Meta/Facebook has just released its 2022 Trends Report that provides some pointers on how the global culture is changing, in general. The trends included in the report are based on what it sees in: its commissioned ‘Global Foresight Study’ done with 36k people aged 18+ in 12 selected countries; its own data – Facebook, Instagram, etc.; various other research reports and news articles.
And it is in terms of the latter that I have a problem with this report, as there has been what can only be highly-subjective selection of certain media articles to include in the report. Nevertheless, it may provide some value in terms of understanding the changing world around us, as long as we remember this caveat.
The report includes a great deal of information four broad categories: Diversifying Identities; Relationships Renegotiated; Greater Expectations; Expanding Values. In this first of a two-part article, we will look at two sub-elements of the Greater Expectations category, which states: “Our dreams have got bigger. So have our expectations and our digitally enabled opportunities … We’re reappraising traditional education and hybrid work, while pursuing new careers and joining the creator economy.”
The two aspects we considered here are alternative education and digital inclusion.
Alternative education
The global shutdown of the last two years changed the way people think about a lot of things, including education and the traditional methods used in education. The leap to virtual learning was probably inevitable, given the disruption to schools, colleges and universities, as because it has been bubbling under for at least ten years now. The early adopters are leading the way – many gen Zers – with a much bigger proportion of the population still to follow. But “learning that happens outside the classroom” is here to stay, and lifelong learning is now considered essential.
But what that means and how it is achieved is also changing, with gen Zers especially being “more inclined to explore their options” and to embrace “life itself as a journey of ongoing learning”. Two key elements are re-skilling and home-based learning, with gen Zers “already reshaping the future of both education and work in the process”. The rising conversation topics and the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in these topics is shown in the graph below.
Crypto inclusion
In my previous article on digital and crypto currency, I touched on the growing ownership of crypto currency by the digitally-connected population of the world. Now the Meta/Facebook report confirms this as one of the trends to watch, with growing interest in the new forms of “currency and digital assets”.
The blockchain-driven options are of interest to millennials in particular, and the topic of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) is growing. But I’m not going to say more on the latter, as I have reservations about NFTs and suspicions about agendas being pushed here.
The rising conversation topics and the Y-o-Y growth in these topics is indicated in the graph below. And here is my second concern with this report: I wonder about the NFT item (+11480% Y-o-Y) being included and the next being Fungibility (+1171%), i.e. was there nothing that increased between 11480% and 1171% Y-o-Y, or does the report only include certain carefully selected items, with others that perhaps didn’t suit the agenda being excluded?
Also of interest is the soaring conversation about cryptocurrency, as shown in the graph below. Note that the # for all countries is cryptocurrency or the local language equivalent, except for Thailand, where the # is Bitcoin. Thailand also shows the highest Y-o-Y growth in the rising conversation, followed by South Korea, India, Brazil and Nigeria.
(Source: All data and quotes were extracted from Facebook’s 2022 Trends Report.
Juliet Gillies is a highly skilled writer, editor and English specialist. She is a skilled, experienced writer, having started in the marketing/communication field, but now focuses on educational materials and articles on Digital / Social Media / Marketing matters. She has been writing and editing at a professional level for more than 30+ years.
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