An obsession with the new. The latest, the shiny, the first of its kind. New collections, new issues, breaking news.

 

We are obsessed with the new and it has many implications. Shop displays must update every week to catch our attention, as must website banners. To halt our scroll, social media content has to be fresh. Stock photos lose their influence if we’ve encountered them already. Advertisements are stale once they’ve been watched a few times. 

 

Our brains instantly know when they’ve seen something before. A flicker of recognition means it’s quickly dismissed as old. Old news is old hat. We want new.

 

What’s the opposite of neomania, this hallmark of modern culture? Reflection. Endurance. Consistency. Outlasting over launching. Robustness and longevity. An appreciation of that which has stood the test of time.