Gerald Celente’s TRENDSJOURNAL.

COM | FORECASTING WORLDWIDE SINCE 1980 | DECEMBER 2018

HISTORY BEFORE IT HAPPENS ®

2019
Top
Trends
PECIAL REPORT
S
 IN THIS ISSUE
HISTORY BEFORE
IT HAPPENS ®

Top Trends 2019

®

Editor and Publisher

Gerald Celente
Global forecaster Gerald Celente has released his Top Trends for 2019, offering detailed,
Executive Editor
Derek Osenenko essential predictions that will touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives and reach across the
Contributing Editors globe, helping the “aware and the awake” to see “History Before It Happens®.”
Richard Fusco
Bennett Daviss More than just descriptions of 10 powerful trends what will occur in the year
Office Manager ahead, these forecasts underscore the risks and the many opportunities that lie
Bryan Boova ahead. They go beyond headline news to deliver a portrait of what will change
Illustrations and how as 2019 unfolds.
Anthony Freda The Top Trends for 2019 are a road map of the future, pinpointing the critical
Design turns and detours ahead… providing guidance to Prepare, Prosper and Prevail
Creative Circle in the year ahead you won’t get from any other source.
Media Solutions, In 2018, from declining equity markets and economies globally, to the diving
East Providence, RI value of cryptocurrencies, to the rising number of explosive geopolitical trends
threatening social unrest, to powerful social trends that will dramatically alter
Gerald Celente the status quo for many and much more, the foundation has been set for a wild
All rights reserved. For permission
ride in 2019.
to reproduce or translate material
from The Trends Journal®, con- Know what to expect. Be prepared. Read our Top Trends for 2019.
tact The Trends Research Institute.
The Trends Journal (ISSN 1065-
2094) is published monthly by
The Trends Research Institute.
©2018. Globalnomics, Trends
2019 TOP TRENDS SPECIAL REPORT
Journal, Trend Alert, Trends in The
News, History Before it Happens
and Presidential Reality Show • Economic 9/11 2 • Ready to Explode 14
are registered trademarks of the
Trends Research Institute. • Human Waves 2019 5 • Get High, Get Healthy 17
The Trends Research Institute
P.O. Box 3476 • America: Puritan 2.0 7 • Blessed are the Geeks 20
Kingston, NY 12402
845 331-3500
• Censorship 2019 10 • Gen Z=Gen Zero 22
www.trendsresearch.com

• Bye, Bye Boomers 12 • Dying Brands 24

TRENDING 26
Longevity New sight Robots talk New energy Fat gene Socially
science in Manufactured to robots vehicles Is obesity minded
a worm replacement Wifi without Electric cars genetic? Younger
eyes on the way electronics could be their investors are
Breakthroughs
own batteries banking on
in life extension
social causes

THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

 TOP TRENDS 2019

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Economic 9/11
On September 19, two days before U.S. equity markets hit new highs, we alerted
Trends Journal subscribers to prepare for an “Economic 9/11.”
The Central Bankers, the economic terrorists who we had forecast in November 2016, it would push
have, by their policies, engineered every boom bust currencies lower, weaken economies and sink equity
cycle over the past 100 years, would strike again. markets across the globe. And that is precisely what
Having artificially pumped up the global economy has occurred.
with negative/zero interest rates and Quantitative In just a few weeks after making our “Economic
Easing monetary methadone following the Panic of 9/11 forecast,” the Nasdaq slumped 9 percent, its big-
’08, the $250 trillion global debt bomb they created is gest drop since the Panic of ’08, and the S&P 500 lost
ready to explode. 7 percent, its worst month since September 2011.
In fact, last December, in one of our Top Trends for As we go to press, both indexes are in correction
2018, “Market Shock, Mass Murder,” we warned that territory, down over 10 percent. And the Dow, which
rising U.S. interest rates and a strengthening dollar at one point was up more than 8 percent for 2018, has
would not only signal the end of the Trump Rally erased its gains for the year and also is in correction

2 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

top trends 2019
Markets on monetary territory, while the small cap stocks entered bear mar-
methodone. ket territory, with Russell 2000 benchmark down 20
Anthony Freda
percent from its August high.
And on the global scale, with much of the world’s
$250 trillion debt dollar based, as the dollar grows
stronger and global currencies get weaker, the cost
burden of servicing that debt grows heavier.
Also as forecast, economies worldwide are slowing,
stagnating and/or falling into recession.
In China, the world’s second largest economy, third
quarter GDP growth has slowed to Panic of ‘08 levels,
auto sales are on track for their first annual sales de-
cline since the 1990s, and retail sales grew in Novem-
ber at their slowest pace in 15 years.
Reflecting the economic pain, the Shanghai Com-
With some $250 trillion in global debt, much of it dollar based,
as the dollar grows stronger and global currencies get weaker,
the cost burden of servicing that debt grows heavier.
Subsequently, as forecast, economies worldwide are slowing,
stagnating and/or falling into recession.
3 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
posite Index is down over 25 percent and keeps fall-
ing. Overall, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has plunged
into bear territory, losing over $5 trillion this year.
Japan, with its Gross Domestic Product falling at an
annualized pace of 2.5 percent in 3 months through
September, is also in economic decline despite its
central bank’s bond buying spree and negative in-
terest rate cheap money injections. In fact, Bank of
Japan’s total holdings hit $4.9 trillion, which is bigger
than the country’s annual GDP.
And in Europe, despite its central bank injecting
some $4 trillion in Quantitative Easing monetary
meth for almost four years to pump up the economy
(which is now ending), its third quarter GDP growth
of .02 percent was the weakest in four years.
On the market front, the DAX index of 30 com-
panies is in bear territory, plunging over 20 percent
from its January high, while the FTSE 100 is down 10
percent, its worst performance since the peak of the
2012 eurozone crisis.
On the Emerging Market front, the MSCI Emerg-
ing Market stock index has tumbled 25 percent from
its January peak.
And while the United States’ relatively strong GDP
and employment numbers suggest a healthy econ-
omy, the total debt incurred by Americans hit an-
other record in the last quarter rising to $13.5 trillion.
And with total household debt now $837 billion
higher than its 2008 peak, when the last recession
hit, America, like the rest of world, cannot take
higher interest rates.
Further, U.S. durable goods orders fell 4.4 percent
in October, the largest decline in 15 months, and the
third successive month of decline.
And mortgage refinance applications hit an 18-year
low in the U.S. this November. Since the Federal Re-
serve raised rates a mere .25 basis points in Septem-
ber, mortgage applications have steadily declined.
With rates at their highest point in eight years for
mortgage refinances, volume is down a whopping
40 percent since a year ago. Subsequently, shares of
homebuilders stocks have slumped nearly 30 percent.
top trends 2019
Student loan delinquencies are up, new car loan
applications are down, as are credit card applica-
tions… virtually every financial indicator related to
credit availability and affordability, is down. As we
have consistently demonstrated, based on the facts
and our daily trend-tracking analysis, the world, in-
cluding the U.S., cannot taker higher interest rates.
In India, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
war of words for the Reserve Bank of India not to
raise interest rates, third quarter Gross Domestic
Product fell to 7.1 percent from 8.2 percent in the
second quarter.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Since the beginning of this year,
and now at the end year, following Donald Trump’s and
Xi Jinping discussions at the December G-20 conference,
TREND FORECAST
In 2019, “Economic 9/11” is poised to strike and
cause equity and market meltdowns worldwide.
What can pause the crash? At this juncture, the
same measures that were taken that have artifi-
cially pumped up stock and real estate markets to
soaring heights following the Panic of ’08: Cheap
Money. More rounds of lowering interest rates
and more trillions of Quantitative Easing.
Indeed, it was not basic economic fundamentals
that put the world on the path of recovery follow-
ing the Great Recession. It was the central banks
injecting heavy doses of monetary methadone to
4 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
newyorkfed.org
the mainstream media continually attributes equity
market volatility and global economic slowdowns to
U.S.-China trade wars and tariffs.
In fact, there is no trade war and “Tariff Man” Trump’s
imposed tariffs only account for 0.7 percent of China’s
GDP, while the U.S. trade deficit widened for the fifth
straight month in October, with the deficit now bigger
than it has been in 10 years.
Yet, for example, as China’s economy slows to an ex-
pected 6.3 percent in 2019, its real estate market cools,
luxury goods purchases fall, auto sales plunge 13 percent
in October and the Chinese stock market index slumps
deep into bear territory, the business media still blames
the declines on trade tensions with Washington rather
than basic economic fundamentals.
boost failing economies and financial markets.
Yet this time, considering the $250 trillion mas-
sive debt load weighing down the global economy,
another monetary drug fix will only push markets
up temporarily before they OD.
Therefore, as the economic health of these
money-drugged induced economies worsens,
demand for gold, the ultimate safe-haven asset
will increase. We maintain our forecast that gold
prices’ bottom range is around $1,200 per ounce
and prices will not spike until gold solidifies above
$1,450 per ounce.
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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Syrian refugees flee their war-torn country.
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Human Waves 2019

