2021 Ford Trends Report: 69 Percent of Adults Feel Overwhelmed
Photo: Ford
Ford in December released its annual Trends Report, which, hey, real surprise here, focused on issues relative to the pandemic. The 2021 Ford Trends Report surveyed 13,005 people across 14 countries, finding among other things that 69 percent of adults feel overwhelmed by the state of the world. That’s not too nice.
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“As we barrel into 2021 and look forward to a post-pandemic world, it’s clear that the changes brought about by COVID-19 have changed us — but to what degree?” said Sheryl Connelly, global consumer trends and futuring manager for Ford. “Ford and other companies are keenly interested to know what changes will stick long after COVID is in our rearview mirror. And while no one can predict the future, that doesn’t mean we can’t prepare for it.”
The 2021 Ford Trends Report focuses on seven key areas: Pressure Points, Time to Escape, The Company You Keep, Minding the Gap, Good Buy, Traffic Detour, and Sustaining Sustainability.
Pressure Points focuses in particular on responses to anxiety brought about by the pandemic, political upheaval, economic concerns, and climate crises. According to the report, 67 percent of adults find it stressful to follow the news on a daily basis — up from 50 percent in 2017. In nearly all countries, more than 50 percent of respondents say they feel more stressed today than they did a year ago. Relative to this stress, 80 percent say they need to do more to take care of their emotional well-being.
Other concerns include inequity, wastefulness
Photo: Ford
With its Minding the Gap chapter, the 2021 Ford Trends report also focuses on inequity and injustice. Issues relating to injustice came under the microscope last year following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor among others and the nationwide protests that followed. The report shows a great focus on corporate obligation to take a stand on social justice issues. At least 56 percent in every country agreed that companies and brands should speak out against injustice.
Sustaining Sustainability considers how the pandemic presented a largely squandered opportunity to reduce pollution and curb the effects of climate change. Fifty-six percent globally said that the pandemic will have a positive long-term impact on the environment. There’s also a widespread belief that the pandemic has made people more wasteful — 44 percent of Americans who took the survey said that wastefulness has increased since last March.
The entire 2021 Ford Trends Report is available to read at www.fordtrends.com.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.