Dream
The old vision of success is changing, says Salzman. It's going to mean not everyone will think college is the way to get there, especially considering the crippling impact of student loans.
"The student loan crisis is going to be the biggest crisis in the world," she says. This gives old benchmarks -- earning a degree, buying a home -- a new context. Salzman says many more people will be asking if they really need those thing to get by, or can they achieve whatever it is they consider their dreams in other ways.
Marriage
College isn't the only part of American life in flux. Marriage is also being seen more as an option than a necessity, says Mack.
"The reason why women are opting out of marriage is because they are gaining in education," she says, with women earning the most bachelor's and master's degrees. "Motherhood is now untethered from marriage." Just look at a Judd Apatow movie, she says: Men are portrayed as slackers while women are the ones in control.
Self-diagnosis, alternative treatment
Eating all that locally produced food, tapping away on our tablets also has us gaining weight and getting sick.
Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerA Diane von Furstenberg crystal beaded flapper dress from 2003. Will Depression chic make a return?"We're more inside, more than ever before," says Salzman. And usually not on the treadmill. "We're exercising our jaws talking about exercise." So we're also apt to be Googling our ailments.
"If you suffer from epilepsy, if you suffer from a sprained wrist, you can do all of the medical research," says Salzman. "It's made us much more willing to embrace (the) homeopathic," says Salzman.
Catering to maturity
"Someone who's 65 may live two, three, four decades after that," says Mack. "The sky's the limit for them, as long as they can afford it."
So it makes sense that technology should adjust to maturity instead of just paying lip service to youth, what Mack calls "retooling for an aging world." GlassesOff is a good example, she says. The forthcoming digital program aims to actually treat the blurry vision of presbyopia via the screens that would normally strain our eyes.
Indulgence penalties
Mack says it's telling that in Hungary and Denmark there have been taxes on foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as on soda and alcohol, with legislation pending in Australia and the U.K. Americans have balked at attempts to control their diets and snacking, but expect more policing in the world at large, she says.
"You can't ignore our growing waistlines," says Mack. "Which can be a huge cost on the government."
Depression chic
Faced with a lack of leisure funds, grads saddled with overwhelming loan payments and many others with little extra wiggle room in their budgets will be "curating their closets," says Salzman. This means there will be a reliance on classic wardrobe staples and a pushback against buying novelties, she says. At the same time, "Depression chic" will become popular, she says. That doesn't mean wearing torn-up burlap sacks, but it does involve flapper dresses and "loud, exciting scarves."
Cathy MillerWe might get taxed on junk food, but we'll want to reach for a sweet reward every now and then.Small delights
Even though we know we have to cut down (and so do companies like Kraft that will start selling a five-pack of gum for 50 cents) we're also "fatigued by all these austerity measures," says Mack. Sick of saving, we'll want to indulge in small ways.
The evidence is there, she says, noting that nail polish sales were up 54 percent this year. And even if we're not polish users, instead of paying for a gourmet meal we might just buy the ingredients to make it at home, she says.
Follow Amy Kuperinsky on Twitter @AmyKup