Across the continents, millions of desperate people are fleeing their homelands, risking
their lives and those of their loved ones in hopes of finding a promising future.
While it is headline news today, particularly in corruption and high crime rates, both the press and
the United States with the human caravan leaving politicians ignore the Coup d’état regime changes
Central America and President Trump’s vow to not and covert American influence in Central America
let them enter the United States, the Human Wave that has destabilized many countries in the region.
trend has been long in the making and one that the Also, virtually absent in media coverage are the
Trends Research Institute and Gerald Celente have American-led wars against Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria,
been tracking and forecasting for over two decades. Libya, etc., which have destroyed nations, killed mil-
Yet, whether in the U.S. or the millions of migrants lions and displaced tens of millions.
and refugees escaping the Middle East and Africa And as with Libya, a war launched by Nobel Peace
flooding into Europe, the manner in which this trend prize winner U.S. President Barack Obama, along
is being reported by the media often omits the causes with Prime Minister David Cameron of the U.K. and
of the Great Migration. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, long forgotten
For example, while they note the abject poverty, are both the warning and the consequences of their

5 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

top trends 2019
violent acts of mass destruction that sunk Libya into
chaos and a launch pad for migration:
“Now listen, you people of NATO,” wrote Muam-
mar Gadhafi a few months before he was killed in
2011. “You’re bombing a wall which stood in the
way of African migration to Europe, and in the
way of Al-Qaeda terrorists. This wall was Libya.
You’re breaking it. You’re idiots, and you will burn
in Hell for thousands of migrants from Africa and
for supporting Al-Qaeda. It will be so. I never lie.
And I do not lie now.”
Subsequently, as reported in our Spring, 2011
Trends Journal, the “idiots” paid the consequences:
“In March 2011, the first wave of the human tsu-
nami washed ashore. Tens of thousands of desper-
ate refugees fleeing North Africa and the Middle
East made landfall in the nearest Italian port. By
mid-April, the UN reported that more than a half-
million people had fled Libya in the preceding two
months, and as Qaddafi warned, it worsened. “
Refugees have gathered in Aristotelous Square in Syrian Thessaloniki, Greece, waiting to be formally arrested and gain temporary
residence in the European Union country.
6 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
SAUDI SAVAGERY
And the three-year-old civil war against Houthi
rebels in Yemen, being carried out by Saudi Arabia,
and its coalition of the killing, including the U. S., the
United Arab Emirates, the U.K., Canada, France and
other nations, has resulted in the deaths of as many
as 56,000 innocent civilians from direct bombings
and more than 80,000 from famine resulting from
the war.
As millions seek refuge away from the killing, dis-
ease and starvation in Yemen, the United Nations
declared it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Starving children, families suffering cholera and
other diseases spreading by the day throughout the
region … Yemen is a destroyed nation with a massive
homeless population seeking shelter and safety.
In 2019, as millions of refugees continue to flee
war-torn, violent, politically- and economically-op-
pressed countries seeking safety, they will be greeted
by “Not Welcome Here” signs by the countries they
wish to enter.
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top trends 2019
And in the two decades since Celente made his Five-O
forecast, another 1.6 billion people were added to the
planet … and ultimately the workforce.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Throughout Central America, hundreds of thou-
sands of migrants are fleeing their economically
depressed countries that are ruled and ruined by cor-
rupt, dysfunctional governments, to seek safety and
job opportunities.
In Venezuela, once one of the most prosperous na-
tions of Latin America, but now suffering deep eco-
nomic depression, violence and social degradation,
has some 3,000 citizens fleeing the country every
day. And the U. N. estimates 2 million Venezuelans
will emigrate in 2019.
Overall, across the globe, according to the Interna- Shutterstock

tional Rescue Committee there are over 20 million Hundreds of immigrants are waiting at the border
between Greece and FYROM waiting for the right
refugees, with the majority fleeing the Middle East, time to continue their journey from unguarded
Africa and South America. passages.

MORE PEOPLE THAN JOBS
Among the socioeconomic dynamics driving the
Human Wave crisis is the Five-O Formula identified
by global trend forecaster Gerald Celente 20 years
ago.
In forecasting the macro trends that will shape the
21st century economy, he cited a new set of equa-
tions defined by market forces that did not exist in
the 20th. Celente defined those factors as:
Overproduction—there are more products and
services than can be consumed.
Overcapacity— there is a glut of advanced fa-
cilities and excess service capabilities to supply the
world market place with more than can be con-
sumed.
Open Markets—a borderless new millennial mar-
ketplace provides products and services free from
traditional economic channels.
Overpopulation— companies are now positioned
to exploit a 6-billion-plus labor pool without geo-
graphic constraints.
Online—a planet full of browsers will enable and
drive a universal economic culture of cheap product
and service production supported by cheap labor
expenses.
EXPLODING POPULATION
At the start of the last century, the world’s popula-
tion was 1.6 billion. Today, the world’s population
is 7.6 billion. And in the two decades since Celente
made his Five-O forecast, another 1.6 billion people
were added to the planet … and ultimately the work-
force.
Across the globe, beyond the wars, violence and
corruption, even in the most civilized countries, the
story is the same: More workers in the labor forces
than jobs available. This is one of the major factors
driving the massive migrant trend: People fleeing
their countries looking for work. And, as populations
continue to increase, there will be a greater supply of
workers than the demand for jobs, thus adding fur-
ther downward pressure on wages.
In the new world of high-tech innovations such as
robotics, Artificial Intelligence, online retail and ser-
vices, etc., from top to bottom, jobs will be replaced
and the pay scale will continue to be lowered.   TJ  
TREND FORECAST
As economies decline and personal incomes
drop, such as in France, which is experiencing
its most volatile social uprising since the 1960s,
anti-immigration/anti-establishment movements
will escalate as populist parties defeat entrenched
political parties.

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more conservative social values in recent years.
Missamerica.org
The Miss America pageant is one of many organizations to start adopting

America:
Puritan 2.0
God Bless America. The land of the politically correct.
A nation at constant war. And, since it launched
the War on Terror in 2001, has spent $6 trillion to kill
and maim millions of innocent civilians and destroy
entire nations.
Yes, politically correct America! So correct that not
one politician running for national office in the 2018
midterm elections uttered a word about such a trivial
issue as America’s endless murderous, costly wars.
There were much more important issues to ad-
dress. Instead it was an election mostly framed on
identity politics issues. And prominent among them
8 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
is the five-letter hashtag marking the rapid rise of the
#Metoo movement that went viral in 2017.
Alleged sexual predator Harvey Weinstein and Bill
Cosby, who was convicted of three counts of sexual
assault, were indeed the trigger points to flesh out
countless allegations and examples of sexual harass-
ment, abuse and assault.
From Hollywood, to the halls of government, to
corporate offices and across the media landscape,
resignations, firings and public debasing took down
the men who abused their power to abuse women.
top trends 2019
But now, despite the validity of many claims and
the abhorrent violations committed by many men, a
one-size fits-all mindset has generalized personal ex-
periences; bosses, co-workers or the powerful in suits
become victims based on unsubstantiated allegations
that fuel an environment of fear and paranoia:
• A male college professor refuses to meet with any
of his female students in private, only with some
third-party, college employee present.
• A seasoned male lawyer refuses to mentor a fe-
male law student intern unless she’s paired with a Welcome to “Puritan America.”
male intern. The MeToo movement is only the latest in a series
of identity issues that have redirected the American
• A financial consultant taking a cross-country
psyche from one of “make love not war,” to “make
business trip with a female co-worker asks that
war, not love.”
they sit apart on the flight.
Fulfilling its “make war” passion, in the U.S.
And this past July, former U.S. President Barack midterm elections, while no peace candidate was
Obama, speaking to students at the African Leader- championed into office, eleven military-intelligence
ship Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa told Democratic candidates won House seats.
them, “Every day I read the newspaper and just think
like ‘Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys? What’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE
wrong with us? We’re violent, we’re bullying … Men In the uptight America, at every level of discourse,
are getting on my nerves.” freedom of expression can no longer be freely ex-
With an arrogant, single about-face breath, Obama pressed. George Washington warned: “If freedom of
who, when as President in 2013 was denounced by speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may
feminists for complimenting the physical beauty of be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Kamala Harris shortly after lauding her professional Welcome to the slaughterhouse. As evidenced by
achievements, took a cheap politically correct shot by the censorship trends imposed upon those consid-
denouncing the entire male gender as “violent” and ered politically incorrect by the social media mo-
“bullying.” nopolies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter who

