I’m pretty sure microtrends were something we learned about in Sociology. That was also the class in college I had to force myself to sit through for at least 45 minutes.

Then I would just walk out.

Even though I know nothing about them (I got a C in Soc), I can understand them on a level I can see.

I see people knitting on the subway everyday. The rise of stitch and bitch groups is just as prevalent as getting tattooed during undergrad.

And apparently, tattoos and knitting among our age demographic are quite telling microtrends.

And Mark Penn, a “pollster” as this article calls him, says that mircrotrends “reveal the often baffling “under the radar” shifts that are reshaping American society—from one based on group identity and forces of circumstance such as race, religion and education to one based on personal choice.”

By the time everyone else has caught on to the microtrend “it is ready to spawn a hit movie, best-selling book or new political movement.”

But, why knitting and tattoos?

Grandma isn’t the only one knitting these days. Knitting is most popular for teens and twenty-somethings. Between 2004-2005, yarn sales rose 56%. And this rise in knitting shows that our generation is turning away from the virtual world and searching for something tangible to express ourselves. Read More »