Four landmark trends that will impact the U.S. economy in 2020 – and you might not even see them coming!

By Carla Eboli

It is fascinating how some people have the great skill of looking at the same information that everybody else is seeing, with a completely different perspective. I work in advertising so this is the norm, but in some other industry sectors, such as finance, this might not be the rule. That is why Dr. Bob Froehlich’s presentation at the Executives’ Club of Chicago’s Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon blew my mind. His take on some very important topics, such as diversity, the American Dream and social media, are quite provocative. Here are the four very important “landmarks” that he thinks will impact – better saying it is already impacting – the American economy in the next couple of years:

1. Bye-Bye Boomers (and their core values): America is younger and more diverse than ever before. Currently, according to the Census, there are approximately 143 million people in the U.S. under the age of 33 (millennials + Gen-Zers) and the majority of them are non-white vs. 72 million baby boomers, of which the vast majority (72%) are white. And, although we always see some sort of value divergence between generations, Dr. Froehlich is calling people’s attention to the biggest divergence in values that we’ve ever seen in American history. “The Wall Street Journal conducted a survey, asking baby boomers what their most important core values were. The results showed that religion, patriotism and having kids – meaning God, country and family –were their top three. For millennials and Gen-Zers the question was ‘what values are least important to you?’ And, guess what? The answer was religion, patriotism and having kids,” tells Dr. Froehlich. He explains how “we have never had a bigger divide in core values in this country” and it will profoundly impact our economy.
2. The New American Dream (and the changes in the concept of ownership): If in the past the “American Dream” was rooted in comfort and luxury – implying wealth and ownership—the youngest generation were born and raised in a time where “ownership” has a totally different meaning. “Their understanding is that you don’t really need to own anything or accumulate wealth to ‘have’ things and live a comfortable life. Everything now can be rented or subscribed to,” says the executive. “This is already impacting the way people do business, but one thing that won’t change is the need for credit,” says Dr. Froehlich, reminding us that credit will remain very important in the ‘shared economy’ era.
3. The Digital Iron Curtain: Countries, economies and people around the globe are being forced to pick between American digital standards or Chinese digital standards and whichever country “wins” this battle, it will control technologies that rule the world (such as AI, financial operations, data privacy, etc…), tells Dr. Froehlich. And, we need to pay attention to the impact that European countries will have on this battle regarding who wins and who loses it. “The European movement and the way they look at technology will have a big impact on us. Actually, there are already several standards and regulations that were pushed by Europe, and we will continue to see this happen for the coming years,” says the executive.
4.  No Mo’ FOMO – say hello to JOMO: The struggle is real and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is the well-known feeling of anxiety that something much better or much more important than what you are doing right now is happening some place else – and you are not part of it. The term is all over, including in psychology books, articles and studies. But, according to Dr. Froehlich, JOMO – the Joy Of Missing Out – will soon interrupt the anxiety, depression and loneliness cycle caused by FOMO. “Studies are already showing that reducing the use of social media can lower your levels of anxiety. And, while people that suffer from FOMO like to be involved in “social media everything”, give opinions and create discussion, people that practice JOMO are busy getting things done and focusing on what really matters.”

While none of the things mentioned here are my own opinion, I do agree with Dr. Froehlich’s insights and learned a lot about the U.S. economy from him and the other wonderful speakers at this event. And I definitely will start to practice JOMO while still suffering from FOMO.