Cocooning
Encyclopedia
Cocooning is the name given to the trend that sees individuals socializing less and retreating into their home more. The term was coined in the 1990s by Faith Popcorn
, a trend forecaster and marketing
consultant. Popcorn identified cocooning as a commercially significant trend that would lead to, among other things, stay-at-home electronic shopping. Since Popcorn coined the term, the trend has continued. The creation of the internet
, home entertainment technology, advances in communication technology (cellphones, PDA
s, and smartphones) which allow "work-at-home" options, and demographic changes have made cocooning an increasingly attractive option.
was critical of the term as early as 1994. The first incarnation of the web site for his Garage Logic
radio show noted that although some insects engaged in cocooning, it was "not practiced by humans." A chapter in the book Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
has a character named Lady Baglady who produces a short story
called 'Slumming' in which cocooning is mentioned as an ill of modern society.
Faith Popcorn
Faith Popcorn, , is a futurist, author and founder and CEO of marketing consulting firm BrainReserve. Prior to founding her consultancy, Popcorn was an advertising agency creative director. She is a graduate of New York University and New York’s High School of Performing Arts...
, a trend forecaster and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
consultant. Popcorn identified cocooning as a commercially significant trend that would lead to, among other things, stay-at-home electronic shopping. Since Popcorn coined the term, the trend has continued. The creation of the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, home entertainment technology, advances in communication technology (cellphones, PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
s, and smartphones) which allow "work-at-home" options, and demographic changes have made cocooning an increasingly attractive option.
Critiques
William A. Sherden in The Fortune Sellers: The Big Business of Buying and Selling Predictions (ISBN 0-471-35844-4) takes a skeptical view of Popcorn's ideas about cocooning, among other things, and concludes she was simply wrong on several key issues. Columnist Joe SoucherayJoe Soucheray
Joe Soucheray is a radio talk-show host syndicated throughout the American Midwest on the Hubbard Radio Network. He broadcasts his show Garage Logic from KSTP 1500 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It currently airs from 4 p.m to 6 p.m. CST Monday through Friday. His other show, Sports Talk , airs from...
was critical of the term as early as 1994. The first incarnation of the web site for his Garage Logic
Garage Logic
Garage Logic, commonly referred to as simply GL, is the name of a fictional city. It is the creation of Saint Paul Pioneer Press columnist, novelist, and radio talk show host Joe Soucheray, and is the basis for his syndicated broadcast of the same name...
radio show noted that although some insects engaged in cocooning, it was "not practiced by humans." A chapter in the book Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk
Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter...
has a character named Lady Baglady who produces a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
called 'Slumming' in which cocooning is mentioned as an ill of modern society.
External links
- People cocooning more, socializing less at home University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
2004-06-23 - Taking advantage of trends ezinearticles.com