Annual conference The future is a foreign country Ipsos Moris CEO Ben Page shared a whistle-stop tour of consumer trends with one eye to the future. Most predictions are wrong. The more we know that, the more comfortable we will be when something does happen, said Page as he shared insights from Ipsos Moris global trends research. Everyone in every sector is really bad at predictions, except for weather forecasting. Pollsters are good sometimes, but they have to get close to the event, he added. Carried out among 22,614 16- to 74-year-olds across 33 countries in June and July 2019, the research findings covered most aspects of modern life. Twelve key trends were identified: climate antagonism; conscientious health; authenticity is king; data dilemmas; the tech dimension; peak globalisation; a divided world; capitalisms turning point; reactions to uncertainty and inequality; the enduring appeal of nostalgia; search for simplicity and meaning; and choices over healthcare. The five global values, measured by value intensity, were: climate emergency; trust in medicine; regulate big tech; aspiring to health; and fear of the future. Fear of the future was clearly affecting various areas, with 45% thinking our children will be poorer than us. Other worries that came out in the data included that 47% think even scientists dont really know what they are talking about on environmental issues, and 77% think its inevitable well lose same privacy with a rise in data apathy. Page questioned whether we were reaching a turning point in capitalism, with 77% thinking wealthy people should pay more tax and 74% thinking the economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful. How businesses fair in this is interesting. People want businesses to speak up, said Page, with 78% saying you can make money and support a good cause at the same time. Nostalgia is here to stay 50% want the country to be the way it used to be. But Page added: We want the bit of the past that makes us feel comfortable. And while coronavirus was touched on a few times in his talk, Page didnt dwell on it. However, he did say: Were generally good about panicking about negative things. He also pointed out that the businesses that do best in a crisis have good teams and trust each other. Wrapping up his keynote, Page shared several points where there are contradictory trends in terms of consumer thinking: We have a climate emergency but theres no agreement on response Theres data anxiety but also rising apathy A friction between local and global outlooks We are searching for simplicity and good health but also seeing a rise in hedonism We want authenticity and were also increasingly sceptical. The stories that need to be shared Its important for authors to write beyond their own perspectives and demographics, Booker prize winner Bernardine Evaristo said. Evaristo, who won the award in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, said: I feel very subversive as a writer I write the stories I feel need to be out there, defying stereotypes and writing into the absences that have prevailed. Evaristo said there is a need for more authors to write about cultures and perspectives that differ from their own. Were all human, so you have to tap into basic human emotions as writers, its really important to engage with as broad a range of society as possible. One of the reasons black women arent as represented [in literature] is that were the only ones who write ourselves. Theres this fear that we shouldnt step out of our comfort zone, but creating characters is 22 always a challenge and its really important to create beyond your own demographic, she continued. But a lot of writers in this country are always writing from a very, very limited perspective white, middle-class men, for example. You do have to write with sensitivity, and there may be consequences, but you need to deal with that. Immersion in other countries, reading widely and archival material all play a role in Evaristos research process. When Im researching a work of fiction, Im looking at how Im going to tell the story and the information I need to tell it an authentic way. She has carried out field research in Nigeria and Brazil to soak up the atmosphere, look at the buildings, the environment and listen to peoples voices and she interviewed her parents at length while researching her semi-autobiographical novel Lara. Most of us grow up and our parents wont tell us very much, but because I was interviewing them for background for the book, they were much more revealing. Those tapes are now archived at the British Library. Research is just observation of human life, she said. Its just osmosis, absorbing everyone youve ever met, listening and being alert to people and human behaviour and psychology, and also the stories youve heard thats the research you get through the experience of living. When asked what advice she would give her younger self, she said: Do the work, trust the process and dream big. Were taught to underplay our achievements unless youre part of a particular demographic running this country. We need to develop our own sense of ambition. For more coverage see research-live.com