Trends and tendencies of 2003 in Greece
One of the professions expected to undergo an exponential boom in the USA is that of personal dietary trainers – dietitians, psychologists and family counselors rolled into one – who will charge steep fees in order to monitor their clients’ every mouthful to enable them to resist temptations of a refrigeratory nature. The year 2003 will also be the year of male vanity, the evolution of a phenomenon (that first emerged in the early 1990s) in which men adopt «female habits» – spas, beauticians and plastic surgery – in order to enhance their looks. Also set to make their appearance are new reality shows where politicians will place cameras within their homes in order to bring voters closer. These are all forecasts made by a woman under the pseudonym of Faith Popcorn, who gives her job title as a marketing futurist. Considered top in her field – she charges $10,000 per 40-minute lecture on future trends – she is taken seriously by many people, which means that in a rapidly changing world, forecasting social, consumer, cultural and other life phenomena is a service very much in demand. A future trends detective has no easy task. With one foot securely anchored in statistics, another prodding their intuition, they need to find themselves wholly grounded in reality and yet with the imagination to sniff out the trends of the future, not to mention refusing to be cowed by disbelievers. There are as yet no futurists in Greece, perhaps because trends are often adopted from abroad with a delay of several years. But how will life be different in the near future? Kathimerini tried to find the answers from 10 people, well known in their own field, who are in a position to see the shape of things to come.
