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The Low Carbon Diet: Getting thin, healthy, sexy, and rich – and saving the planet
Our trend spotters keep reporting about the newest and hottest trend coming out of California: the Low Carbon Diet. Especially in LA and San Francisco, everyone who is someone seems to be doing it! And the trend is spreading quickly from California to the rest of the country – and the world.
No wonder: all who tried it swear that they quickly lost weight, improved their health, and got a much better figure. Most claim to have saved money along the way. Feeling sexier and richer, they go out more, date more, and find romance... On top of that they help to cool down the planet. A personal diet with social impact: certified coolness, just what Californians love.
41% believe that “Climate change is a hoax”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
June Report
The “climate change hoax” claims that there is no climate change. This is another legend where the discrepancy is geographic rather than between trendsetters and average people. In America, both 40% of trendsetters and 45% of average people believe this. In Europe the figures are lower: 23% of trendsetters and 35% of average people also believe it. In Asia the figures are somewhere in between. The global average is 41% for average people and 38% for trendsetters, making this the sixth highest-ranking global modern myth. With this legend we end our reports for 2011.
The attractiveness of this legend seems to lie in the conspiracy factor. There seems to be a correlation between this legend and the “UFO cover-up conspiracy”.
62% believe that “All plastic bottles get recycled”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
May Report
This legend is unique, as it shows no discrepancy between average people and trendsetters. Almost the same amount of average people (62%) and trendsetters (61%) believe it. The difference is in behavior: while 59% of trendsetters sort their plastic bottles and throw them in the proper recycle container, only 23% of average people do this.
But does all this sorting really matter, if you consider that only 20% at the most gets really recycled?
68% believe that “Bottled water is better than tap water”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
April Report
While 68% of average people believe this modern legend, only 28% of trendsetters do. This 40 percentage point gap between trendsetters and average people is the he second biggest in our survey. Interesting fact: a significant amount of trendsetters told our interviewers that they used to believe it until a few years ago.
Why are these people changing their minds?
76% believe in the “Microwaved pet lawsuit in the USA”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
March Report
This legend is more popular overseas with 78% of non-Americans believing it than in the United States, where only 74% do. With an average of 76% this is the third highest ranking modern legend in the world! The difference between trendsetters and “average people" is less than 1 percentage point, the lowest in our survey.
Interesting is the reason why people believe this is true.
90% believe that “Unlimited economic growth is possible”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
February Report
90% of average people and 72% of trendsetters believe this legend. The gap is only 18 percentage points. Not only people believe it, they hope for it. They almost unanimously (98% of average people, 91% of trendsetters) say they wished the economy would grow quicker, so that their living standards would rise. Most also see economic growth as the only way out of the demographic problems we face in most developed nations.
Coolness Trend “Whistle-blowing Websites” 2010-2013
Trend now:
In 2010 a whistle-blowing website named WikiLeaks published documents stolen from the US government. The majority of internet folk loved the site and its founder, a fighter for freedom of speech laying bare all the evil deeds of the US secret services, US military, and other dark forces. A few, mostly very uncool right-wing people hated the site, calling for its shutdown. Leaking secrets became the cool thing to do in 2010 and the site founder became the cool hero of web libertarians. He managed to sell the rights to his autobiography for a cool million dollars! But in life success quickly breeds imitators. They soon followed...
Forecast – Trend over time:
93% believe that “Cell phones interfere with a plane’s instruments”
2011 Global Survey on Modern Myths and Legends
January Report
Of all modern myths and legends, this is the one with the biggest discrepancy between trendsetters and average people: 93% of average people believe this legend, but only 15% of trendsetters do. The result is a gap of 78 percentage points, the highest in our survey! And a whopping 63% of trendsetters claim to "always" or "almost always" leave their cell phones on during the whole flight. Is this a new trend developing?
