I was fascinated to read Time.com’s review of our collective behavior during this recession, many of them surprises to economists, and not in line with the usual pattern.

Of course, the three-way punch of economic factors descended upon us all at once, also not the usual pattern of recessions: high unemployment, tight credit and crashing housing values. Making everything worse, economists cannot agree on the timing (2010? later?) or shape (V, W or U-shape) of the recoveries – the market recovery, the job recovery, and so on.

So, the list becomes even more interesting in understanding the behavior of Americans. For example, volunteering is on the rise significantly. It seems we want to help others rather than whine.

We are more strategic in how we view opportunities. While still employed, folks are moving elective surgeries up on their calendar to fit them under their employer’s health plan – costly dental work and orthopedic procedures that we’ve delayed in the past.

We are staying married: the divorce rate is down 40%. Either one partner is still employed, or we need some stability in all this chaos, or we are still frozen in place from the downturn.

Those of us who buy organic food are buying more of it, or more of us are buying organic. The organic food market is still growing (although that growth has slowed to 6% vs. 20% compared to recent years). Perhaps we are protecting our health?

Although entertainment is a staple of recessions, I would presume a $10 movie ticket would fall off the top of our list. Especially if that ticket is 2 tickets or 4 tickets and may include a babysitter at home. Not so — audience numbers are up 9%, and box office revenue is up 11%. We just love our outdoor big-screen escape, despite the many high-tech TVs sold into U.S. homes.

It seems we are not following the usual indoor entertainment trends, either. Contraceptive sales are down from the boom times, and the birth rate is flat to down. This may not be the best time to add to the family, and yes, maybe we are stressed, but still… we could consider our indoor entertainment as a stress reducer, and we do have technology for controlling family size.

Other indoor entertainment is also down: drinking is on the decline, projected to be down 5% during this year (2009). This may imply that smoking and gambling are losing ground as well.

Time.com’s article http://bit.ly/7l8oLG  continues on with interesting insights and links. I recommend it.

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