Obama speaking in
Johannesburg, SA.
obama.org

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top trends 2019
banish all voices and movements from left to right
that do not adhere to their divine belief systems...
what George Washington had warned is now a living
reality.
What has become standard practice with America
and Europe’s great trading partner, Communist
China, in terms of government control of free speech
across media platforms, is being embraced by western
“Democracies.” (See, “Censored: A vicious trend to gag
independent media,” Trends Journal, October 2018).
SEX DOESN’T SELL
As the political, cultural and social divides sharpen,
so too does intolerance toward what is perceived as
being sexist or otherwise socially inappropriate:
"Sex Is No Longer Selling for Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret was once the trend setter in
the world of women’s undergarments ... Now the
brand selling sexiness – or at least, a particular vi-
sion of sexiness – has lost its appeal."
– The Wall Street Journal, 19 November 2018.
From undergarments to outer garments, even
beauty contests don’t want women to wear that sexy
“itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini.”
In recent years both the Miss World and Miss
America pageants eliminated their bathing suit com-
petitions. After being accused of anti-feminist, the
Miss America contest will now focus on the woman’s
mind rather than body.
Having now become more rigid in its political
correctness, the political and cultural divide in the
United States has added new, powerful dimensions
TREND FORECAST
Welcome to Puritan America. Watch what you say, how you say it, where
you say it, when you say it and who you say it to. And most importantly,
what you think.
Major issues affecting society from the nations’ dysfunctional govern-
ments, rotted infrastructures, to the chemical laden poisonous water that
will kill you if you drink it, air you can’t breathe, to dirty deals that politi-
cians deal … are just minor matters when compared to the identity politics
issues.
A nation dying of both illegal and legal drug abuse. A nation whose
educational standards steadily fall when compared to other countries. A
nation whose population’s health and wealth rapidly decline, are secondary
to identity politics issues.
The unconscious of America is projecting its guilt over its murderous,
illegal wars, deteriorating living standards, a melting middle class and a
society that supports lying, corrupt political leaders by imposing Puritan
standards to wash away the sins it won’t face or atone.
10 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
Mel Brooks, just one of
the many comedians
warning that the
move toward political
correctness is killing
comedy.
Wikipedia
beyond the gender divide, splitting, dismantling and
upending nearly every aspect of American life, from
home, to school, to business, to media and entertain-
ment.
On the entertainment front, proper comedy must
be pristine clean, Puritan pure and politically correct.
Veteran comedian Mel Brooks said “PC culture”
that prohibits offensive language or actions, par-
ticularly as it refers to race, creed or gender is killing
comedy. “We have become stupidly politically cor-
rect, which is the death of comedy. Comedy has to
walk a thin line, take risks,” said Brooks.
Both Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock announced
they will not play colleges citing overly politically cor-
rect attitude of college audiences.
Seinfeld says “I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t
go near colleges. They’re so PC.” He says teens and
college-aged kids don’t understand what it means to
throw around certain politically-correct terms. “They
just want to use these words: ‘That’s racist;’ ‘That’s
sexist;’ ‘That’s prejudice,’” he said. “They don’t know
what the hell they’re talking about.”
Rock said he stopped doing shows at colleges
because they were “too conservative.” “Not in their
political views,” Rock clarified. “But in their social
views and their willingness not to offend anybody.
You can’t even be offensive on your way to being in-
offensive.”
Verifying Seinfeld's and Rock's take on today's col-
lege mentality, in December, former "SNL" writer
Ninesh Patel, who was invited to perform at Co-
lumbia University's culture SHOCK event, had his
microphone cut off for "inappropriate" remarks that
being "gay cannot be a choice because no one looks
in the mirror and thinks this black thing is too easy;
let me just add another thing to it."
And this November, it was announced that
comedy would be banned at the White House Cor-
respondents’ Dinner. The hosting organization de-
creed that telling jokes at its annual black-tie event
was prohibited. Instead, the main act will be an his-
torian speaking on the First Amendment.     TJ  
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Censorship 2019
Freedom of speech? Freedom of Expression? Forget about it! From the United States
to China, from New Zealand to Nepal, Censorship is a megatrend.
For well over a year, social media giants and gov- trend of free speech and an assault on First Amend-
ernments have been silencing voices that challenge ment rights barely made the headline news until
establishment agendas. media giants Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Ins-
For example, last September, the World Socialist tagram unplugged the Alex Jones show and his IN-
Web Site (WSWS.org) accused Google of censoring FOWARS media operation during the summer.
left-wing, anti-war and socialist web sites, stating However, despite claims such censorship mea-
“Stop the censorship of the Internet! Stop the politi- sures were targeting “extremists” and “conspiracy
cal blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site!” theorists,” as we have detailed, America, like many
Earlier this year, the European Commission gave nations has been silencing voices that challenge es-
Google, Facebook and Twitter, three months to tablishment agendas. (See "Media Censorship Trend
demonstrate that they were removing “extremist” to Escalate," Trends Journal, September 2018)
content more rapidly, or face legislation forcing them Helping to lead the censorship charge, Facebook,
to do so. has undertaken a massive purge of watchdog, politi-
But the extent of the ongoing censorship mega- cal, opinion-driven and alternative media accounts

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top trends 2019
The monopolists that dominate the social media that the
world uses and depends on, have made it clear – in both
written statements and at government hearings – that
they will decide what’s best for you.
Facebook's Mark
Zuckerberg speaking
at the F8 developers
conference in the
wake of the Cambridge
Analytics fiasco.
Wikipedia
for “inauthentic behavior” content.
Just weeks before the November midterm elections
in the United States, Facebook, without warning and
with only scant, flimsy explanations, unplugged 800
accounts because, they alleged, these accounts were
“working to mislead others about who they are, and
what they are doing.”
But the vast majority of the pages were indepen-
dent media platforms. Some advocated for legal
marijuana, others promoted political candidates, still
others were political or social commentary sites and
others were watchdog sites, monitoring police vio-
lence or government overspending.
One characteristic of the Censorship 2019 trend
is the immediacy in which platforms are unplugged
and the lack of accountability for why these sites are
wiped away, other than vague references to over gen-
eralized and highly objective policy rules.
TREND FORECAST
Governments across the globe, regardless of what
political doctrine they profess, in collusion with
social media giants, will accelerate the Censorship
2019 trend.
While Google, Facebook and Twitter will
dominate market share for the foreseeable future,
market gaps will widen. They’re ready to be filled
by nimble, trustworthy First Amendment-driven
OnTrendpreneurs® having 2020 foresight to host
12 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
Another characteristic of the trend is that the so-
cial media police state shows no particular political
or content leanings in its ongoing purge. Lean left
or right, if you express unconventional viewpoints
or contradict, challenge or circumvent the establish-
ment, the plug could be pulled.
In the United States, which promotes the free
speech myth while stifling real free speech (as evi-
denced by the recent overt censorship trends by the
tech giants), just five mega-corporations monopolize
over 90 percent of the broadcast media. They control
the message and champion their own messengers.
The monopolists that dominate the social media
that the world uses and depends on, have made it
clear – in both written statements and at government
hearings – that they will decide what’s best for you.
They determine what’s credible and what isn’t. They
will tell you what content you can see, hear and share.
These tech giants have pledged their allegiance to
governments to aggressively and relentlessly silence
what they deem are the “bad actors” for violating
their self-proclaimed, ever-changing policies.
What policies? Who makes these decisions? What
about Freedom of Speech? Not in Amerika. The Fed-
eral Government has decided not to intervene and
provide oversight of the censorship wave spreading
across social media.
Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) Noah Phil-
lips has said he would not use the agency’s antitrust
authority to address Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s
censorship practices.   TJ
sites to circumvent the government/media mo-
nopolies.
Beyond the issues of censorship, the Internet
has and will serve as the launch pad for major
populist revolutions against established political
parties, multi-nationals and globalist interests.
New web sites and hosting companies “of the
people, by the people and for the people” will gain
healthy market share.
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A record-setting number of seniors over 70 are still working.
Shutterstock

