e v rvi u ll s I wi   01 Focus: initiatives to organize community shopping and share transportation. Besides the obvious cost People cope by savings, these initiatives create meaning and help focusing on what they focus their minds.23 can control. Single-function platforms are creating spaces where like-minded individuals can relax and bond over shared interests. Discord, a platform whose original purpose was for in-game communication, has always been grounded in social connection.24 When the big wide world feels negative and daunting, some people will channel their attention Digitally, this is manifesting in a shift from large- on communities where they feel they belong. scale influencers to micro-influencers, whose They will reduce their sphere both physically follower numbers sit between 1,000 and 100,000.25 and virtually, quieting the noise and rejecting the Micro-influencers offer the promise of greater global-first version of life that has been promoted credibility as they tend to focus on niche areas— by online news and social media in the past some on travel, others on financial advice. decade or more. They’ll cut out anything that falls Sixty-one percent of US consumers think these outside their highest priorities. communities are more trustworthy than brands.26 We expand on this phenomenon in the trend When people don’t know how to plan for entitled I’m a believer. the future, or when their autonomy to plan is compromised, they naturally channel their attention on things they can control. Accenture’s research project participants told us about their Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved. 11