Cocooning

Cocooning is staying inside one's home, insulated from perceived danger, instead of going out. The term was coined in 1981 by Faith Popcorn, a trend forecaster and marketing consultant. It is used in social science, marketing, parenting, economic forecasting, self-help, religion, and has become part of standard English as defined by multiple dictionaries.

Evidence of intensifying home-focused behavior became more pronounced in Popcorn's data from 1984 and by 1985 she forecast it would be a trend, not a fad. She explained the concept involves building a "shell of safety" around oneself in a 1986 article in the The New Yorker.

In 1987, Washington Post columnist George Will explained that "the harassments of daily life -- looming nuclear incineration, rude waiters -- have driven people to ''cocooning.'' They have gone to ground in their dens with their VCRs and compact-disc players, snug in their Barcaloungers equipped with stereo headphones, the better to keep at bay the modern world, the discontinuities of which have produced a longing for tradition."

A Los Angeles Times article in 1987 called "The Essence of Cocooning: It's a Desire for a Cozy, Perfect Environment Far From the Influences of a Madding World" tied the concept to fear of environment destruction. In the article, Popcorn cited the increased use of gourmet frozen foods, soft furniture such as Barcaloungers, investment services, and "mom foods" that remind consumers of adolescence, as examples of cocooning behavior. She cited less involvement in social and political issues as a downside of cocooning, though she predicted a counter-trend to emerge.

The term was designated in 1987 by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as a word being tracked for possible inclusion in the dictionary. The dictionary's editors later included it as did Merriam Webster's Dictionary.

A 1989 New York Times article called "Lounge Wear for Cocooning" described a trend among many upscale designers, including Ralph Lauren, Bob Mackie, Giorgio Armani and Valentino, to create clothing for use at home that was more dressy than sleepwear but less formal than sportswear. "However, sleeping is not the point. Neither, necessarily, is seduction. Cocooning, a dream word for market researchers, is. Everybody is working. Everybody is tired. Everybody just wants to go home and watch 48-inch TV. Relax, slip into something comfortable, and join the ranks of homebody chic," the article says.

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