Consumed

Editor’s Note Editor’s Note

Dear esteemed reader,

We blinked and it is now our 3rd edition and the cold cold month of November!

Much like the weather outside, our theme has become a bit darker. With the concept of Consumed, we wished to take the previous themes and elaborate on the gloomier side. The articles cover all ways in which consumption can take over our lives.

While seemingly dark, this issue allows for understanding and acceptance. All of us have our issues, whether its drinking or shopping, and having an edition which focuses on human tendency to be consumed is MoGUU’s attempt at ensuring that aforementioned understanding and acceptance.

We might not present any solutions, and if we do they are definitely not licensed, we hope that potentially seeing yourself in these articles will help. If not, please do enjoy the pretty designs and well-written pieces, and may you be consumed by them.

With the kindest of regards,

Rochelle, your Libraries Convener xx

Libraries Committee

Rochelle Chlala

Eliza Checkley-Mills

Lucy Hindmarsh

Jessica Murphy

Eileen O’Sullivan

Charlie Catterall

Jenny Macinnes

Ellen Canavan

Martin Mullaney

Euan Goodwin

Julia Budzynska

Editor-in-Chief

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Production Officer

Social Media/PR Officer

Events Co-ordinator/Eclectic Editor

Lifestyle Editor

Arts and Culture Editor

Science Editor

Politics Editor

Showcase Editor

Campus Editor

Is Consumer Culture being Left Behind?

Sophie Hannam

“Buying cheap and often has become a defining expectation of the modern consumer with fast fashion brands producing twice the amount of clothes today than in the year 2000. (...) Landfills are rapidly becoming filled with dresses, tops and jeans worn only a handful of times before being traded for something that is deemed to be better. ”

The runway of University Avenue seems to change bi-weekly, following the new TikTok trends and spawning off the glittering racks of the local Urban Outfitters. This week it’s ribbon bows and Bridget Bardot hairstyles, last week it was slick back buns and baby tees. I always feel like I am one step behind the fashion-forward majority, how do they do it? And how eco-conscious can it possibly be?

Sat in the library I struggle to stop my eyes from ogling at the fashion show of edgy skirts, vintage jackets and thick woolly scarfs. The most shocking component from this catalogue of dernier cri is that when questioned, individuals will proudly declare every item a rare find. “I got it for £3 off Vinted”, “I found it for 50p at a car boot sale”, and “I fished it out of the bin round the back of Bag o’Nails” are the responses that stab into my envious soul. No chance I can find myself a similar item, it truly is one of a kind.

Before moving to Glasgow I lived in a city plagued by a charity shop deficit. As a result, I turned to ASOS’s next-day delivery and the monotonous factory of H&M. This vastly unethical and CO2-heavy way of dressing myself was blatantly unsustainable. Left with a brimming wardrobe of socially deemed outdated clothes, barely a week old, that failed to resemble how I actually wanted to look.

Buying cheap and often has become a defining expectation of the modern consumer with fast fashion brands producing twice the amount of clothes today than in the year 2000 (Earth.org, 2023). Landfills are rapidly becoming filled with dresses, tops and jeans worn only a handful of times before being traded for something that is deemed to be better. In the US, 85% of all textiles are thrown away (BBC, 2020), this is waste at an unprecedented level. Such a gross level of disregard for the fashion industry is something I care about very personally, being a member of the Glasgow University Fashion Revolution Committee.

Clothes, in my mind at least, are a key tool in self-expression. I wear my beige trench coat if I want to look professional, my royal blue car-

digan with croissant-shaped buttons if I want to look comfy, and my green corduroy jumpsuit if I want to look cool. Behind everything I wear, there is thought and meaning. One of my friends at uni always tells me a story of how when she was younger she and her friend made a pact to dress only in what they loved, not what everyone else said they should like. As a consequence, I have never seen her dressed in a way that is not the embodiment of the person she is. Buying well-made items and keeping pieces she truly loves for years (admittedly some are kept for too long as the tag reads ages 12-13). Taking pride in your wardrobe is seemingly a lost art and I truly think we are all the worse for it.

My first month at university I went charity shop crazy. Repeated treks up and down Byers Road and Great Western Road to expand my wardrobe in the coolest way became an integral part of my weekly errands. At the end of my frenzy, I realised one crucial thing. My bank account was empty. Charity shops, the once money-saving foundation of apparel, are becoming increasingly extortionate. This occurs as the result of second-hand shopping rising as a sustainable trend. Whilst I can’t deny it as a good stride towards combating rising levels of fabric waste, it is not without its negatives. Many buy pieces to sell for profit on reselling apps such as Depop and Vinted. Others use second-hand clothing as a direct supplement for their fast fashion addiction, replacing their “new finds” with “newer, cooler versions” rather than looking after the clothes they already own. Yes, at least items are not being rehomed into landfills but the argument still stands, why make clothes you love so disposable?

