Can trendy neologisms put a positive spin on the recession?

Published on Tuesday 13 January 2009 19:08

OVER the past few months, the words most frequently on everyone's lips have carried pretty gloomy connotations. "Crash." "Recession." "Apocalypse." You get the idea. However, as we set sail into the choppy waters of 2009 the year's inevitable new buzzwords are surfacing – and they're surprisingly optimistic.

Trend forecasters The Future Laboratory are among those who have coined new buzzwords that help sum up the current mood and predict how we'll adapt to the recession. "Bleisure", for example, acknowledges the blurring between business and leisure, the idea that we will re-evaluate our life/work balance with more people working from home or for less strictly defined hours.

For the style-conscious (or "chiconomic"), a new breed of "recessionista" has been born: people who are finding affordable, inventive ways – from shopping for designer bargains on Ebay to sew-it-yourself – to indulge their passion for fashion. And with more of us feeling the pinch, we'll be "homedulging" in 2009: socialising at home and indulging ourselves on a smaller scale. This means throwing dinner parties instead of booking a Michelin-starred restaurant, inviting friends for BYOB nights in our sitting rooms rather than heading out for cocktails, and enjoying pampering sessions at home instead of on a weekend break at a five-star spa hotel.

"We'll all be slowing down in 2009," says Chris Sanderson, a co-founder of The Future Laboratory. "If we spend money on home improvements, for example, we'll be doing it for (comfort] rather than with a lucrative resale in mind. We'll be putting down roots, making commitments to our communities and taking time to enjoy the simpler things. It's a hugely positive trend."

And, as we adjust to a less goal-oriented lifestyle, more of us will adopt a "mindful" approach. "Mindfulness" – a Buddhist-based discipline based on understanding why we behave in certain ways, rather than simply trying to change our lazy habits – is a fashionable buzzword among celebrities right now, including Oprah Winfrey and Meg Ryan. It means taking a slower, more measured approach to observing ourselves and our behaviour at any given moment and can be applied to everything from overeating or overspending to the way we treat each other.

But do these buzzwords that put a positive spin on tough times actually help us to face up to them and feel better about the future?

Julian Baggini, editor of The Philosopher's Magazine, fears it may be wishful thinking. "For many, it will be either business as usual or simply more stress," he says.

"Using positive words to frame a situation makes people view it more favourably, but many of these neologisms sound too contrived to really catch on. Everyone is trying to come up with one that will stick. Thriftifarian, anyone?"

Certainly we have embraced the idea of thrift: this year more of us will holiday in the UK, take part in community-based activities such as book groups, rediscover traditional crafts and eat together at home. Without conspicuous consumption to occupy us, it seems we're ready to reconnect with what really makes us feel good.

The credit crunch has brought about varied outcomes (eight out of ten people have ditched quilted loo paper), but could the most unexpected one be that it makes us a bit happier?

The "umbrella trend" for the next 12 months is "a happy ending" says Reinier Evers, the optimistic founder of Trendwatching.com. "The most important side effect of austere times is probably that consumers start questioning what truly makes them happy, which more often than not steers them towards the realisation that (it isn't just] traditional consumption. "

They say money can't buy happiness. So, as the recession deepens, might we be persuaded that a lack of money could be the key to bliss? Well... according to Superdrug, sales of condoms are rocketing right now. In short, while news about the economy gets even worse, we may find the ideal opportunity to remind ourselves that the best things in life really are free.