Increasing individualization
Description:
Nowadays individualization is increasing despite increasing globalization. Every person want’s to satisfy his own needs, and that is the reason, why many companies are creating new not mass-products. Since market supply nowadays is enormous every company wants to have their own advantages and that means to meet every customers requirements. “For example, TNO is developing a grill that will allow customers to specify how a chicken should be seasoned and cooked, thus combing automatization and individual choice. A higher premium will be placed on comfort and choices will increase. ICT facilities will play an increasing role in private life. The internet will allow increasing individualization, allowing us to become "homo zappians"--rapidly changing, "zapping" people”[1]. Besides that, the “single person household” is also increasing.
This leads also to the fact that individualization is increasing.
Enablers:
factors which strengthens this driving force
- Ageing
- New law for divorces
- Economic growth
- The Women’s Lib Movement
- Education
- Increase in technology especially in information technology
- Decreasing prices of internet connection
- Decrease in work load
Inhibitors:
factors which weaken this driving force
- Globalization
- Ethical issues
Paradigms:
In the future the individualism will become important issue; and since many companies want to create new individual products, they will need certain personal facts (like medical records). This should lead to intervention into privacy and to creation of new laws to protect that shared personal data.
Experts:
- Urban planning agencies
- Academia
- Software/ hardware developers
- Councils
- Psychologists
Timing:
- After WWII and economic leveling-off
- Nowadays to divorce isn’t hard (it is hard to say where was first the first divorce law, but in USA ~1770 [3]), and people don’t rush anymore to get married.
- Development of technologies
Web Resources:
[1]Dutch Ergonomics Society, http://www.ergonoom.nl/english/ergonomics.htm
[2]Office of Urban Planning and Redevelopment, Planning Services Devision, Broward-by-the-Numbers, July 2003, http://www.broward.org/planningservices/bbtn13.pdf]
[3]
Assembly committee on judiciary, Divorce Reform, Nowember 6, 1997, http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/98/04/currentstate.pdf]