To answer the titular question of this article, is consumer culture being left behind? … It’s complicated. In some ways yes, it is inarguable that society is slowly moving away from the grips of disposable apparel, with many switching their department stores to charity superstores. However, I argue that the consumerist attitude is switching along with its target audience. Swapping Shien finds for those of Save the Children. Because, is it truly sustainable if the clothes are only kept for a week, regardless of where it was bought?

Sleep Sleep Sleep no matter what House of Dragons

All we do is sleep, sleep, sleep no matter what

Unless we can’t sleep, sleep, sleep no matter what But everyone wants to meet, meet, meet despite the odds

Whilst, we haven’t washed, washed, washed for (cough) better not say how long

There’s mold, mold, mold everywhere on the floor - On the floor! All we need to do is take the rotten clementines out the door, door, door - Out the door!

But when you can’t sleep, sleep, sleep no matter what With fibro pain, pain, pain - yet no gain!?

Procrastination keeps you slain slain slain on the floor - On the floor! And we know the rhythm is getting kinda old, old, old - Getting old! But it postpones taking out the mold, mold, mold out the door - Out the door!

So, All we need is sleep, sleep, sleep no matter what Got uni on our mind, it never gets enough And every time we wake up in the morning, our mind goes - off.

Coming out out House of Dragons

How can we come out, If we were never in.

And if to get in, we need to get out, Well, what’s the f*****g point in that?

But if we already were in, Then hell f*****g yeah we’d want to get out.

Not least, because when in, They want us out and ‘they’ out as well.

But when we do, indeed, eventually come out They don’t f*****g celebrate.

Hypocrisy is in and is coming out.

We get it now though, It’s simple. We came out to be outside inside out.

Daaaaamn we’re out outside inside out.

Here Comes the Sun

Recently, I’ve been unable to shake the mental image of Alexander the Great meeting Diogenes. Imagine a fetid old man, fresh from a night in his barrel of choice, reclining across a dusty road. Now imagine a resplendent king, who, at the height of his martial prowess, trawled the highways and byways in pursuit of him. Upon finding the grime-covered Diogenes, the mighty Alexander offers him a favour. The former asks only that Alexander ‘move out of my sun’, leading the king simply to declare: ‘if I were not Alexander then I should wish to be Diogenes’.

Perhaps it’s some latent narcissism on my part, but I really feel I ‘get’ Alexander in this moment. As I look out of the library windows, trying desperately to think of anything other than my work, Alexander and Diogenes often pop into my mind. The king’s envy is my envy, because as I sit to read, write, or perform any of the other necessary functions of a student, I often find myself tensing with a strange frustration. The muscles in my fingers seize, and I feel the urge to throw my laptop down several flights of stairs. And so, self-indulgently, I huff about in my seat, knowing in the moment

Sarah Dewar

that I’m being juvenile but nevertheless unable to shake the sense that I’m being deprived of something. Just as Alexander had his empire, I have my essay; just as he had his megalomania, I have a craven desire for academic validation; just as he pursued legacy, I pursue the ability to afford a mortgage deposit. We are unified, both by immense pressures and the desire to ignore them – pressures, which, I might add, seem entirely self-inflicted. This begs the question: be it a degree or a conquest, why do we resent that which we ourselves choose to do?

The only answer I’ve been able to reach as to the source of this frustration lies with the oppressive force of expectation, which manifests in the relentless demand to be productive in both absolute and relative terms; to improve upon yesterday, to get better grades than last year, or to study harder than the person three seats down who makes it all seem effortless. I have to demonstrate self-improvement via my work ethic or the force of my intellect. Because to fall short is to fail. But it’s not just in my ‘work’ life that I feel these pressures. Indeed, all elements of my life have to be maximised

in terms of their output: if I knit, I need to produce a jumper; if I argue, I have to win some formalised competition; if I see friends, I need to convince them that the new shirt I bought speaks volumes to my taste. I think this is more than just the human drive to be considered valuable, interesting, or unique. Instead, it is a consequence of living in a world that prioritises production, and where inactivity is synonymous with regress.

To restart your degree, or move to another subject, is seen not as academic exploration but as failure. To walk the long way back from lectures through Kelvin Way is a waste of time that could otherwise have been spent studying. We must always have a purpose and an end in sight, and should be pursuing it in a manner that maximises our output-to-input ratio. To lie across the road and bask in the morning sun, like Diogenes, is lazy, selfish and wasteful. To pursue power and fame, like Alexander, is venerable. To resent that stratification is to be childish, parochial, or even a Luddite. Like the historical Luddites, you are standing in the way of progress, your two hands firmly gripping a bat, ready to smash

the weaving frames to pieces. But perhaps the Luddite impulse to destroy the new powered-weaving machines, and the profits of the price gouging merchants along with them, isn’t a bad one. If efficiency improvements for the sake of human welfare only generate misery and obsolescence, perhaps they aren’t actually desirable. For the Luddites the advent of powered production meant disempowerment and innovation, and spelled an inevitable regress in welfare. As this inexorable force bore down upon ordinary people with all its might, with state violence and capital seeking to entrench said change, the Luddites fought for their right to bathe in the sun.

