Behavior Change in the Great Recession

Recessions don't really 'happen' until we experience the impacts on a human level. For some that is direct and immediate, losing your job. For many other people these experiences are indirect, through stories and images of the effects on others. Behavior is a great signifier, becoming synonymous with financial crisis like the Great Depression. For those of us who were fortunate to miss this dire time in our nation's history, the words 'Great Depression' almost immediately conjure up the same image, in this case bread lines.

So what are the stories of behavior change that will stand as signifiers for the 'Great Recession' that we are experiencing today. I have been collecting some examples. They follow on my interest in the less obvious, predictable dimensions of human behavior:

1. Workers in Detroit carrying their trash out of the office each day because their companies have eliminated most janitorial services.

2. A huge one time spike in online pornography when Bush's tax rebate checks were mailed out last year.

3. And this one just in from the net: a sudden rise in vasectomies, as reported in the NY Times.

All right, so there are no vasectomy lines...yet. Was discussing this particular trend with Rik Kirkland from McKinsey who just launched their fantastic blog(!) What Matters. He reminded me that 2007 saw the biggest spike in births in 50 years. Over drinks he coined the term 'Bizarro Leading Indicators' which is fairly appropriate (particularly for lovers of Superman).

Please Let me know if you come across of any others.

As frog's Vice President of Creative, Robert Fabricant leads efforts to expand the impact of design into new markets and industries. An expert in design for social innovation, Robert is lead partner in Project Masiluleke, an initiative that harnesses the power of mobile technology to combat HIV and AIDS in South Africa. He is an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York.