Explaining Gen Z’s unsurprising adoption of nihilism
Young people face a world of uncertainty. Climate change, political turmoil, growing wealth inequality, and many more knock-on capitalist trends have caused a rise in nihilistic attitudes. What is nihilism - and how can it both be freeing and oppressive? Whichever way you look at it, the world faces...
Current in Offbeat
How have LinkedIn influencers impacted modern working culture?
LinkedIn influencers are telling us all to grind harder and be better. Meanwhile, companies are masking toxic work culture with free fruit and ping pong tables. Has the rise of the LinkedIn influencer tricked us all into accepting sub-par working conditions? We’ve all seen that meme poking fun at LinkedIn...
Opinion – why we should all stop looking for ‘the one’
As Gen Z continues to challenge the established status quo toward finances, sexuality, and capitalism, why are we still so fixated on the age-old concept of ‘finding the one’? We often hear that Gen-Z is the generation of individualism. While they’re often criticised for this heightened sense of self, it...
Opinion – cringe is unavoidable, let’s embrace it
Post-pandemic, we’ve entered the era of total surrender, ferality, and delusion. As we continue exchanging societal norms with unapologetic liberation, why not throw abandoning our feelings of embarrassment into the mix? Is it me, or does a new personality shift seem to be rearing its head almost every week...
Has the pandemic made us more aggressive?
Comedians, public workers, and university tutors have been reporting more aggressive and socially stunted behaviours since we returned to ‘normal’ life. Has the pandemic dented our ability to communicate effectively and appropriately? It seems some of us may have forgotten how to behave in public after multiple years of...
What’s it like to live with synesthesia?
Do you associate certain colours with numbers and letters, or see time as a colourful shape? You might have synesthesia – one of the most weird and wonderful neurological conditions. When I was in my late teens, I asked my mother how she ‘saw a year’. In hindsight, this sounds rather...
Dyson reveals air purifying headphones that block pollution
The vacuum company Dyson has just announced its new over-ear headphones that include an air-purifier for your mouth. A little dystopian, but a novel example of how we’ll need to adapt with a changing climate and world. Dyson has just unveiled a new set of headphones that include an air-purifying mouth visor. They allow users to listen to music on the go while also breathing in clean air. The nifty new...
This robot dog will help identify safety issues in Pompeii
Called ‘Spot’, this four-legged robot will be exploring the ruins of Pompeii, diving underground to examine and monitor tunnels and ancient structures. A new robot ‘dog’ is being deployed in Pompeii to monitor and analyse various underground structures. The ancient archaeological park was close to becoming an ‘in peril’ heritage site due to a lack of suitable preservation methods a mere decade ago. Its hoped that this new initiative will...
Feral girl summer proves we’re officially in our unhinged era
Following in the footsteps of goblin mode and all its deviant glory, this latest trend is yet another rebellious buck against the new wave of self-optimisation that most of us are sick and tired of seeing on our feeds. Hot on the heels of #goblinmode, a direct departure from the self-improvement movement that’s defined the past two years and counting, feral girl summer is here to prove just how deeply...
Contactless payment implants are now officially a thing
In London, a tech company called Walletmor is implanting customers’ hands with contactless payment microchips. Is this the future of financial convenience, or a step too far? For the price of £230, which somewhat ironically is way beyond the contactless payment limit, London tech company Walletmor will implant your hand with a microchip that can be used to make contactless purchases. If you’re down for a little augmentation and like...