I don’t deny that the Luddites may appear to be little more than a funny footnote in the history of political movements. However, dismissing them for an apparent lack of profundity would be a mistake. Surely to sit back and enjoy the sun is itself a statement of ideological intent? The long and storied history of this worldview is a reflection of its value, and so, whilst I won’t ask my readers to throw their laptops down an elevator shaft, I will invite you to examine that impulse, should it ever arise.

It seems that nowadays the word ‘diet’ is mostly associated with negative connotations. When we think of diets, we think of calorie-counting and weight loss – we think of restriction for the sake of ‘health’. Diet culture has become a multi-billion-pound industry that made way for the rise of the ‘Fad Diet’. A fad diet is an eating plan that claims to know the fastest possible method to lose weight by promoting certain foods or habits and restricting others. Some diets ban you from eating carbs, while others ban you from sugar or dairy. Furthermore, some diets will allow you to eat some of these forbidden foods, but they refer to them as ‘sins’, while they refer to allowed foods as ‘smart foods’. The entirety of these diets is rooted in the potential to lose weight, and with national obesity levels continuing to rise with little sign of stopping, we are naturally and desperately buying into it.

It’s obvious that there are considerable inconsistencies in research and the theory behind weight loss –some say carbs make you fat, others claim it’s fats that makes you fat. Fad diets all fight to claim that they have discovered what is and isn’t healthy and what you really should cut out. But the problem with this diet culture lies in just that – cutting out. It is simply not healthy to remove one particular food, we learn this in school with the food pyramid. Milk and dairy make up nearly a third of our Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of calcium, they significantly contribute to corporal growth and development, bone, muscle and nerve health, and blood pressure. Complex carbohydrates like bread, rice, and pasta – especially when wholemeal – maintain colon and intestinal health, provide sufficient energy per meal, and even have the potential to reduce cancer risks. Even fats should be incorporated into a regular diet. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like nuts, avocados and seeds improve skin, optimise brain function, and maintain liver health.

Every single fad diet on the planet restricts at least one of these food groups.

However, in recent years there has been an increase in reverting to a more natural way of eating along with a rise in natural medicine which, when paired with concepts like intuitive eating, can help dismantle the tight grip that fad diets have on our society. I should comment that when I discuss natural diets, I don’t mean veganism or vegetarianism. Though both these diets respect the environment and to some, life itself, these both still cut out at least one food group.

When I say natural diets, I describe diets like the Mediterranean diet which is readily becoming a very popular way of eating. The Mediterranean diet includes every single food group, encourages eating the freshest possible fruits and vegetables (or at least, as minimally processed as possible), and contains high levels of fibre consumption. As a diet, it has the potential to reduce heart disease, manage or prevent Type 2 diabetes, and protect cognitive health.

The Nordic diet is very similar, but it puts more emphasis on fish and other seafoods which contains the almighty omega-3 and thus, helps reduce heart disease, improve brain health, and is recommended in pregnancy as it helps develop the baby’s nervous system.

The Japanese diet works to incorporate many food groups like seafood, carbs like rice and noodles, fresh, cooked, or pickled fruits and vegetables, as well as other foods like tofu, seaweed, natto and eggs. Natto alone can strengthen bones, help digestion, and improve your immune system.

Since all three of these diets avoid cutting out every single food group, they offer an incredible variety of possible dishes. Food can be something exciting, it can be the one thing that makes a person’s day just that little bit better. So why put yourself through a restrictive diet when you can eat a healthier, more balanced, and more varied diet? In fact, food has a far greater impact on our mental wellbeing than many are aware of. Low blood sugar can trigger feelings of irritation, fatigue and even depression. Proteins contain amino acids that help to produce chemicals called neurotransmitters which regulate thoughts and feelings. As previously mentioned, omega-3 and omega-6 are essential for providing energy for the body and brain which in turn, can lessen fatigue and increase motivation. Lower levels of motivation and thus, productivity can cause undue anxiety and stress especially during exam season for students – feeling overwhelmed can be incredibly draining for any person, but it can be reduced with a proper intake of the necessary foodstuffs.

It is exceptionally important that we replenish our minds and bodies with the adequate food and replace the energy we use. Restrictive diets cannot allow you to do that, but a natural, all-encompassing diet definitely can.

food for thought

Eliza Checkley-Mills

“I can’t... I have to study.”

Sophie Hannam

Where FOMO meets its arch nemesis, exam season has arrived. In recent weeks, I have been mentally preparing for my indefinite move to the library. Over a month spent living off of the vending machines on the 3rd floor and pitching up a tent on the 10th in a desperate attempt to procure a seat - so far an ineffective move. There is not very much enjoyment to be found during this time and often the light at the end of the dusty academic tunnel is too far out of reach to be deemed possible. As if it couldn’t get any worse, all of this is spent in a limbic state of hypothermia and darkness; crushing any remnants of our battered souls. Maintaining the student stereotype I am yet to turn on the heating, my flatmates and I agreed we could put it off one more day, said with an increasing quiver. We just can’t afford it. As a result, those precious few hours spent outside of the library walls are spent huddled in a damp room shivering myself to sleep. Overall it is clear that my so-called academic weaponry consists of an out-of-shape butter knife.