Bye, Bye Boomers

The Baby Boomer Generation are babies no more! From Davy Crockett and Leave it to
Beaver, to Dick Clark, the Beatles and Motown, they are now heading to Notown.
Broke, busted, overweight, how many will live DOWN AND OUT
with their children, die at home alone or end up as Across the globe, the negative financial difficulties
inmates in nursing homes? many boomers are now facing have steadily evolved
How many of the boomers will live long healthy, since the Panic of ’08. When the Great Recession hit,
wealthy and wise lives? large numbers of boomers lost their homes, their
While The Bye Bye Boomer trend shines a bright savings and many were laid off prematurely from
light on the dismal state many seniors find them- their life-long careers … the sustained downward
selves in… broke, sick, depressed and dependent, for trending is intensifying and expanding well beyond
those that accentuate the positive and reverse the personal finances to myriad quality of life issues.
negatives – although the end is growing near and As with all age groups there are several health and
there are always the wild cards of ups and downs that wealth layers. For Baby Boomers, those born be-
can disrupt the best laid plans – the on-trend boom- tween 1946 and 1964, who once helped shape popu-
ers will pass on in peace and harmony. lar culture, societal norms and advance social change,

13 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

top trends 2019
Longevity and fitness
centers tailored to
boomers are on the rise.
Shutterstock
while many are living well in over 55 plus-senior
communities – having retired with pensions, benefits
and investments – many more are facing tough, and
often impossible, choices. They’re grappling with
financial, health, emotional and personal hardships
unimagined in their idealistic youth.
Most notable, U.S. studies show that only about
half of boomers entering retirement age have any
savings at all and three quarters of retirees are under-
funded, with not enough money to make ends meet.
Unlike their parents’ generation, many of whom
retired at around 65 years of age or earlier, because
so many boomers are cash strapped, today’s seniors
have to keep working. In the U.S., more than 9 mil-
lion senior citizens over the age of 70 are in the work
force, the vast majority of them in service jobs.
In fact, 23 percent of men and about 15 percent of
women ages 65 and older are still in the labor force,
and these levels are projected to rise to 27 percent
and 20 percent respectively by 2020.
Moreover, many others in that age group are not
able to work because a majority of available positions
require some level of physical ability seniors can’t at-
tain…like standing on their feet for hours as cashiers,
TREND FORECAST
The world is not prepared for the impact the Bye, Bye Boomers trend is
about to unleash.
The golden years for millions of seniors in 2019 will be marked more by
how to survive rather than how to thrive. As noted, the data in virtually
every area that determines quality of life for seniors is negative and trend-
ing more negative.
And the institutions and legacy support systems designed to help alleviate
the impact of these trends is woefully inadequate.
Bye Bye Boomer is a macro, powerful trend. How seniors will house, feed
and heal themselves are the three categories that demand creative, broad
thinking.
From shared living options, such as co-housing, which is a newly emerg-
ing trend, to affordable, effective whole health healing alternatives that can
improve the lifestyle of Golden Agers, there are numerous golden opportu-
nities for Ontrendpreneurs®.
14 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
fast food workers and housekeeping attendants.
Unable to supplement their income, bankruptcy
rates among seniors are skyrocketing, growing at a
rate that outpaces by at least two-to-one every other
age group. More than 100,000 of the 800,000 an-
nual bankruptcy filings are from households headed
by seniors in the U.S.
DOING MORE WITH LESS
A study by Pew Research Center found that 52
percent of U.S. citizens in their 60s are either finan-
cially supporting a parent or being supported by their
offspring.
These financial conditions have generated strong
growth in the co-habitation trend, in which some 32
percent of all adults who share households are over
the age of 70. Beyond just two boomers sharing a
house or apartment, we forecast shared household
arrangements in which numerous boomers will be
living under one roof: Boarding Houses 2.0.
UNHEALTHY BODY MEANS UNHEALTHY FINANCES
Adding to the dismal plight of many Boomers is
the dawn of an unprecedented era of chronic poor
health. Among the conditions that are rising at his-
toric rates are: diabetes, heart failure, cancer, circula-
tory conditions, kidney and liver diseases and related
illnesses.
Today, more than 25 percent of Americans over
the age of 65 have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Astoundingly, some 70 percent of boomers are over-
weight, and nearly 40 percent are clinically obese.
As a result, they will be far more dependent on
others and government subsidies to survive. In fact,
in the U.S., public health care expenses are expected
to rise nearly six percent this year as a direct result
of the increased spending necessary to cover the
escalating number of boomers enrolling in Medicare
health insurance programs.
DEAF, BLIND AND OUT OF THEIR MIND
Latest estimates project that 1 in 10 people older
than 65 have developed features of Alzheimer’s
disease and other forms of dementia. This is a pro-
gressive, irreversible, non-curable disease that will
continue to worsen despite the best medical care.
And as their condition declines, they will need
greater supervision and assistance. Dementia
disorders will further tax already overburdened
health care systems worldwide, most of which are
ill equipped to provide medical care for these pa-
tients.   TJ
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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AL REPORT
metropolis, obesity is everywhere.
Shutterstock
The virtually ubiquitous site, whether it be in a small town or bustling

