With downsizing on the upswing, it's the little things in life that seem to have grown in value. In this post-ostentatious society, less is more. Size does matter, but not the way you might think.

Just look at the evolution of the personal computer from desktop to laptop to the hottest selling sector in the PC market, the Netbook. Much smaller and lighter than a laptop, it keeps you tethered to the real world while you halfheartedly attempt to float off into leisure land.

For moving with music, we went from Sony's Walkman to Apple's Classic iPod, which shrank to Nano size and now can be had as the diminutive iPod Shuffle. It's about the size of a quarter and holds approximately 75 songs, just enough to get you through a workout.

On the road, BMW's Mini is moving over for Smart Cars, two-seater, capsule-like vehicles that can be parked practically anywhere.

The shrinking dollar has triggered a movement in the miniature with smaller parties, smaller wardrobes, small-plate restaurants all in vogue. Even mints have gone mini, and thanks to Paris Hilton, the popular family pooch can fit in a purse.

Vacations are shorter, and tweeting -- 140-character bursts of information to your followers on the World Wide Web through Twitter -- has put a big dent into those boring blogs. Facebook, and the gathering of an infinite number of unknown friends, is facing a backlash.

The most obvious symbol of the downsizing trend is the demise of the McMansion as America's symbol of success. It could simply be baby boomers are moving en masse to condos and shipping containers in search of the simpler life. Architect Adam Kalkin has created homes for the wealthy and the refugee alike out of old cargo containers. Go to www.shipping-container-housing.com or just search shipping container homes for more information on living in a box.

The move to living tinier within a tinier footprint may have been inspired by recently shriveled retirement accounts. It could also be the crush of stuff acquired during the past several decades and that is now being purged, so we no longer need those big places to hold our many things. Whatever the cause, Blaster the guinea pig in Disney's movie "G-Force" said it best: "Small is the new big!"