The autumnal/winter season culminates into a

truly miserable time for all students across the country. The big black dog of seasonal depression hits almost every one of us, increasing the difficulty in trying to stay on top of school work and the basic requirements. Studies based off people with winter seasonal affective disorder have decreased serotonin (a well known regulator of moods), research also identifies sunlight as a mechanism for helping molecules maintain normal serotonin levels- a source of good news in sunny Glasgow. The loss of motivation plays a huge component in the struggle with winter workloads, I for one constantly find myself distracted trying to study nowadays. Researchers suggest our productivity can peak at different times based on our circadian rhythms and without exposure to natural light our internal clock can drift out of sync, leaving the average student feeling sluggish and unproductive. Nonetheless, I seem to live life chained to my chair staring at the aggressive blue light, repeating the same sentence over and over. “I can’t I have to study”. I am reluctantly living my rot girl winter, and contrary to the advice of the NHS having

a cup of tea and a warm bath isn’t quite cutting it for improving my mood.

According to the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, 44% of students face symptoms of depression over the course of their studies. This is the highest statistic produced in the past 15 years, and there seems to be no hope of it getting better. Such depressive symptoms create a literal inability to perform work; unable to find the motivation to sit and study. Whilst the University of Glasgow does offer its students mental health support throughout their studies, as shown by its counselling service and helplines, long wait times and internalised shame leave students silent and without a support system to lean on.

Growing up popular media always romanticised a life in academia, filling me with false promises of what my future at University would be. I mean look at Rory Gilmour. She reads fifty books a week, studies like her life depends on it and doesn’t seem to break a sweat. Elle Woods was able to get into Harvard over the course of a semester- like it’s hard? And I just about remem-

bered to eat my dinner. Several studies have pointed out unfortunate effects of media consumption such as increased loneliness, fear of missing out, decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The blunt truth of studying full-time is often shrouded by its over-glamorised depiction, allowing young adults to sign up for a very expensive degree without being fully aware of its reality.

This is not to say that University shouldn’t be difficult, much like everything in life a degree requires hard work and dedication. However, it should be indisputable that more support systems should be in place for struggling students, and a restructuring of the exam season to place the mental-wellbeing of students at the forefront should be considered. After all, as much as university is for the degree it is also for the social benefits. Uni culture is renowned across the whole of the UK and motivates more teenagers than the prospect of getting into their chosen courses. Student life is one of the few instances of freedom many young adults come into contact with - so why not enjoy it while you can?

The naturally phase-defined trendscape of the internet has helped facilitate a new way of speaking about identity and self-recreation in the eras discourse. Representing a shortening of the attention economy, many different influencers based in different genres and/or subgenres of social media content have popularised certain phases or “eras” of contemporary or fictional lives. The concept of “cores’’ as a certain vibe or aesthetic is tightly woven together with these eras, as we collectively establish criteria and blueprints for specific eras.

A female villain era, for example, is defined by creating personal boundaries between yourself and others while holding people accountable for their actions. Despite these attributes being seemingly positive, women being in any way hostile or sceptical - or even rejecting the supposedly innate nurturing and forgiving femininity that extends to other people no matter their behaviour - is often connected to female villains. Similarly, the “Fleabag era” has been described as seeking vengeance for fun, as well as synonymous with both the villain era and the depression era, demonstrating freedom of interpretation within the trend. Blanking the obvious Taylor Swift association, the ties to invention and storied living are apparent within the trend, since part of the fun is living like a main character with a story arc and character growth, while being a way to connect with our favourite characters (Jo March, Frances Ha, etc.), literary values and narratives from pop culture by identifying with them.

The eras trend speaks to the need for reinvention that many women and LGBT people possess. It is a remarkable contrast to the seemingly stagnant lifestyles of many straight cisgender men who feel no need to alter their style, personality or public perceptions thereof, when they perfectly fit into patriarchal standards of masculinity. Any forms or displays of femininity are, how-

Im in my era

______

Leah Hart

ever, eventually problematised through the various angles of feminism, conservatism, mental health, etc. In this way, the trend is just another way that society demands constant flexibility and self-criticism from women and LGBT persons while straight cisgender men are not forced from lifestyle to lifestyle through the endless social criticism of feminine and queer choices and life patterns.

According to Dr Maria Kordowicz, an expert in organisational behaviour, the establishment of eras also functions as a tool to justify our current priorities and needs. Not only is it natural for humans to use linguistics to understand and categorise our surroundings, but ‘by classifying our priorities verbally or in writing, we are better able to work towards meeting them by creating a transparent system and remaining accountable,’ says Kordowicz. Some critics of the trend instead say that the trend helps people do the opposite, by glorifying their own trauma and frankly turning it into “absurdist” content for consumption.

