The search for peace and solitude gets ever trickier, says David Crosbie

I’ll admit it’s not often that I see links between my hometown and the latest global consumer trends, but I find one aspect of that sleepy corner of rural Scotland to be quite striking. The Galloway Forest Park in Dumfries & Galloway is recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as one of the best places for stargazing in the world. Due to its remoteness and lack of proximity to conurbations, it is one of the few places in the UK not to be affected in some way by light pollution, which renders many stars difficult to see or invisible.

To me, learning of the existence of such a place served to underline the fact that there are fewer and fewer places in the world that are completely untouched by human development, and consequently it becomes progressively more difficult for us to really ‘get away from it all’ – something we know from our Roper Reports Worldwide study is important to many of us. Many global consumers admit that they often feel stressed, and when asked what they do to give themselves a treat, they are most likely to say they simply take time for themselves.

Another much discussed symptom of modern life is information or sensory overload. The spread of portable electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, coupled with the growth of social networking means that we have the ability to stay ‘connected’ like never before, and we are bombarded by ever increasing volumes of information in the form of text, images and data. Not surprisingly, many sources, including our own study, have identified a backlash against the overwhelming tide of information, with 34% of global consumers telling us that they have cut back on the amount of time they spend on social networking sites as it takes too much time and effort, for example.

We feel this is a symptom of a wider trend among consumers, most notably those in developed markets, who wish to feel they are in control of their busy lives and the information they receive, rather than the other way around. This necessitates rationalisation, curation and any number of coping strategies, including giving ourselves some time out and allowing our senses a chance to recover. These strategies could range from turning off the BlackBerry at a set time each night through to heading to the wilds of Scotland where not even the glow from the screen of an iPhone will break the gloom.

This trend, which we call Streamlining, is just one of the 12 global consumer trends in our brand new TrendKey framework, soon to be launched. For further information on this, click here.

By Diane Crispell

Have you ever noticed that when people use the word “simple,” they often mean the opposite? The phrase “simple assembly” on product instructions is practically a synonym for “complicated beyond belief.” A while back, I came across a purportedly simple recipe for tomato soup that was based largely on using a can of tomato sauce, to which one needed to add a bunch of other ingredients.

I felt that the whole concept was flawed. It’s not that I object to using prepared ingredients in a homemade dish – it was the use of the word “simple” that threw me. If I wanted simple, I’d open a can of tomato soup and be done with it. If I wanted homemade, I’d start with fresh tomatoes, and simplicity wouldn’t enter the picture.

I understand that the intent was to make the reader feel as if they were doing something loving and healthy for their family without scaring them off. It’s a nice idea. There is something very appealing about the notion of simplicity, especially when people aren’t too happy with the way things are. No wonder it keeps cropping up. “In place of materialism, many Americans are embracing simpler pleasures and homier values. They’ve been thinking hard about what really matters in their lives, and they’ve decided to make some changes…. The pursuit of a simpler life with deeper meaning is a major shift in America’s private agenda.” Sounds like a mantra for today, doesn’t it? It’s from a 1991 TIME article.  

But frankly, to me, there is no “simple” about cooking from scratch or building a bookcase or sewing clothes, and it makes me feel inadequate when I don’t feel up to tackling these “simple” tasks.  

I finally figured out what the disconnect is. “Simple” has two key meanings – “easy” and “plain.” These are not the same thing by a long shot. Any designer can tell you that “simple,” as in unadorned or clean, is not easy to achieve. Any number of books and web sites dedicated to the so-called “simple life” make it clear that living in a down-to-earth and unpretentious way is a lot of work.  

It turns out that simplicity is not top of mind for consumers anyhow. It falls smack dab in the middle of Americans’ personal values spectrum, ranking 28 out of 54 “guiding principles” in their lives, according to the 2009 GfK Roper Reports®  Worldwide survey. (This is true globally, too.)  

This suggests that “simple” does not need to be slathered all over everything but used judiciously and clearly. If you mean easy, say easy. But if you mean doing things the old-fashioned way, having less stuff, saving time, or being more organized, just say so. If you say simple, you run the risk of irritating people whose definition doesn’t match yours.  

It’s also important to know your audience. A book titled Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple might sound like an oxymoron to most of us, but reader reviews on amazon.com suggest that for medical students, it lives up to its name.  

I like the way Back to Basics Toys puts it: “Committed to being your best and most-trusted source for classic and quality playthings with excellent craftsmanship and value.” Nothing about simplicity. We bought a balance board from them a few years ago, which my son uses while juggling – no simple task. Of course, there was our neighbor who, when he saw it, thought we were silly for paying for something that would be “simple” to make. For him maybe, but for us, it was a whole lot easier to buy.

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