Category: Human Behavior

In recent times, a social media trend has emerged, shedding light on a growing number of women embracing a traditional approach to romantic partnerships. Dubbed the “tradwife,” these women prioritize domesticity, focusing on their homes, families, and personal well-being over traditional career pursuits.

Casey Lewis, a social media trend forecaster, notes the allure of the tradwife lifestyle, which stands in stark contrast to the struggles many young women face in today’s demanding work environment. While this trend may offer an escape for some, experts caution against romanticizing it, citing the economic risks and lack of financial security associated with forgoing paid labor.

In my family, the concept of kinship takes on a unique form. Out of my five nieces and nephews, only two share biological ties with me. The rest belong to my “chosen family” – a tight-knit group of close friends who serve as a mutual support system. This arrangement is becoming increasingly common in today’s world, where the traditional nuclear family structure is giving way to smaller familial networks.

A recent international kinship study, published in December, shed light on the diminishing size of the nuclear family and its impact on children worldwide. As the number of relatives dwindles, chosen families step in to fill the void, offering support akin to that of extended family structures of the past. The decline in cousins is particularly striking, with projections indicating a significant decrease in the number of living cousins for future generations.

As work dynamics evolve with the rise of hybrid and remote roles, discussions surrounding a four-day workweek, and the potential impact of AI on industries, retirement in America is also undergoing significant transformations in the 2020s. Some employees and employers alike believe it’s time to reconsider how and when people retire, paving the way for the concept of phased retirement.

Alicia Garcia, Chief Culture Officer at MasterControl, a life sciences software company, advocates for phased retirement as a mutually beneficial arrangement for near-retirees and businesses. This approach allows individuals to gradually reduce their workload and stress while continuing to earn income and maintain workplace connections, while companies can still leverage their valuable experience.

Sleep experts and productivity researchers have long emphasized the importance of aligning work schedules with natural body rhythms, yet traditional corporate structures often disregard this vital aspect. Similarly, attention spans have dwindled over the years, posing challenges for sustained focus in the workplace. These insights have prompted a reevaluation of conventional work models, particularly among Gen Z entrepreneurs who advocate for flexibility, well-being, and purpose-driven productivity.

Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, highlights the diminishing attention spans, indicating a shift from a two-and-a-half-minute focus on screens in 2004 to just 47 seconds today. This decline underscores the need for adaptable work practices that accommodate fluctuating attention capacities. Surveys reveal that a significant portion of the workforce spends only half of their designated eight-hour workday productively, with the remainder consumed by internet browsing and other distractions.

First impressions are often shaped by the way we say hello, but the preferred method of greeting can vary widely across different regions and generations. A recent survey conducted by language-learning platform Preply sheds light on Americans’ diverse perspectives on greetings, revealing intriguing insights:

• Preference for Distance: The majority of respondents (60%) express a preference for maintaining a certain level of physical distance when greeting strangers, with handshakes being the most favored gesture. Additionally, 47% of participants indicated that they prefer to greet with a smile, highlighting the significance of non-verbal cues in initial interactions. Notably, 20% of Americans admitted to feeling uncomfortable with physical contact when meeting someone for the first time.
• Regional Contrasts: The survey identified notable regional differences in greeting customs. States such as Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Louisiana were deemed the most welcoming, while Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Missouri ranked lower on the friendliness scale. Interestingly, South Dakotans tend to prefer avoiding interaction with strangers altogether, whereas Delaware residents resort to simulating a phone call to sidestep greetings.
• Generational Variances: Greetings preferences also diverge across generations, with distinct comfort levels regarding physical contact. Baby boomers, for instance, exhibit a higher propensity for hugging as their preferred greeting, while Gen X individuals express the least comfort with physical touch. Surprisingly, nearly 30% of Gen Z respondents find physical contact awkward, opting to feign a phone call to evade greetings. Millennials, on the other hand, typically opt for handshakes in greeting scenarios.
• COVID-19 Impact: The ongoing pandemic has influenced attitudes towards physical contact, with over a quarter of respondents from a Fast Company-Harris Poll expressing a willingness to forgo handshakes permanently.

In a recent publication in Nature Human Behavior, scientists have issued a call to action regarding a lesser-known but equally perilous form of environmental pollution: information overload. With the ubiquity of smartphones and the internet, we are inundated with an overwhelming volume of data surpassing our cognitive capacities, leading to impaired decision-making and significant societal ramifications.

The consequences of information overload extend beyond mere cognitive strain; it manifests in diminished social engagement, job dissatisfaction, demotivation, and overall negativity, imposing an estimated global cost of approximately $1 trillion. Moreover, contextual and environmental factors exacerbate these personal and economic burdens.

In search of a change, Nikol Moses found herself yearning for a new adventure. Two years ago, she decided to escape the monotony of her native Melbourne, embarking on a journey to Brisbane, a two-hour flight away on Australia’s east coast. Despite her social and talkative nature, the now-22-year-old discovered that making new friends in her new city was not as easy as she had anticipated.

In an unexpected turn of events, Moses spent nine solitary months in Brisbane. Frustrated and longing for connections, she turned to TikTok, the contemporary hub for socializing among Gen Z. Posting a video about her friendless situation, Moses received messages from hundreds of people sharing similar struggles. Harnessing this support, she initiated “Friends on Purpose” events, attracting around 1,500 attendees over the past eight months.

The pandemic was something of a reset for many ways of life we took for granted, and new data shows that it’s even been a catalyst in changing the modern dating scene, particularly for Gen Z.

New data from Hinge found that while Gen Z felt like they’d missed out on the fundamentals of dating after two years of lockdowns and social distancing, a full 45 percent of users on the app felt they’d changed their dating habits for the better.

Gen Z is only interested in romantic relationships that feel additive to their everyday lives — and they’re not the only ones.

A full 39 percent of Hinge users reported being pickier about whom they went on a date with since the pandemic, and 91 percent of those people say they made the change because they don’t want to waste time on the wrong person.

On that note, while most older people are no strangers to dating games and archaic “rules,” singles have given it all up to be more honest with their feelings and intentions.

Many Hinge users reported they had learned to be more honest about their feelings during the pandemic.

High school students spend more time connected to digital devices and less time with their families, leading to a hollowing out of the current generation, teacher Jeremy Adams writes.

By Todd Farley

Each new school year, Jeremy Adams, a teacher in Bakersfield, Calif., gives the same lesson. When he shows pictures of celebrities like Kendall Jenner or Miley Cyrus to his students on a screen, they immediately recognize them. But faced with photos of policymakers like Mike Pence or Nancy Pelosi, the children stare blankly. 

That ignorance is no joke to Adams, he writes in his new book, “Hollowed Out: A Warning About America’s Next Generation” (Regnery Publishing), out now. 

“We need to brace ourselves for what lies ahead. I write this book as an alarm bell … a project born out of worry, concern and frustration.” 

A National Teacher of the Year nominee, Adams frets that today’s youngsters are “barren of the behavior, values and hopes from which human beings have traditionally found higher meaning … or even simple contentment.” Adams calls them “hollowed out,” a generation living solitary lives, hyperconnected to technology but unattached from their families, churches or communities. He cites statistics showing teen depression rose 63 percent from 2007 to 2017 while teen suicide grew 56 percent. Tragically, he writes, suicide has become the second leading cause of death for the young.