Rather than being complex people, cores and eras design our identities for consumption and marketability. Whereas a phase is fleeting and temporal, an era feels more final, holding more weight in the chronology of life. Although implying that it won’t ever happen again, an era feels more fixed and meaningful in our stories and identities than a phase, as well as sounding more positive. It’s a convenient way to flop while simultaneously undermining said failures and temporalising it. Being in the same era as another is also a way to connect with them, however superficial that connection may be. Despite its drawbacks, an era is a customisable frame for self-invention on your own terms and it makes everyday life more exciting.

You don’t know them like I do!

Jenny MacInnes

In today’s media, celebrities’ success is completely intertwined into the social sphere of their fans. They are no longer unrelatable and unreachable, but instead just at the other side of your phone screen. This new generation of fans have gotten used to this intimate view of their idols where they feel as though they are personal friends, when the reality is far from it. This shift in celebrity culture has arguably been for the worst and ironically supported the isolation of fans, rather than bringing them closer.

While the concept of overbearing or obsessive fans is not new, it is something that has been intensified by the introduction of “stan” culture. With origins on Twitter, “stans” are extreme fans who have created communities of people who love and support their favourite artist, actor, band or celebrity and use social media as a way to share this support. Social media became a place where people could get noticed and engage with celebrities, and so the fight for attention began. People tried to prove that they were worthy of this attention by being the “biggest fan” and giving their undying support to celebrities, with little to no rational thinking or critique of these people.

Of course, as social media grew, celebrities were able to monopolise their fanbases and use them to grow their professional and commercial profile.. They began to share their lives with their fans, chat to them, and in theory, become their “friend”. The line between celebrity and ordinary person became blurred. Due to the current extent of this, fans have claimed a sort of ownership over these people where they feel that they are obligated to know personal details, relationship status, confirmation or denial of rumours and, overall, things that are often none of their business. These are things we wouldn’t demand from people we don’t know, but this method of promoting celebrities brands has somehow and contrarily humanised them so much that it has become dehumanising. Celebrities are now being

seen as friends who are demonised for not acting as such.

Doja Cat was involved in a controversy recently where she was shamed for not saying that she “loved” one of her fans because she didn’t know them. Obviously there is an element of disrespect to this kind of situation where celebrities should be grateful for those who have supported their work, and so acting “high and mighty” when it suits does come across as a bit spoilt. However, it does demonstrate the kind of script celebrities should follow to appease their fans. If they don’t they are labelled as rude or ungrateful. And yet understandably sometimes the incessant digging from fans pushes their idols to resent them, so the constant devotion has all been for nothing. Doja Cat stated “when people become engaged with someone they don’t even know on the internet, they kind of take ownership over that person. They think that person belongs to them in some sense.” to clarify why she feels a distance from her fanbase and why she thinks that her fans don’t see her as “real”, which is often, although subconscious, the case in most fan-celebrity relationships.

There isn’t really a way to tell if placing celebrities on a pedestal and keeping them as untouchable figures is better than shining a spotlight onto the “regular person” and still expecting them to be pristine icons. The business of celebrity nowadays demands an engaged and growing audience on all kinds of platforms to keep the commercial success but what happens when that engagement falls short in the eyes of the fans? When celebrities act as just ordinary people? Celebrity culture is always under a lens of critique but isn’t it unrealistic and possibly just naive to expect that every post and photograph which is carefully curated and approved by managers is anything other than PR and that “stans” are simply being used for brand purposes? No wonder they feel let down when they don’t get what they want.

Alcohol otherwise known as the world’s biggest social crutch has certainly left its muddy footprint on the surface of UK society. Perhaps it’s the Scottish air but strangely enough entering my 3rd year of university I have become a little bit of a fiend for a night out when I would have previously scrunched my nose up at it. Moving across the globe from the neon-signed, restaurant-stacked streets of Hong Kong to the little moss-carpeted cobbled lanes of Ireland, a little pint in the epicentre of our wee town (the local pub) actually sounded like a weekend activity I wanted to participate in. Don’t get me wrong, I made a rather swift transition into the more frequent indulgence of alcoholic bevies and I certainly enjoy myself a night out- provided I don’t need to relive all the awful decisions I made the next morning. But I do often wonder why I spend such a large part of my budget on alcohol.

My deduction is that it is down to two reasons. Boredom and repression. There’s no doubt a blur of a night out is a good time, some research suggests that alcohol can affect the speed of our ‘internal clock’, affecting the way our brain perceives time. Frequently, the only way to gather the troops is by texting ‘Pint?’ into the group chat. The word ‘Pint?’ suggests non-commitment, an easy-going night, one where drinks can flow and words can spill. It removes any awkwardness that could otherwise occur at a dinner, the gaps of silence can be filled by the hustle and bustle of the rugby lads sitting on the next table. It is only a pint, if things get tense you can stand up and leave, call it a night. Alcohol excuses many a bad deci-

sion- when one too many vodka lemonades loosen your tongue and all your deepest inner monologues from your lips, the concrete breakwaters designed to keep your personal life exclusive can be torn down with ease and without shame. The next day if you’re lucky enough to forget the unrepeatable secrets you’ve revealed to an acquaintance or if you’ve managed to secure a free therapy session from a girl in the toilet, you can simply collect the rubble of the damage you made the night before and start rebuilding. There really are very few consequences since the sheets over the unalluring words you carelessly unfurl the night before can simply be remade once the morning sun peeks through the window. After all it is social etiquette that anything you reveal at night is left unspoken if it can’t be said during the day. It can be difficult to know what to take from a night out, what exactly is shit talk and what holds meaning? I often even question my own words.

