What Does ‘Trending’ Even Mean?

Last week, the New York Times published a piece about “date-me docs,” which is exactly what they sound like: extended dating profiles, typically hosted on Notion or Google Docs, where people make the case for why you should date them. There was something about the article that stood out to me, even more than the subject–the way they framed date-me docs. There was recognition that “date me docs” weren’t really a trend, at least not a widespread one; they were only popular among “some urbanites.” Even though it seems trivial, it’s a distinction rarely made. These phenomena are often framed as “the next big thing,” when they’re only popular among a few dozen people. And if they do, in fact, become the next big thing, what helps amplify them is being covered in a major publication, like the New York Times or the Washington Post. In other words: there’s trend reporting, and there is manufacturing trends under the guise of “trend reporting.”