7 minute read
Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees Phoebe Worsley
from STAHS Imprint Magazine - TIME
by STAHS
The world we live in is constantly changing, evolving and developing. This means that each generation grows up in very different social and economic circumstances to the next, reshaping the way that each one views the world. For example, millennials and Gen Z, although close in age and technological ability, have very different attitudes when it comes to investing and saving money. A reason for this is that at the very beginning of the lives of those in Gen Z, the world suffered a huge recession which left many of their parents in economic difficulty. This, as well as seeing many millennials’ financial struggles with student loans and housing prices, has led them to be far more conservative than the previous generation when it comes to spending money. Our economic situation as millenials and Gen Z is very different from those who came before us. Unlike previous generations, it is unlikely that we will have just one stable job until we retire. Factors such as the financial crisis, which has resulted in unstable zero-hour contracts becoming more common, the housing crisis and huge student debt mean that it’s unlikely that we will ever purchase property; only one in three millenials will ever buy a house. Given that this is very different to the past, older generations find it more difficult to understand these struggles and are quick to assume that millennials are simply unreliable ‘job-hoppers’, who have limited concentration due to their preoccupation with technology. Rather than taking responsibility for our own actions, we all have a tendency to blame other generations for our difficulties, instead of working collectively to overcome them. For example, millennials and Gen Z often accuse the older generations of creating a climate crisis and leaving the younger ones to deal with it. Whether it’s criticising the silent generation for voting Brexit or blaming millennials for ‘ruining cereal’ by only eating avocados for breakfast, there are many misconceptions and stereotypes that we need to let go of in order to create a society in which all generations feel equal. Perhaps if we change our mindsets, we will be able to see generational integration not only in our families, but in all aspects of our lives, including the workplace. As we come of age and begin to enter the workplace, it’s our responsibility as Gen Z to lead the way in creating a society in which all generations feel valued and play a part in shaping the future and the world that we live in. ...blaming millennials for ‘ruining cereal’ by only eating avocados for breakfast...
DOMINIKA ROSECLAY @PEXELS
TIME TO
VISHAL SHAH @PEXELS
BLURS RUSHING PAST OUR EYES. HUSTLE AND BUSTLE. THE HANDS OF A CLOCK, SPINNING IN ITS INEVITABLE CIRCLE.
These are all common features in our everyday lives, but they shouldn’t be. It’s time to stop rushing and start living. Every day, we live at full speed, whether it’s wolfing down half a slice of toast in the morning and calling it ‘breakfast’ or slapping on concealer seconds before our stop on the train. But what would happen if we slowed down, even just for a moment?
MIA RAJA
Life is full of rushing,
but it doesn’t have to be.
Imagine what would happen if we all took a moment to plan our time better so that we could take care of ourselves more efficiently. Mindfulness is a great way to do so and meditation can often be the key to finding your inner peace. Studies show that meditation improves anxiety levels 60% of the time, relieves symptoms of insomnia 75% of the time and lowers blood pressure 80% of the time. This has led people to a way of life that includes less medication and more meditation...
Now, this doesn’t mean that in order to escape the stress and fast pace of life, you should meditate religiously three times a day because, let’s be honest, none of us have that kind of time. Fortunately, mindfulness is more than just meditation. Mindfulness is about paying attention to our everyday thoughts, emotions and actions and analysing them from a non-judgemental point of view. The first way to do this is to let our minds wander. This might sound slightly peculiar considering that we’re always told to focus, pay attention and stop daydreaming. However, sometimes the best way to focus is to not focus at all. If we stop ourselves from overthinking and instead acknowledge our worries, we can discover what we are concerned or stressed about and deal with these issues, possibly preventing future stress at moments when we don’t have time to get distracted.
Slowing down our pace of eating is also more beneficial than you may think. Usually, eating, especially during the week, seems more like a timed competition than a meal. However, this can actually have a negative impact on our health. Eating too quickly can cause metabolic syndrome, leading to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and strokes. Takayuki Yamaji, a cardiologist at Hiroshima University, and her colleagues carried out a study on 642 men and 441 women with an average age of 51.2 years. None of these participants had metabolic syndrome in 2008. They were then split into three groups depending on whether they believed that their eating pace was fast, normal, or slow. Five years later, the researchers reconnected with the participants and found that metabolic syndrome had developed in 11.6% of fast eaters, 6.5% of the normal eaters, and 2.3% of the slow eaters. Eating slowly has also proven to build metabolism and improve digestion and hydration.
Technology also plays a significant part in our day-to-day lives and has a large impact on the pace that we think at. From hasty double-taps to continuous channel-hopping, technology brings a new rapidity into our lives like never before. We say that we watch TV to ‘relax’ and ‘wind down at the end of the day’, but with the propaganda relentlessly thrown at our faces through adverts and constant flashing images, are our eyes and brains really having ‘downtime’? There are barely seconds in between adverts, giving our brains little to no time to process the information that is continuously tossed our way and making it extremely difficult to be at peace with our minds.
Social media also certainly has an impact on the high speed that our brains are forced to work at. The ability to contact and be contacted by anyone anywhere, makes it even more difficult for us to ‘switch off’ and slow down. With 95 million Instagram posts made per day, there are plenty of images and captions that we get bombarded with, acting as a huge distraction and putting pressure on our brains to juggle more information throughout the day. Even during just one day without technology, time seems to slow down and we’re able to notice and enjoy our real lives better than before.
JARED RICE @UNSPLASH ‘Slow’ is a word that often appears in my everyday life. From my slow processing speed to being (I’m pretty sure) one of the slowest eaters in the world – ‘Hurry up!’ and ‘Come on, we haven’t got all day!’ are phrases that I hear a lot. Fast speed is useful for many things, especially in school; if you’re a quick writer and a quick learner, these qualities are very helpful. Yet, I’ve recently discovered that being slow isn’t all that bad. Sloths move slower than any other mammal on the planet and this allows them to conserve energy. Did you know that, on average, sloths live for 25 years while cheetahs only live for approximately 12? ‘Slow’ teaches us to be patient. ‘Slow’ teaches us to handle with care, allowing for small mistakes to be noticed early on rather than a rushed attempt at something, only to discover a bigger mistake later on. ‘Slow’ teaches us to be more productive and creative, to appreciate the little things and to live in the now. I’VE ALWAYS SEEN MY SLOWNESS AS MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS... NOW I REALISE THAT IT IS, IN FACT, MY GREATEST STRENGTH.