Ready to Explode
It’s a rapidly growing American trend that is spreading across the globe: An obesity
epidemic that is spawning costly and devastating health, social, cultural and economic
conditions that will worsen in 2019 and beyond.
Despite what is being promoted on the surface as the food sold in retail channels. Indeed, a walk
a growing, promising healthy food movement, in through any major supermarket chain store shows
America, and in many other countries, more people how small the organic sections are and how limited
are becoming addicted to fast, processed food, laden the scope of product compared to the low quality,
with salt, sugar and unpronounceable chemicals highly processed, non-organic aisles that dominate. 
with devastating results to health than those going On the fast food front, an industry that had only
all natural. $6 billion in revenue in 1970 and surged to over $200
While organic movements have grown substan- billion in 2017, while major chains promise fresher
tially over the last two decades, and the media keeps ingredients with less additives and more vegetables,
blasting how American’s food tastes have changed, for the most part, Americans keep gobbling down
organic in 2017 accounted for only 5.5 percent of burgers, fries and other fast food junk.
15 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
 top trends 2019
World map of male And it shows. Obesity is becoming an expected
obesity, 2016. norm. From middle America to the military ranks,
Wikipedia
coping not only with the physical and health effects
of obesity but its emotional, societal and psychologi-
cal effects and their ramifications are forming the
Ready To Explode trend which is exploding into a
public health emergency.
DYING YOUNGER
For example, in 2016, the latest year for which of-
ficial data is available, U.S. ranked 43rd among 195 na-
tions with an average lifespan of 78.7 years. By 2040,
Americans are forecast to only live 1.1 more years to
79.8, while dropping 21 spots in the global ranking to
64th, as other nations make faster gains, according to
recently released data from the Institute for Health
Metrics and Evaluation. The drop in the U.S. is the
most for high-income countries.
Indeed, life expectancy in the U.S. is expected to be
only slightly better than that of Bangladesh, a country
with considerably lower income. Yet, Bangladesh will
have made a significant stride of having 6.7 more
years in average life span by 2040.
The top five health drivers that explain most of the
future trajectory for premature mortality are high
blood pressure, high body mass index, high blood
sugar, tobacco use, and alcohol use.
Even in the military, where peak physicality was
once the norm, overweight-driven poor health is
pervasive.  A recent study shows nearly 30 percent of
military members are overweight. Fat and tired, and
wrought with PTSD and other related psychological
disorders, they are turning to energy drinks to get
16 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
through their daily drills and military preparation.
So pervasive and growing is the obesity trend,
that the U.S. government issued new guidelines for
maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including eating more
whole, and fewer processed foods and, less obvious,
incorporating exercise in spurts into daily routines.
The new guidelines paid particular attention to
children. Nearly 30 percent of boys and girls under
age 20 are either obese or overweight, up from 19 per-
cent in 1980.
Overall, 180.5 million Americans—or 60.7 percent
of the nation’s population ages 2 and over—are either
obese or overweight. And among the 70 percent of
adults who are overweight, 40 percent of them are
obese, compared to just 3.4 percent of adults back in
the 1960’s.
FAT PRIDE
Yet, in America today, as well as in the U.K. and
other nations facing obesity epidemics, there are
growing Fat Pride movements proclaiming there are
no social, economic or health issues associated with
being overweight or obese.
This past April, Lizzi Cernik, a journalist and fea-
tures writer for The Guardian who covers relation-
ships, travel and women’s issues, wrote a column
entitled, “It’s not fine to be fat. Celebrating obesity is
irresponsible,” stated:
“No one should be bullied for their weight or food
choices, but ‘fat pride’ promotes dangerous weight
levels. … as we move away from the skinny goals of
the mid-2000s and embrace different shapes and
sizes, one group of campaigners has taken things
top trends 2019
Family obesity is
on the rise.
Shutterstock
a step too far. Fronted by plus-sized models and
social media influencers, the fat acceptance move-
ment aims to normalize obesity, letting everyone
know that it’s fine to be fat. With terms such as
‘straight size’ and ‘fat pride’ proliferating, some
influential figures are now even likening the valid
concerns of health officials to hate crimes.
“The comedian Sofie Hagen recently accused
Cancer Research of bullying fat people, after the
charity launched a campaign to raise aware-
ness about the link between cancer and obesity.
Through a series of expletive-laden tweets, she
criticized the organization for its damaging mes-
sages, claiming that fat didn’t equal unhealthy.”
However, contrary to Ms. Hagen’s belief, according
to recent reports, not only does fat ‘equal unhealthy,’
it equals extremely costly.
On 26 October 2018, The Milken Institute released
TREND FORECAST
The effects of America’s and other nations’ ad-
diction to processed, low quality, junk food will
continue to take its toll.
If, indeed, it is true that you are what you eat, is
America’s low spirit, diminishing self esteem, lack
of dignity, absence of energy and drive to elevate
to higher emotional, spiritual, physical and politi-
cal levels directly tied to the massive amounts of
highly processed, chemically laced, artificially col-
ored/flavored food they eat and drink?
Therefore, at this time, there is no trajectory to
suggest a change in the Ready to Explode trend
17 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
a new study, “America’s Obesity Crisis: The Health
and Economic Costs of Excess,” authored by Hugh
Waters and Marlon Graf, that found: In 2016, chronic
diseases driven by the risk factor of obesity and over-
weight accounted for $480.7 billion in direct health
care costs in the U.S., with an additional $1.24 trillion
in indirect costs due to lost economic productivity.
The total cost of chronic diseases due to obesity
and overweight was $1.72 trillion—equivalent to 9.3
percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).
Obesity as a risk factor is by far the greatest contribu-
tor to the burden of chronic diseases in the U.S., ac-
counting for 47.1 percent of the total cost of chronic
diseases nationwide.
Indeed, America, accounting for just 5 percent of
the world’s population is truly #1, weighing in with
13 percent of the total world overweight and obese
people.   TJ
line until a new wave of self-consciousness and
self-confidence captures the American spirit.  
However, trends are born, they grow, mature,
reach old age and die. While the Ready To Ex-
plode trend is rapidly expanding, there will be
ups and downs in its growth trajectory … both
personally and nationwide. Clearly, numerous op-
portunities exist for OnTrendpreneurs® to design/
provide products and services to assist the over-
weight and obese who will not lose weight, and
for those who want to lose weight.
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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Kingston, N.Y.
Courtesy of High Times Magazine
Bradford Beckerman, CEO of Hennepen's, a hemp products company,

Get High,
Get Healthy
Imagine. It’s 1933 in America, Prohibition ends and it’s now legal to manufacture, sell and
drink alcohol and it’s the beginning of a booming industry.
In 2019, the legalization of marijuana in many palities, states and countries are voting for legaliza-
states and the new federal Farm Bill that will legalize tion.
hemp will open the floodgates of explosive growth In October, Canada became the latest country
for both the marijuana and hemp industries that, be- to legalize recreational marijuana, joining Uruguay
cause of their recreational, industrial and medicinal and the Netherlands where recreational pot is legal.
qualities, will be much bigger than booze. Marijuana is already legal for medical use in Austra-
Across the globe, it’s the same story: Resistance to lia, Puerto Rico, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia and
legalizing cannabis is weakening while more munici- Macedonia. And in Turkey, citizens are allowed to

18 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

top trends 2019
Marijuana costumed
attendee at the 2016 But the science is only
Southwest Cannabis
Conference & Expo in now catching up to and
Phoenix, AZ
Wikipedia
confirming what has been
known for centuries:
Pot heals.
grow marijuana for personal medical use.
Even Mexico’s incoming government submitted a
bill to allow medical marijuana and recreational use.
The bill would also permit companies to grow and
sell marijuana, allow possession of up to 30 grams,
and cultivation for private use. Smoking pot in public
places would also be permitted.
In the United States, following the midterm
elections, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to
consume marijuana in 10 states and the District of
Columbia, while 33 states now have laws legalizing
medical marijuana.
And following the passage of a law to legalize rec-
reational marijuana in Michigan, Maria McFarland
Sanchez-Moreno, the Executive Director of the Drug
Policy Alliance, said: “Western and northeastern
states have led the way on legalizing marijuana, but
the victory in Michigan powerfully demonstrates the
national reach of this movement.”
As we had forecast in December 2016, when we
made “Reefer Money Madness” a Top Trend for 2017,
with countries and municipalities worldwide ben-
efitting from the tax revenue cannabis generates, a
19 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
clear path to legalization is widening.
That’s exactly how the trend is unfolding. Just as
with Prohibition, politicians made alcohol legal so
they could generate more money by making people
pay taxes to drink it. The same applies to hemp and
marijuana legalization. For example, Colorado, the
pioneer legalization state, is generating more tax rev-
enue from marijuana sales than on alcohol.
And the other aspect of “Reefer Money Madness”
we forecast was the medical benefits of marijuana
would increasingly be supported by science and, as a
result, more easily accepted and legalized. For thou-
sands of years, marijuana has been used to treat vari-
ous illnesses in cultures worldwide.
But the science is only now catching up to and
confirming what has been known for centuries:
Pot heals. Today, there is scientific proof that medi-
cal marijuana can help with neurological diseases,
cancer, depression, respiratory ailments, epilepsy
and other medical conditions. That’s why medical
marijuana is being legalized at a faster rate than rec-
reational.
FAST TRACK TO LEGALIZATION IN STATES
The likelihood of legalization in all 50 United
States or full federal legalization while not imminent
is on the radar. Currently, cannabis is illegal under
federal law for any purpose under the Controlled
Substance Act of 1970 that classifies it as a Schedule
1 substance putting it in the same category as Heroin
and LSD.
Under that determination, it is considered to have
a strong potential for abuse and addiction with no
valid medical use prohibiting usage for recreational
or medical reasons. Some on Capitol Hill are pushing
to have cannabis rescheduled to a Schedule 2 drug,
which would recognize its medical benefits but still
with a strong potential for abuse.
Though this may be considered a positive develop-
ment by some for medical usage, cannabis would
still be a regulated substance and under full control
of the FDA, which could impose its own restrictions
for medical usage and keep recreational usage totally
illegal. The FDA would control packaging and mar-
keting and would oversee growing, processing and
distribution.
A more productive alternative for the industry
short of federal legalization would be to de-schedule
cannabis. Earlier in 2018, Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer filed the Marijuana Freedom and
Opportunity Act, which would decriminalize mari-
top trends 2019
there are currently 37 cannabis bills sitting in Congress
waiting to be evaluated by the various congressional
committees which would de-schedule cannabis and
wipe cannabis crimes from federal records.
juana and remove it from the Controlled Substances
Act entirely. Other similar bills have been intro-
duced.
In fact, there are currently 37 cannabis bills sitting
in Congress waiting to be evaluated by the various
congressional committees which would de-schedule
cannabis and wipe cannabis crimes from federal re-
cords.
What is developing now is the end of the stigma
of supporting marijuana legalization for politicians
on both sides of the aisle with the polls showing ma-
jority support with Democrats, Republicans, young
and old people, and even former cannabis foes. For
example, Republican Former Speaker of the House
and once stanch marijuana opponent John Boehner,
who is now “all in” and is currently on the advisory
board of a major marijuana company, which also in-
Medical Marijuana
comes in many forms
for many maladies
and is progressively
becoming more
accessible wherever
you may be living.
Shutterstock
TREND FORECAST
In 2019, the cannabis industry breaks through,
making the transition from a strong entrepre-
neurial and small business playing field to big
industry.
Medical marijuana is especially ripe for explo-
sive growth.
The number of conditions treated using medi-
cal marijuana is growing rapidly, as new patients
20 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
cludes former Republican governor of Massachusetts
Bill Weld.
Boehner’s turnabout, in particular, exemplifies why
cannabis will be a big industry in 2019: It’s about the
money to be made.
BIG MONEY, BIG INDUSTRY
In fact, the global legal pot industry is expected to
reach $146 billion by end of 2025, according to Grand
View Research, Inc., and the explosion in expected
revenue will create a booming job market. In the U.S.
alone, the industry is expected to create 250,000 jobs,
according to the research firm New Frontier Data.
Job opportunities will cover a wide spectrum, in-
cluding technology, product development, customer
service, health care management and more. Zip
Recruiter estimates that job growth stemming from
both legal recreational and medical marijuana will
outpace growth in the hottest job sectors, including
health care and technology.
Further, the 2018 Farm Bill, legalizing hemp culti-
vation in all 50 states, passed the House of Represen-
tatives in a 386-47 vote. The parallel hemp industry
is now positioned to experience explosive growth,
exceeding $22 billion by 2020.
Already an $800 million industry, hemp products
range from apparel, food, health and well being rem-
edies to building materials. Moreover, in its many
configurations, the natural fiber will be recognized as
a replacement for a wide range of synthetic materi-
als, including plastics   TJ
are added to the market, the demand for medical
marijuana is expected to increase multiple folds
over the forecast period.
Moreover, the increasing number of companies
operating in the marijuana market is expected to
bolster the quantity, quality and variety of prod-
ucts that will further enhance and expand the
consumer base.
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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or more comfortable in, than real reality.
Shutterstock
Virtual reality is an environment many GenXers are as comfortable in,

