Social tipping point
A threshold beyond which a behaviour, technology or norm spreads quickly through a society after a period of slow uptake.
Example
Analysts study whether cheaper batteries and visible uptake could turn electric cars into the default purchase.
The catch
Such thresholds are hard to identify before they pass, so plans should not depend on one arriving.
In more depth
Social tipping point, explained.
Social tipping points depend on reinforcing feedbacks, where each new adopter makes the next adoption easier. Costs fall as production grows, which draws in more buyers and justifies more infrastructure. A shifting social norm then makes the choice feel ordinary.
The term borrows from the physical climate tipping point, which describes a dangerous threshold in the Earth system. Social versions are the thresholds advocates hope to cross. Researchers look for evidence that the feedbacks are already running, such as sales accelerating after a price threshold or rules tightening as adoption grows. Use the phrase for a documented mechanism, and give the evidence alongside it.