This has led me to wonder, why do we as a population have so much to hide? Is it really that dreadful to be vulnerable? Does a little bit of quiet really equate to boredom? Will I follow my own advice and allow myself to say everything I truly mean? I would quite like to enjoy a slower paced, relaxed night time walk through the park. I would quite like to forgive myself for the awkward discrepancies I make at the potluck. Maybe I can try out dry January? Or I can not flinch at the thought of awkward silences. I think I will make efforts to move towards that, but for now it’s nothing a night out can’t fix.

Ellen Canavan

Thoughts of a Not Very Sober October

Thoughts of a Not Very Sober October

The Journey to a Healthy Consumption of Social media

The Journey to a Healthy Consumption of Social media

Charlie Catterall

I recently had an epiphany about my social media usage after finding myself four videos deep in ‘storytimes’ full of tears before bed; this was not entertaining, completely irrelevant to my life and not what I wanted to end my day on. Scrolling is the last thing I do before sleep and the first thing I do in the morning, setting how I both start and finish my day. If this is the case shouldn’t what I’m consuming reflect what I actually want to see on social media?

My epiphany sent me on a mission to fill my TikTok with pretty things; poetry, empowerment and live music I’d never otherwise see. Long lost clips of The Beatles, book recommendations and charity shop hauls. Travel recommendations, Glasgow in the 60s and happy people. My kind of funny and dogs. The videos that were previously mixed in with toxic diet culture, arguments and hate crimes.

To achieve the For You page of my dreams I had to start actively abusing the algorithm. TikTok is based around algorithmic technologies, they show you what you’ve previously engaged with; if that’s fully watching the video out of boredom, sending to a friend because of how ridiculous it is or viewing the page to see more. I was giving hateful content the reaction it’s created to attain. I stopped engaging with this content full stop, scrolling on and blocking or removing content that triggered me or that I didn’t want to see more of, and positively engaging with the content I really enjoyed.

This shift in how I manipulated TikTok transpired into how I use my other social medias. Another big platform with a bad rep is Instagram, a platform I have previously had a toxic relationship with. Instagram makes comparison unavoidable, the platform’s purpose rooted in how people are presenting their lives; it’s so easy to go on Instagram and see people broadcast the beauty of their life and feel inferior. Along with this, having had Instagram since primary school I have followers that I’m completely disconnected from or even have a negative relationship with. Being able to stalk their profiles embodied some sort of self-sabotage I could mindlessly partake in. Removing these followers made the platform judgement free for me, I could post what I wanted, and I was posting for me rather than to broadcast some sort of message about how happy I am or how I look. The way I think of Instagram has been completely redesigned; I love taking pictures and documenting happy moments, so I view Instagram as a scrapbook rather than a projection of my worth. This mindset means I’m not bothered about likes and story views because it’s for me to look back on as a collection of memories.

My late-night epiphany completely reshaped my relationship with social media. Being tactical about consumption of media and my own profiles made both these platforms happy places to be, full of niches, happy photos and media that I positively engage with.

When the Days are Consumed When the Days are Consumed

Now that the clocks have gone back, it feels like we are living in constant darkness. The walk home along Byres Road at 4pm after a day stressing over essays has become a hurry to escape the cold and rain. The NHS recommends spending time outside during the day to beat the winter blues. However, due to midday lectures and essay deadlines, for some this may be far easier said than done. Now, I may not be a healthcare professional, but over the last few years November has become a month I brace myself for. And as a fresher, the deadlines I’m grappling with are hard enough. With that, here are some tips for managing seasonal blues!

1. Boost your Mood with Food

1. Boost your Mood with Food

Far from the most surprising advice. Your Mum and Dad likely touted that constant takeaways can leave anyone feeling lethargic and depressed. The obvious issue with cooking meals from scratch may be just wanting to sleep or needing time to unwind after a long day. If you’re feeling particularly withdrawn, there’s the worry of finding yourself in an awkward exchange with one of your flatmates as you both wait around the hob for your pots of water to boil. Preparing and storing multiple meals in advance may help you later in the week if stress begins to build up. Healthy meals don’t need to be as complicated as the ones your family sends you from BBC Good Food. Taking a protein source like chicken or fish from the freezer and pairing it with vegetables creates a versatile base you can later adapt to a variety of meals like wraps or with pasta if desired. If you need a hearty meal but really don’t want to have to deal with the cleanup, you would just need to reach for the fridge and heat it up in the microwave. Your body won’t be the only one thanking you, but your bank account as well.