Blessed are
the Geeks
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.
Guess the King James Bible got it wrong. Must
have been a typo.
The Geeks, “a person that is socially awkward… a
person of an intellectual bent that is disliked by oth-
ers,” not the Meeks, have inherited the earth.
The blessed Geeks have transformed every aspect
of 21st century life, and it’s just the beginning. There
is virtually no corner of human existence that has
not been directly and powerfully affected by the
Geek created techno-world.
Lacking style and grace, from the Steve Jobs to
Mark Zuckerbergs of Geekworld, the only thing
that’s changed in a generation is the color of their T-
shirts…from black to blue.
Not an ounce of boogie, not a drop of jive, they’re
stiff, dull, and predictable. Spiritless, they exude the
energy of their hardware and software.
Not only is there no Motown in Silicon Valley,
Geeks have replaced the soul of human musicians
and the voices that belted out songs with passion and
heart, with computerized programming that embod-
ies the passionless personalities they personify.

21 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

top trends 2019
Geek culture has Across the spectrum, algorithms have replaced
created the phone heartbeats. The human emotion has been diluted.
zombie, wandering
Think for yourself has been lost to Geek control that
the streets and public
areas absorbed in their does the thinking, solves simple and complex prob-
handheld oblivious to lems, educates, intellectualizes, sexualizes, drives ar-
the world around them. tistic impulses and ultimately decides what’s worthy
Shutterstock
and relevant.
ANCIENT HISTORY
For nearly two generations, the Millennials and
Generation Z, it’s a new world order. Having been
born into and growing up at the dawn of the Inter-
net and techno-revolutions, they have no feeling,
understanding or emotional connections to what
the world looked like or how it functioned before the
Smartphone, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality
and Alexa era.
Thus, while the technology trend has been evolv-
ing for years, for the first time in history the mantle
is being handed off to a generation completely in and
TREND FORECAST
In 2019, the Blessed Geeks celebrate their overturn
of the human experience. The generation now
entering adulthood, is primed to engage these fast-
evolving technologies across every aspect of their
lives.
Their AI/VR technologies will sweep industries,
households and governments worldwide. More
and more jobs will be replaced by robotics and AI
22 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
of their world.
They work, live and play in those spheres. Rather
than trust themselves, they trust Amazon’s technol-
ogy enabling Alexa to detect users’ physical, emo-
tional, and behavioral states, and provide responses
based on that information.
For them, rather than designing their own future,
how and where they live will be left to Alphabet that
will devise and implement sensors and analytics to
decide how tomorrow’s “smart cities” are built, run,
and lived in.
Perhaps most removed from thousands of years of
human history, but soon to be mainstream and com-
monplace, is technology that sets new standards for
“imagination.”
What you think, how you feel, what you believe,
what you can imagine and aspire to means nothing
because Google Brain, Deep Mind and Nvidia AI sys-
tems will create and evolve ultra-realistic, computer
generated images and sounds to tell their own story,
not yours.
They will write their own script, create their own
characters, determine what emotions or thoughts
they want to elicit and the best means to accomplish
that. They know what you want and they know bet-
ter than you how to express it.
Today, the avalanche of VR/AI technology we fore-
cast in our Winter 2015 Trends Journal would soon
saturate public consciousness and become the norm,
is now the norm.
With studies showing since the iPhone was intro-
duced in 2007, and smartphones gained widespread
usage, the percentage of teens who reported having
sex fell significantly, therefore, the future for sexbots
looks bright.
The human touch is dying. Long live the Geeks.   TJ
programs will become, in effect, virtual human
beings; they’ll take tests, advance their knowledge
base through trial and error, perform complex
human functions and learn from their mistakes
and failures. 
They’ll get degrees, honors and salutations
along the way, and become motivated to become
more “human” as we become less human.
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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Shutterstock

Gen Z = Gen Zero

It’s a more and more common experience: you walk up to the counter in a store or fast
food joint and the young person at the counter just stares at you blankly – no greeting, no
effect, like a feral creature in its habitat, stunned with shock that you’ve appeared.
It’s a consequence of an “unsocial media” in an era ence fiction movie where the main characters have
of text, don’t talk. to think for themselves, do their own math or put
Generation Z, those born between 1996 and 2010, words together in a sentence.
will comprise 32 percent of the global population's 7.7
billion in 2019, surpassing millennials, who will count FEAR FACTOR
for 31.5 percent. This is also the first generation raised in the War on
This is the first generation whose connection to Terror and Panic of ’08 eras. Fear – fear of no money
the world around them is principally defined by that coming in, fear of a terrorist attack, fear that the in-
small device they hold in their hand… the smart stitutions that bind their world will crumble before
phone. them – defines this generation.
To them, a world without the Internet of Things, Hiding in their devices is a good way to escape the
smart phones, Alexa and Virtual Reality, is a fantasy… uncertain world around them.
a depiction of some fabricated reality in a B-rated sci- People born in the 1970s or earlier grew up talking
23 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
top trends 2019
The brain’s prefrontal cortex is the area that recognizes
and interprets other people’s emotions, but it wires
itself slowly and doesn’t fully develop until a person’s
early 20s. If we’re not exercising that ability as we move
through adolescence, the ability to empathize and
socialize could become stunted.
with people; those born into the 1980s and later grew
up in a deepening sea of telecommunications tech-
nology that let them get or give information how and
when they want.
Communication through texting, Instagramming
and other social media in a smartphone is safe and
something they can control. In contrast, meeting and
talking with people can be messy and stressful. So
why bother?
A spring 2018 study by the independent, nonprofit
Common Sense Media found that 35 percent of teens
would rather text than talk face-to-face; the option
of face time only garnered 32 percent.
Overall, more than two-thirds of Zers surveyed
preferred remote communications of some kind –
texting, e-mailing, social media, even old-fashioned
phone calls – to meeting in person.
More than half of the respondents said that they
take time away from people they’re with to use so-
cial media; 40 percent said their dedication to social
media cuts into time they might otherwise spend
with friends.
An earlier study from the Pew Research Center’s
TREND FORECAST
What will define this generation is its over reliance on digital communi-
cation, missing opportunities for self-expression, creative thinking and col-
laborative endeavors that emerge from human dynamics and interaction.
A stunning characteristic of this generation, as concluded by Mark
Griffith, a professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University,
who was among the first to call excessive cell phone use an addiction, .
is that many Gen Zers identify their smartphone as the “most important
thing in their life.”
A student of the Renaissance, and other periods of great societal rebirth,
knows that art and science maintained a nurturing balance to ignite trans-
formative energies. But the enclosed, deeply introverted and digitally locked
world Zers grew up in, has limited their ability to think creatively outside
the digital sphere.
24 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
Internet and American Life Project and the Univer-
sity of Michigan discovered that more than half of
teens send at least 50 texts a day, with a significant
minority sending twice that.
A Los Angeles high-school teacher told the Pew
researchers that the deeper students become im-
mersed in texting, the worse their spelling and gram-
mar become – typing “2” for “to” and “u” for “you” to
speed up keyboarding – and the more awkward they
become in person-to-person meetings. She added
that students will text her asking for a deadline ex-
tension for a project but won’t talk with her about it
in person.
TEXT, DON'T TALK
In Pew focus groups, teens admitted relying on
texting to avoid difficult or confrontational conver-
sations.
The reason is partly biological. The brain’s prefron-
tal cortex is the area that recognizes and interprets
other people’s emotions, but it wires itself slowly
and doesn’t fully develop until a person’s early 20s. If
we’re not exercising that ability as we move through
adolescence, the ability to empathize and socialize
could become stunted.
Social awkwardness can lead to isolation – one
factor behind increases in teen depression (up 33 per-
cent) and suicide attempts (up 23 percent) from 2010
to 2015.
A study done by researchers at San Diego State
University found that the increase was consistent
across races, regions, and economic classes. The
researchers traced these appalling numbers to the
rise of smartphones and social media in the hands of
teens.
Social human interaction will decrease with the
post-Gen Z generation. Today’s toddlers are already
addicted to the Internet Of Things. Go to any public
setting and observe toddlers and their parents… all
glued to their handhelds.   TJ
 TOP TRENDS 2019

