A1 Level – Elementary
1. What is a popular trend right now?
2. Do you follow fashion trends?
3. What is the difference between a trend and a classic?
4. Do you use popular social media filters?
5. What makes a trend start?
6. Do you think trends are important?
7. What makes a trend end quickly?
8. What is a common food trend?
9. Do you like wearing the same clothes as others?
10. What makes a song trendy?
11. Do you think old trends come back?
12. What makes a trend expensive?
13. What is the opposite of trendy?
14. What are some different types of social media trends?
15. Do you think trends are silly?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between a global trend and a local, regional fad?
2. Describe one trend you followed that you now find embarrassing or strange.
3. What are the pros and cons of trying to always keep up with the latest trends?
4. What role does celebrity endorsement play in creating a new trend?
5. Have you ever been criticized for refusing to follow a popular trend?
6. What specific items (e.g., clothing, gadgets) define the current youth trends?
7. What is the difference between being a trendsetter and being a follower?
8. What are common challenges when trying to find your personal style outside of major trends?
9. How does technology (e.g., fast production) accelerate the pace of fashion trends?
10. What are the biggest cultural differences in the types of beauty or lifestyle trends considered popular?
11. What is the importance of having diverse influences to counteract the pressure of a single trend?
12. Do you think social media has made trends more shallow and short-lived?
13. What are the challenges of predicting the long-term impact of a current social trend?
14. What are the best ways to determine if a trend aligns with your personal values?
15. What is the difference between a healthy trend (e.g., fitness) and an unhealthy one (e.g., extreme dieting)?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the difficulty of separating genuine personal preference from the subconscious influence of pervasive trends.
2. How can companies ethically respond to rapidly changing consumer trends without generating massive waste?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding the environmental impact of fast fashion and disposable consumer trends?
4. Do you agree that the constant change in trends is primarily driven by companies seeking to maximize profit?
5. Describe a time when a societal trend (e.g., a political movement) caused a significant shift in your personal life choices.
6. To what extent should individuals feel pressure to conform to professional or workplace trends (e.g., jargon, management styles)?
7. What role do online analytics and data mining play in allowing companies to predict and manipulate future trends?
8. How do cultural traditions about modesty and display conflict with global trends in clothing and self-presentation?
9. Discuss the psychological phenomenon of “bandwagon effect”—joining a trend simply because others are doing it.
10. What are the challenges of preserving historical styles and quality in an era dominated by rapid, disposable trends?
11. How does the concept of “vintage” or “retro” reflect the cyclical nature of cultural trends?
12. Should public funding prioritize the study of historical trends to better understand present social dynamics?
13. What is the difference between a technological trend (e.g., AI) and a social trend (e.g., remote work)?
14. Discuss the concept of “trend forecasting”—the industry dedicated to predicting the next major shift.
15. What is the long-term impact of constantly chasing trends on a person’s financial stability and sense of self-worth?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the economic power of major brands influence the adoption and longevity of global fashion and lifestyle trends?
2. What are the ethical arguments about the immense amount of waste and short-term labor exploitation created by “fast trends”?
3. Should governments regulate advertising that intentionally capitalizes on social comparison and the fear of missing out?
4. What are the psychological reasons why people feel a strong compulsion to publicly signal their adherence to current trends?
5. How has the dominance of short-form video content accelerated the life cycle of digital and dance trends?
6. Discuss the idea that cultural trends are fundamentally a necessary mechanism for generational change and identity differentiation.
7. What is the role of cultural gatekeepers (e.g., critics, media) in legitimizing or rejecting emerging trends?
8. How do our perceptions of status and hierarchy become communicated through our adherence to specific, non-mainstream trends?
9. What are the challenges of using trends to predict the future when major events (e.g., pandemics) can shift entire cultural cycles?
10. Discuss the concept of “cultural appropriation” and how it occurs in the rapid, global adoption of trends originating from minority groups.
11. What is the difference between a trend that promotes collective experience and one that promotes individualized consumption?
12. Should companies be required to disclose the environmental and labor costs associated with their fast-moving product lines?
13. What is the impact of global trends on the preservation of local, traditional crafts and styles?
14. How does the history of cultural studies reflect the cyclical nature of trends and counter-trends in society?
15. Discuss the idea that the desire for self-expression can only truly be fulfilled by *resisting* major trends.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with the rapid adoption of luxury or high-cost technological trends.
2. To what degree should the legal system restrict the use of data-driven micro-targeting to promote consumer trends to vulnerable groups?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “mimesis”—imitation as a core social drive—in the context of trend following.
4. Evaluate the impact of new technologies (e.g., 3D printing) on democratizing trend creation and localizing product manufacturing.
5. How does the strategic use of emotional scarcity and limited-edition releases drive demand for fast-moving trends?
6. Examine the legal challenges of intellectual property when a trend is based on a collective, anonymous, user-generated idea.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of AI to predict and profit from potentially harmful social or financial trends?
8. Discuss the concept of “cultural lag”—when a social or ethical norm lags behind a rapid technological trend.
9. How do different national policies on import tariffs and trade affect the global accessibility of international consumer trends?
10. Analyze the interplay between the increasing speed of information transfer and the subsequent acceleration of the cultural trend cycle.
11. What ethical challenges arise when new trends (e.g., decentralized finance) are adopted without sufficient understanding of their risks?
12. Debate whether a system that promotes radical individuality or one that encourages social conformity is ultimately more beneficial to creativity.
13. How does the architecture of shopping districts and commercial centers reflect the economic necessity of fast-changing product displays?
14. Discuss the concept of “coolhunting”—the industry dedicated to spotting and exploiting nascent cultural trends for commercial gain.
15. To what extent does the emotional investment in following trends create a psychological barrier to genuine self-reflection and personal growth?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that the trend cycle is fundamentally a reflection of the economic system’s need for perpetual consumption and planned obsolescence?
2. Formulate a critique of marketing narratives that conflate the purchase of trendy items with the genuine achievement of personal status or well-being.
3. Analyze the intersection of complexity theory, social network dynamics, and the non-linear process by which local fads become global trends.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “authenticity” (genuine self-expression) and “conformity” (adherence to external norms).
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs aimed at teaching critical consumption and resistance to marketing trends.
6. Propose a system for product manufacturing that intentionally slows down the fashion cycle by penalizing the use of low-durability materials.
7. Examine the psychological function of aesthetic novelty and the brain’s reward system in driving the continuous search for the next trend.
8. How does the semiotics of a trend’s visual identity (e.g., color, silhouette) communicate complex, evolving social and political meanings?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of social media platforms in curbing the promotion of trends that encourage unhealthy or dangerous behaviors.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between cycles of economic prosperity and the corresponding shift from necessity-driven production to trend-driven consumption.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the global need for cultural exchange and the risk of powerful trends homogenizing local cultural identities.
12. Debate whether a future dominated by instant, personalized digital content will eliminate the need for shared, mass cultural trends entirely.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of chronic exposure to the pressure of performance and trend adherence on mental health and anxiety.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘style’ and whether it is possible to achieve it without engaging with the concept of trends.
15. How might the principles of trend analysis be used to model processes of political prediction and the rise/fall of public opinion?
