Why Do Trends Fade Away So Quickly?
The Battle for Your Brain: Marketers and Consumers in Constant Conflict
You're walking down a busy street in your hometown, one you've traveled countless times. The air hums with life—cars honking, vendors calling out, the chatter of people blending into a familiar rhythm. And in the middle of it all, there's that one voice you've heard since childhood:
"Horek mal 20 taka! Horek mal 20 taka!"
His table is stacked with plastic combs, keychains, cheap toys—all priced at 20 taka each. His voice cuts through the crowd, sharp and insistent. But today, like every other day, you keep walking. You don’t stop. You don’t even turn your head.
Not because you're in a rush. Not because you can't spare 20 taka. But because his call has faded into the background, no different from the cracks in the pavement or the smell of frying snacks.
This tiny moment reveals something big about how our minds work. We're wired to notice what's new and filter out what's familiar. That street seller could shout until his voice gives out, but after years of hearing it, your brain has decided it's not worth your attention.
The same thing happens with trends—the viral obsessions that flood our feeds, take over conversations, and disappear just as fast. Fidget spinners, viral dances, must-have gadgets. One moment, they’re everywhere. The next, they’re gone.
Why? Because our brains crave novelty.
Let’s break down why this happens, how marketers use it to keep us hooked, and how we, as consumers, push back against the noise. Whether you're trying to sell something or just survive in a world full of distractions, there’s a lesson here. And it all starts with that street seller’s shout.
The Psychology of Attention
We don’t ignore the street seller because we don’t care. We ignore him because our brains are built to prioritize the new and tune out the familiar.
This instinct goes way back. Noticing something new used to mean spotting a predator or finding food. Those who paid attention to the unexpected survived. Those who didn't... didn’t.
Today, we’re not dodging saber-toothed cats, but our brains still operate the same way.
A part of our brain called the reticular activating system (RAS) acts as a filter. Think of it like a bouncer at a club, deciding what gets past the velvet rope into your conscious mind.
The first time you heard "Horek mal 20 taka!" as a kid, the RAS let it in. Maybe you even stopped to look. But after hearing it day after day, your brain marked it as background noise and stopped processing it.
Ever stop noticing the ticking of a clock? Or walk past the same billboard every day without reading it? That’s your RAS at work.
This same mechanism explains why trends don’t last. Something new—like a viral song or a must-have gadget—grabs our attention at first. But the more we see it, the less it stands out. Our brains adapt. The excitement fades. And just like that, it’s old news.
The Marketing Perspective
Marketers understand this better than anyone. Their job is to grab our attention before we tune them out.
That street seller might not have a marketing degree, but global brands, startups, and social media influencers all play the same game: make something feel fresh, fast, before people scroll past.
How do they do it? By making everything seem new.
Limited-time offers create urgency.
Flashy ad campaigns trick our brains into paying attention.
Viral stunts ride the wave of novelty before it dies.
Remember fidget spinners? One day, they were nowhere. The next, they were everywhere. Marketers pushed them hard, pitching them as essential for stress relief, focus, even fun. And for a while, we bought in. But then the thrill faded. The trend died. And now? They’re in drawers, forgotten.
Or take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In 2014, your feed was probably flooded with videos of people dumping ice water on their heads. It spread because it was unexpected and new. The ALS Association raised millions. But after a few months, the videos stopped. We’d seen it too many times. The novelty was gone.
This is the marketer’s dilemma: the moment something becomes familiar, it stops working. That’s why ads get louder, products get weirder, and campaigns get bolder. They’re racing against our RAS, trying to stay ahead of our ability to ignore them.
But the faster they run, the quicker we adapt.
The Consumer Perspective
We’re not just passive targets. We’re getting better at filtering out the noise.
Ever notice how you don’t even see banner ads anymore? That’s called banner blindness—our brains automatically skip anything that looks like an ad.
Then there’s ad fatigue—the feeling when you’ve seen the same ad too many times. Instead of ignoring it, you actively dislike it. You hit "skip" the second you can. Or maybe you use an ad blocker and cut out the noise completely.
And it’s not just ads. Trends lose their grip, too. That viral dance everyone was doing last month? Feels stale now, right?
More and more, people are choosing substance over flash. Gimmicks don’t last. That’s why a small coffee shop with great service can keep you coming back, while a hyped-up chain might fade from your radar.
This pushback is reshaping marketing. It’s forcing brands to go beyond attention-grabbing tricks and actually deliver. The trends that stick now have to mean something.
The Battle for Attention
So here’s the big picture:
Marketers push with fresh ideas, viral campaigns, and attention-grabbing hooks.
We push back by ignoring, skipping, or demanding more than just a quick dopamine hit.
That street seller’s shout is just one tiny piece of a much bigger struggle—a constant back-and-forth between those trying to capture our focus and those trying to protect it.
For marketers, it’s a challenge. They can’t just rely on novelty anymore. They need trust, quality, and real connection to hold our attention.
For us, it’s about control. We live in an attention economy where everything competes for our focus. If we’re not careful, we get stuck in an endless cycle of distractions, chasing the next new thing without even knowing why.
Ever feel overwhelmed by too many choices? That’s decision fatigue.
Ever struggle to focus because your phone won’t stop buzzing? That’s the cost of the attention war.
But there’s a way out. Marketers who focus on real value will win in the long run. And we, as consumers, can choose where our attention goes instead of letting it get hijacked.
The Takeaway
Trends fade because our brains are wired to crave the new and ignore the familiar—just like how you walk past that street seller without a second thought.
Marketers fight to stay in front of us. We fight to block them out.
The smart ones understand that novelty isn’t enough. To make something last, it has to matter.
And for us? The power lies in deciding what’s actually worth paying attention to.
Next time you hear that street seller's voice, think about it. Not just what you’re ignoring—but what you’re choosing instead.