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AL REPORT
Celente, in 1999, identified Sears as a Red Flag Brand not likely to
survive in the near future.
Wikipedia

Dying Brands
In 2019, as global economies slow and consumer tastes change, more notable brands
will be buried in the retail grave yard.
From Sears, Campbell’s, Harley Davidson, J.C.
Penny, K-Mart, Wheaties, Chef Boyardee, Ham-
burger Helper – to Ken-L-Ration and a whole line of
canned and packaged dog foods that only Rin Tin
Tin would eat and no dog lover would feed their
Lassie today – across the retail spectrum, many once
popular brands are going out of style, gone and long
forgotten.
It’s a sign of the times that global trend forecaster
Gerald Celente warned the “World of Brands” to
prepare for in his bestselling book, Trends 2000,
two decades ago. And in the Fall 1999 Trends Journal,
Celente identified, “Red Flag Brands” as a troubling
trend that would bring down once iconic brands that
were blinded by the future.
In Trends 2000 Celente detailed how, for example,
with just 1,000 retail “bread boutiques” nationwide
selling home baked bread in 1995, the “Reign of
25 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
Quantity” corporate giants who were eating up com-
petitors and bottom line focused, would lose market
share to “Reign of Quality” competitors.
Forecasting "History Before it Happens®" in his Fall
1999 Trends Journal Celente wrote:
"As the 20th century ends, many of the brand
icons that identified with the times and emotions
of that era, won’t have what it takes to make it
across the millennial divide. Lacking vitality and
weighed down by associations with mediocrity
and marginal quality, the old brand names will be
overtaken by the new challengers as well as by es-
tablished competitors that have better positioned
themselves to make the millennial leap."
With the millennial change comes changes
in expectations. Even many of today’s biggest,
most popular and powerful brands, seemingly
top trends 2019
Over reliance on ingrained in the American consciousness, will suf-
established but no fer from obsolescence and marketing plans that
longer desired branding
are out of step with the times. Indeed, these grand
places companies in a
dangerous downward behemoths will be perceived as Red Flag Brands
spiral. by the consumer – products, services and places to
Wikipedia stay away from at any cost or any price point."
Regardless of attempts at reconfiguration,
relabeling or product modification, these brand
names and their aging logos, are warning signals
that instill low expectations and even lower con-
sumer interest.
THE SEARS EFFECT
For example, following in the footsteps of Wool-
worths, Sears is on the way to the retail graveyard.
With its best years clearly behind it and no prom-
ise of regaining its former stature, the old-timer’s
off-trend marketing schemes and product lines
have created an atmosphere that resonates with
dying generations, and alienates the new genera-
tion of big spenders."
Now, twenty years later, Sears went bankrupt, and
brands, such as Harley Davidson, whose sales are
plunging, not because of tariffs as the mainstream
media claims, but because the Baby Boomer bikers
who loved the muscle motorcycles are getting too old
TREND FORECAST
What’s left of the iconic brands that have not evolved and coasted on old
successes and even older strategies, will find it increasingly difficult to survive.
New and old brands that create products and a marketing message that
reflect uniqueness and relevance to specific audiences who are not satisfied by
the product offerings of traditional brands will succeed.
And on the local mom-and-pop level, as more big branded products are
eliminated from shelves because they don’t drive profits hard and fast enough,
new opportunities emerge for savvy OnTrendpreneurs® who identify the
underserved market gaps left by the big, dying brands.
These new branding trends will evolve marketing strategies that understand
how their brands translate to the digital landscape and shape their message
to stand apart from the bottom-line merger/acquisition culture so pervasive
today.
26 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
to drive them, and like your father’s Oldsmobile, they
don’t appeal to younger generations.
As Celente predicted, “Niche markets will increas-
ingly infringe on the market territory of the majors.”
He observed that many old “assembly line thinking”
brands of yesterday “lost focus on how to develop
new products that would expand their market reach”
and were blinded by the culturally diverse emerging
future:
"Their products, once looked up upon as stan-
dards of acceptable quality in a post-Depression,
post-World War II era of new economic growth,
do not meet the level of new millennium demands.
Their products symbolize the dull and boring-
mediocre, undistinguished styling, and a generally
old fashioned feel without the pleasures of old-
fashioned quality.
While their early success often came from ap-
pearing superior in their product category, these
brands have now fallen victim to years of cost cut-
ting formulas that cut too deeply into the integrity
of their product. For them, such as Sears, that
spend millions on promotions and cosmetic quick
fixes – new advertising gimmicks and transparent
makeovers won’t bring their geriatric brands back
to life."
As Celente had accurately forecast, in the new mil-
lennium the Dying Brands would “suffer from obsolete
marketing plans that are out of touch with the times.”
And, unlike the 20th century when TV, radio and
newspapers were the dominant advertising vehicles
and major brands could clearly position their products
to targeted audiences, those days are long gone.
They can’t corner a market with big advertising
budgets that spent millions on full-page newspaper
ads in major dailies that had five times the reader-
ship they have today or by saturating commercials on
the three major TV networks whose audiences have
rapidly declined and whose programming does not
appeal to younger generations.
And in America, the median ages of viewers for the
top 10 TV entertainment shows during the 2017–
2018 television season was 54 years old. Therefore,
in the new world order of multi-viewing options,
where some 22 million cut their cable cords last year
and younger generations are tuning into Netflix,
Amazon Prime, Roku, Hulu, Apple TV, YouTube,
Facebook, etc., it is increasingly difficult to brainwash
consumers with mass market/saturation advertising
that helped build and supported many of the dying
brands.   TJ
 TRENDING
Longevity science
in a worm
Breakthroughs in life extension
For more than a decade, biologists have been using microscopic
worms to test ways to lengthen life. That work has paid off, this time
by finding a combination of drugs that almost doubled worms’ healthy
lifespans.
A team at Singapore’s Yale-NUS College worked
with Caenorhabditis elegans, lifeline researchers’
favorite worm. They reviewed past studies to identify
biological processes associated with lengthening life,
then compiled a list of drugs known to tune up those
processes as a side effect of their main function.
They tested various combinations of those com-
pounds, targeting the pathway traveled by a pro-
tein called “transforming growth factor beta.” The
protein plays a part in embryo development and
controlling inflammation, among other things. They
also focused on an insulin-like growth factor, which
affects the ways that proteins interact with their sur-
roundings in the body.
The combination resulted in the worms producing
more of the healthy fats associated with a longer life.
Finally, they added allantoin, a moisturizer used in
cosmetics, to the mix.
The result: worms that lived almost twice as long
as they normally do and showed far fewer biochemi-
cal signs of aging.
More than half of the rejuvenated worms were
still in good health when all of the untreated worms
in the control group had died. The drug blends also
showed no side effects on the worms, although side
effects might appear eventually in longer-lived test
subjects.
Not a fan of pharmaceuticals? Fisetin and turmeric
may be your option.
A research group from the University of Minnesota
and the Mayo Clinic found that fisetin, a flavonoid
derived from plant pigments, also extends the span
of a healthy life.
As a person ages, cells accumulate damage from
toxins, DNA damage, and other sources. At some
27 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
point, cells begin a pro-
cess called “senescence,”
a polite term for cells
decaying and becom-
ing less and less able to reproduce robust new cells. Wikipedia
Younger people’s bodies can clear out dead and dying Caenorhabditis Elegans
cells, but that task gets harder as we age.
Fisetin, already available as a dietary supplement
for brain health, was found to boost mice’s ability to
clear the cells and extend both health and life. The
compound showed a similar result in human tissue
samples. But doses at least four or five times those
now recommended would be needed to achieve the
result and toxicity levels haven’t been measured.
In an unrelated study, the Salk Institute isolated
compounds in fisetin and curcumin, a compound in
the spice turmeric, both enhance memory, reduce
the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, and extend healthy
life.
TRENDPOST
Fisetin and curcumin are natural life-enhancers, which indicates that
they’re less likely than pharmaceuticals to have long-term side effects.
Salk scientists are isolating key factors in both to use in formal human
trials. Meanwhile, the Yale-NUS team is refining its cocktail and
delving deeper into the mechanisms that make it work and what long-
term side effects might be. Ultimately, they – and other colleagues
around the world working with keeping worms young – will graduate
to trials in mammals and, eventually, humans.
Regenerating a person’s failing mind and organs by using their
own stem cells, combined with life-extending drug recipes and
“nutraceuticals”, could let humans take control of the aging process by
the end of this century.
trending