2. Tidying Up your Living Space

2. Tidying Up your Living Space

With the pressure of deadlines building, worsened by the miserable weather, you might be finding yourself in your flat or house a lot more than usual, surrounded by the clutter on your desk. The thought of pushing through all the weekly chores needing to be done may be daunting. Rather than doing them all at once, divide them into smaller individual jobs. Finding yourself zoning out staring into your laptop? It could be a good time to get up and make your bed. Even a quick five minutes away from your work may shake off some brain fog and help you focus. If your symptoms involve feelings of despair or doubt, being able to tidy up your living space could help regain even a little sense of control. Spending a little money on room and desk decorations after clearing out the clutter could be a good way to brighten up the space. Browsing a charity shop in the West End and City Centre during some spare time could lead you to find a cute addition, and it being second-hand guarantees little effect on the bank account!

Consumed by Constant Night... Consumed by Constant Night...

Liberty Holmes

3. Reach Out to Others

3. Reach Out to Others

Although it might not feel like it, many others are struggling with seasonal blues as well and simply reaching out and messaging first may brighten up their day more than you’d think. A study session or a simple walk or just a cup of coffee could help relieve any seasonal blues both of you might be dealing with during midterms. Even popping out of the flat to attend a social could be a way to get out of your head and out of your coursework for a couple of hours. If you find yourself on Instagram scrolling through reels, it could be a chance to arrange an activity or day out with friends. Try and find a way to celebrate the end of a particularly daunting deadline or take your mind off an exam coming up.

4. Take Advantage of the Light

4. Take Advantage of the Light

With the pressure of deadlines building, worsened by the miserable weather, you might be finding yourself in your flat or house a lot more than usual, surrounded by the clutter on your desk. The thought of pushing through all the weekly chores needing to be done may be daunting. Rather than doing them all at once, divide them into smaller individual jobs. Finding yourself zoning out staring into your laptop? It could be a good time to get up and make your bed. Even a quick five minutes away from your work may shake off some brain fog and help you focus. If your symptoms involve feelings of despair or doubt, being able to tidy up your living space could help regain even a little sense of control. Spending a little money on room and desk decorations after clearing out the clutter could be a good way to brighten up the space. Browsing a charity shop in the West End and City Centre during some spare time could lead you to find a cute addition, and it being second-hand guarantees little effect on the bank account!

Like many suggestions, these won’t necessarily work for everyone but it helps to know how to prepare for the waves of low mood. Acknowledging that being susceptible to seasonal blues at first may feel like a personal failure but it can serve as a vital first step to better understand your symptoms. Creating a support network of people and strategies for when winter arrives will undoubtedly come in handy until the clocks go back in the spring!

Incognito Incognito Mode

Ricky Blake

Have you ever met anyone without a phone or even social media? I have heard rumours they exist but have never actually met one; I personally cannot leave the house without my phone. If such a person does exist, then their whole outlook on life and their daily routine would be completely different to the rest of ours. Would this make them a less anxious, more ‘real’ person or someone who lives in a box unable to seize the opportunities that the rest of us can access. A world of things can be done from something that fits in one’s pocket, and so our phones have become as essential as shoes when stepping out of the house.

Certainly Instagram has created a state reminiscent of the story of Echo and Narcissus as told by Ovid in Metamorphoses; Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection and unable to take his eyes away withers and dies, he does this whilst ignoring Echo who is real and in love with him. Instagram is a filtered impression of a reality which is unattainable. In seeking a perfect life, we are ignoring what is in front of us, the things that actually exist. People get physically addicted to social media and the science behind it is illuminating. Browsing social media causes a spike in dopamine which is the part of the brain responsible for motivation, attention, and other lovely things. Once that temporary spike wears off the dopamine level drops below the base level, decreasing one’s mood which then causes a person to go looking for that dopamine hit again. Therefore, the more a person uses something the less the effect of that hit in addition to a general decrease in one’s mood overall. This correlates with signs that decreased motivation and depression are on the rise. Consequently, every slightly amusing TikTok or Euro holiday destination on Instagram causes this slight spike in dopamine, which we go looking for again by continuing to scroll. Similar to Narcissus, we are trapped forever scrolling Instagram cursed that what we so desire is out of reach whilst our own physical and mental wellbeing, what is real, deteriorates.

Phone addiction has meant the decimation of our attention spans. TikTok is a major offender for this, many people are unable to sit through a film anymore. At the pictures a couple of weeks ago a girl sat next to me was scrolling her phone through the whole showing. The deterioration of peoples’ attention span is straying into politics. People would rather read an Instagram infographic than a book or BBC article, they would rather watch a thirty second TikTok than the news. When these people go to the ballot box, their votes will then be entirely based on the opinions of the content creator who made the infographic. Clearly this dominance of technology, when it starts to affect very real issues like politics, is not a good thing.

