Washington Post (April 27)
“It was supposed to be a period of joyous national celebration, the Golden Week public holiday, which has been extended this year to celebrate the ascension of a new emperor to the Chrysanthemum Throne.” Instead, many Japanese are “miserable and stressed,” especially those in the service industry who have to work. In fact, recent polls show that “more people were unhappy than were happy with the long break.”
Tags: Ascension, Celebration, Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor, Golden Week, Japan, Joyous, Miserable, Stressed, Unhappy
The Atlantic (September Issue)
Smartphones may be destroying the iGen (individuals born from 1995–2012). They’ve been “shaped by the smartphone and by the concomitant rise of social media.” Despite much worrying, “the impact of these devices has not been fully appreciated, and goes far beyond the usual concerns about curtailed attention spans. The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health.” There are some positive aspects, but by and large “the results could not be clearer: Teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on nonscreen activities are more likely to be happy.”
Tags: iGen, Mental health, Smartphones, Social media, Teenagers, Unhappy