New sight
Manufactured replacement
eyes on the way
Bioengineers at the University of Minnesota have
3D-printed a network of light receptors on a hemi-
sphere about the size of the front half of a human
eyeball.
Using a glass dome as a base, the scientists began
by covering the surface with a layer of ink containing
silver particles. The ink’s consistency held the silver
in place instead of letting it run off the rounded sur-
face. Next, the team used semiconducting polymers
to lay down a film of photodiodes, which turn light
into electrical pulses.
The printing process, which takes about an hour,
results in an “eye” that reaches 25 percent efficiency
University Of Minnesota
in converting light into electricity, which – with
training for the human wearer – could be translated TRENDPOST 3D printed light
receptors produced by
by the brain into contrasts of light and dark or per- bioengineers at the
haps vague images. Replacing defective eyes will happen more University of Minnesota
The team now is figuring out how to print photo- slowly than regrowing defective internal
diodes on a soft surface while making the receptors
organs. The eye’s complexity will keep
engineers at their benches until after 2040
more efficient and, even more daunting, connecting
in search of fully functional bionic eyes.
the artificial eye to the brain’s visual processing center.

Robots talk to robots

Wifi without electronics University of
A major obstacle to building efficient robotic de- Washington engineers
have made 3D printed
vices, especially small ones, is fitting them out with
mechanisms that are
the electronics – and the requisite power source – able to "converse"
they need to communicate with other gadgets or to a digitally via Wifi
home base. without producing any
signal or having an on-
Now they can go circuit-free. Engineers at the board power supply.
University of Washington have devised a way to let University of Washington
machines that aren’t electronic communicate wire-
lessly anyway.
The engineers built antennas and little gears into TRENDPOST
the devices. The gears have teeth set at irregular
Nanotechnology already is good at making
distances apart. As the gears turn, they move the
microscopic gears; antennas can be nothing
antennas to touch bits of metal inside or outside the
more than a few atoms of metal. This
device. That changes the way the antennas reflect clever invention opens a new path to cheap
back signals from a nearby router. A particular reflec- robotics and nanodevices, speeding their
tion will tell a computer that a robot has crawled a widespread future commercialization.
certain distance, for example, or that a robotic limb
has flexed to a specific degree.

28 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018

trending
New energy vehicles
Electric cars could be
their own batteries
If car bodies are made from the right kind of car-
bon fibers, they could store electricity and reduce the
size and weight of on-board battery packs – or even
become the car’s battery itself, say engineers at Swe-
den’s Chalmers University of Technology.
Varieties of carbon fiber made up of large, well-
organized crystals are twice as strong as steel – but
not a good battery candidate. But carbon fiber made
from smaller, somewhat disorganized crystals is al-
most as strong as steel and able to conduct electricity
much more efficiently.
Making car bodies from carbon fiber also would
reduce vehicles’ weight, making smaller demands on
batteries while also extending the cars’ range.
Carbon fiber car bodies would cost more, the
engineers say, but the added cost could be offset by
smaller, cheaper battery packs – if a battery will be
needed at all.
In the long term, airplanes made of carbon fiber
could reduce the size and weight of their fuel tanks,
Fat gene
Is obesity genetic?
Can’t lose the extra weight? Your genes might be
the culprit.
Specifically, you might lack the gene that produces
a protein called Pannexin 1, which regulates the cre-
ation of fat cells and fat storage.
Researchers at the University of Western On-
tario deleted the gene from mice embryos and then
watched the newborn mice bulk up, adding an aver-
age of 42 percent more fat than non-altered mice.
They gained the weight whether they ate a normal or
high-fat diet.
In the mice who couldn’t make the protein, fat cells
were bigger than normal, allowing the cells to store
more fat.
29 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018
TRENDPOST
The processes for manufacturing carbon fiber are well understood and
automakers already are developing the materials and processes needed
to turn them into car bodies.
As electric vehicles enter the mainstream early in the next decade,
manufacturers will be looking for advantages in both marketing and
fabrication. Lighter-weight, more efficient cars will help fill that bill.
Electric cars able to store more power will be marketed as batteries
that can run your appliances as your runabout sits in your garage or
driveway.
make travel more efficient (and perhaps cut the cost
of airline tickets), and reduce the risk of catastrophic
fires and explosions in crashes.
Left: cells of a mouse
containing a protein
called Pannexin 1
(Panx1) Right: Cells of a
mouse without panx1.
The protein regulates
the way cells store
fat, the smaller cell
size restricts the fat
accumulation.
University of Western Ontario
TRENDPOST
Genetic testing will be able to assess
whether a human fetus has the gene to
make Pannexin 1. Eventually, those lacking
the needed gene can undergo treatment
in the uterus and avoid growing up with
the uncontrollable weight gain that leads
to obesity. For most of us, though, putting
down the donut and going for a walk is still
going to be the most effective therapy.
trending

Socially minded
Younger investors are banking on social causes
Investors in their mid-40s and younger increas-
ingly are putting their money in funds and compa-
nies that demonstrate social responsibility, according
to a new study from Swell Investing, a project of the
Pacific Life Insurance company.
The study found that 78 percent of Millennials –
born between 1981 and 1997 – look for investments
that offer a social return as well as a financial one.
About 84 percent of post-Millennials are either in-
vesting, or plan to invest, with a social goal in mind.
Social media has made these budding financiers
keenly aware of social issues and keeps them con-
nected to news related to corporate behavior, the
study finds – and 72 percent of those surveyed
believe that investments have the power to change
corporate behavior around climate stewardship and
other concerns.
The study drew information and views from about
2,000 young investors, more than 1,400 of which
already have money in the markets.

Unicef

TRENDPOST
The Swell study shows that “socially responsible investing”, a trend that began in the 1980s, has
reached a tipping point: to attract and hold the next generation of investors as well as consumers,
companies are adopting causes as a key part of their marketing. Pampers, the diaper purveyor,
has partnered with UNICEF and funds tetanus vaccinations in developing countries; Starbucks
tithes to AIDS prevention and care; Tesla was created to reduce transportation’s carbon footprint.
More broadly, this trend has the power to redefine the purpose of business – from being only an
economic engine creating jobs and wealth to being a key force for social change, directed by its
customers and investors.

30 THE TRENDS JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018