I resisted getting a phone until I was in year 10 (S4), it was fine ringing my friends on the landline when I was younger, but with social media, I couldn’t maintain a social life. Now I have fully embraced social media, though I am pleased to say that I have resisted TikTok. My phone has brought me so much with new social connections and great convenience; who can imagine a time before mobile banking? Despite this I have also seen a decrease in my attention span, I don’t read as much, and I do believe that I am addicted to my phone - none of these things are positive.

Like any revolution in history, while we are in the technology storm it is difficult to see the damage. Evidence is mounting that social media and overuse of technology is a contributing factor to the increase in mental health issues. While more of our everyday lives move online, the harder it is to guard against this addiction to our phones. The reason people removed from the online world are so rare is because it is difficult to live this way, you certainly could not complete a degree without access to the internet and so many other things. I genuinely believe that my life would be much better without social media however, if I need a phone anyway then I may as well have Instagram on it. In a vain attempt to not end up like Narcissus I have started walking places without my headphones, only getting my news from the radio or tv and leaving my phone out of my bedroom when I sleep. I urge anyone who is also feeling too reliant on technology to take whatever steps may help them to stop. If something doesn’t change our civilisation may wither and die, starin into its own false reflection.

“Like any revolution in history, while we are in the technology storm it

is

difficult to see the damage. Evidence is mounting that social media and overuse of technology is a contributing factor to the increase in mental health issues.”

thank you, next x

Jasmine Nbltt

It seems no matter where we turn, we hear a new insane story about someone who’s just been dumped, or catfished, or ghosted. With each story more ridiculous than the last, it begs the question: What the hell has happened to modern dating?!

Initially, apps like Tinder, Grindr and Hinge appeared promising; a way to meet people we’d otherwise never encounter. It allowed less confident people to step outside of their comfort zone and for the LGBTQ+ community, it could even provide a sanctuary, with Grindr being the first “swiping” app in 2009. And to be fair, especially during various lockdowns, dating apps have been invaluable. I met my long-term boyfriend on Tinder and while this has led to some awkward conversations with my grandmother, I’m obviously very grateful for dating apps. Some of the most successful relationships around me originated online, including people in my parents’ generation.

This said, I have definitely had my fair share of shitty dating experiences. Without going

through my dirty laundry, I frequently found myself yearning for the “good old days” of dating. Situationships often replace committed relationships and while I love that casual dating has become more acceptable, less and less of us make it past the six-month point. It feels like the moment relationships get difficult, it isn’t worth working on them because we can simply redownload Hinge and find someone new. We’re constantly chasing the honeymoon phase and wondering whether the grass might be greener in someone else’s garden. While I am by no means perpetuating a “stay together no matter what”-mentality it does seem that, in relationships, we have become replaceable.

Part of the problem is that dating has been turned into a game. We all have that one friend who just loves to swipe on other people’s Tinder profiles for fun but never downloads the app themselves. But arguably dating has always been a game to some, with many people admitting “the chase” is what makes it all worthwhile.

To put it crudely, most apps have made dating into a form of online shopping. With a swipe on an app, we can find the next most attractive person to date in our area and meet them within a matter of days. On their website, Bumble quotes Dr Kristie Overstreet saying, “In the next few years, dating is going to be extremely individualised. We’re going to hone in on our preferences, from looks to location, just like we do when ordering food.” This allegory blatantly illustrates Bumble’s attitude toward dating, perpetuating the commodification of love.

This “online shopping” sensation is intensified by apps increasingly offering better features for paying customers. Most of us are aware by now that Hinge’s algorithm specifically hides people from its users that it believes they would be attracted to. It does so to entice its users to pay for their premium, Hinge+ services. Similarly, Grindr has Grindr XTRA, Bumble has Bumble Premium and Tinder even offers multiple tiers with Tinder Plus, Gold, and Platinum. With these premium packages, people can buy more likes or get their profile boosted. While there are

ways to get around these algorithms, this illustrates a fact we often forget when swiping: dating has become a business.

But are dating apps really to blame? Or has dating always been tightly entwined with consumerism? Without boring you with a long history lesson, I’d argue for the latter. While nowadays many desire an emotional connection, marriage and courtship have long been connected with financial gain. Historically, marriages were formed for economic and political purposes, to join families or to settle property. In some places, marriage even rendered the wife her husband’s possession. But we can even look to less extreme examples, such as Valentine’s Day, to see how love has long been connected with consumerism.

Now don’t get me wrong, at heart, I am a hopeless romantic, so all this makes me won-

der is there a way to win back love from consumerism? After being on and off dating apps for a while now, many feel overwhelmed by the endless realm of swiping. People around me seem to be turning their backs on Tinder and Hinge, but what is the alternative? With the memory of the loneliness of COVID lockdowns fading away, singledom is being valued more than ever. Many young individuals are now content with being single and are open to meeting new people along the way. Experts believe Gen Z is fundamentally changing society’s attitude toward dating, with qualities such as loyalty and respect being prioritised over appearances. While dating apps are not disappearing any time soon, I believe younger generations will find their own ways to meet people in person again. Hopefully, this allows us to create a new dating culture, less consumed by modern-day capitalism.