Fascinating study. Ever wonder why all non-conformists e.g. hipsters, always end up looking and dressing the same? This study has some answers. PLUS who is about to replace hipsters when it comes to non-conformist influence?

 

Just came across this in Phys.Org:

Jonathan Touboul, a mathematician at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, studies the way information is transmitted through society and how it influences the behavior of people.

• He creates computer models that simulate what happens when some people follow the majority while the rest head in the opposite direction.
• He focuses in particular on conformists who copy the majority and anticonformists, or hipsters, who do the opposite.
• He concludes that in most instances, the hipster population undergoes a transition in which members become synchronized with each other in opposing the mainstream. In other words, the hipster effect is the inevitable outcome of the behavior of large numbers of people.
• His model takes into account the time needed for each individual to detect changes in society and to react accordingly. For example, how long before people notice a new haircolor or type of cocktail or even a new emerging neighborhood.
• His simple model generates some fantastically complex behaviors.
• In general, Touboul says, the population of hipsters initially act randomly but then undergo a transition into a synchronized state. He finds that this happens for a wide range of parameters but that the behavior can become extremely complex, depending on the way hipsters interact with conformists.
• There are some surprising outcomes, too. When there are equal proportions of hipsters and conformists, the entire population tends to switch randomly between different trends. Why isn’t clear, and Touboul wants to study this in more detail. For example, when the mainstream is clean-shaven, the non-conformists (i.e. hipsters) will grow beards. However, once the mainstream starts to do the same, hipsters will start to shave theirs or turn to moustaches.

I’ve written about hipsters before since I also credit them with influencing the mainstream culture in a myriad of ways.

Make sure you read on below for 4 trends I’m currently tracking among hipsters PLUS my best bet on which group will assume the role of culture and trend influencers next.

 

HIPSTER TRENDS/INFLUENCES:

 

#1: Social Media

• More hipsters are abandoning mainstream social media e.g. Facebook.
• Alexis Ohanian called it a while back when he said we’ve hit peak social media.

 

#2:  Booze-Free

 

 

• Hipsters drove the majority of cocktail and bar trends over the last 20 years from speakeasies to mixologists to artisanal distilleries and craft beers.
• Now the trend is starting to be to non-alcohol nights e.g. Listen Bar.

 

#3:  Leaving big cities behind

 

 

• I’m noticing more people retreating from big cities like New York and moving to smaller towns where it is easier to set up a creative practice or independent businesses.
• I hate this trend ☹️

 

#4:  Hipsters are Aging Out

 

 

• The youngest hipsters are in their 30’s with the majority in their 40’s and 50’s, some are in their 60’s and above.
• Look for these older hipsters to reframe what ageing looks like and redefine how mainstream culture thinks about it.

 

NEXT:  Non-Binary: The new hipsters?

 

 

• In casting about for who will seize that non-conformist, highly influential mantle that hipsters have held for over 20 years, I keep coming back to the non-binaries, the genderqueer group that is starting to have such an impact on the culture and making us rethink everything from identity to relationships to fashion and even pronouns.

 

Bottom Line.

Fascinating topic signaling major shifts in the culture. More to come. Stay tuned. In the meantime, stay curious about what you see around you.