We Are Not Robots: A Protest Against Productivity Culture
This week we cover the Slow Culture movement and make a case for fun (don't 🙄 just go do it!)
The Next Big Think! will send you one number, two insights, and three links weekly to keep you ahead of societal shifts.
#CravingComfort
68% of Americans define their wealth as comfort and necessities, as opposed to extravagance and excess.
Source: Harris Poll for Fast Company
Why pay attention? Comfort comes back into the zeitgeist strong; people just want to feel safe, cozy, and comfy as things fall apart. Will these weighted stuffed animals help?
2 Insights
#1. Slow Culture: A Modern Ethos
What:
Slow culture is a backlash to ‘move fast, break things’ mantras, toxic productivity culture, and permacrisis we find ourselves in. Slow culture is a modern ethos to navigate the feelings of fatigue and overwhelm by deliberately pacing our lives. The concept behind slow is when we slow down, we are more present, experience more gratitude, and waste less. It’s not only beneficial for one’s mental health, but it's also for the planet.
Slow has permeated through culture; including slow dating, slow travel, slow flowers, slow fast food, slow architecture, slow fashion, slow checkout, luddite teens, and even morse code is back. Slow doesn’t mean people are quitting on life. Instead, it’s a signal that people continue to be more intentional about cultivating their quality of life over their accumulations in life.
“Slow travel focuses less on ticking off all the classic tourist sites to post on social media and, instead, embracing the present moment and magic of being in that destination.”
– U.K. Travel Counsellor
What the data tells us:
In 2019, pre-pandemic, we were in an impossible-speed paradigm;
📅 Almost 8 in 10 Americans confirmed, “we live in a society that glorifies being busy” (78%)
⏱️ 7 in 10 Gen Z/Millennials said “I wish I could set more boundaries around my time” (71%/72%)
🧨 6 in 10 Gen Z said, “The way things are going, I don’t know how I’m going to cope with the stress if it continues at this pace”
Source: Meredith, Harris Poll Burnout Flash Report ‘19
Today, we are redefining how we spend our time to foster a better quality of life
😴 9 in 10 Millennial women said they are prioritizing rest.
😎 7 in 10 Americans say that “quality of life today is determined” by how one spends their time rather than how much money one makes (71%)
🧘♀️ Nearly 7 in 10 employed Americans agree that they “care more about who they are outside of work” than they do about their work identity (68% all adults, Gen Z: 71%)
💸 6 in 10 Americans say it’s vital to live and spend money in the present moment (62%)
Source: theSkimm State of Women Report, America This Week Tracker, Harris Poll, March’23
What to think about:
Slow is a desirable value emerging in our culture right now. Just yesterday, tech luminaries and renowned scientists called for a pause on the “out-of-control race” to develop ever-more-powerful AI systems. To be slow right now is a signal of status, as it takes courage, reflection, and affluence or influence to push against the status quo for speed.
Even if slow culture isn’t for you, what can you learn about helping people find joy in intentionally moving slowly through their lives? We aren’t advocating for slow service or increased friction. Instead, we are recommending intentionally designing experiences that encourage people to pull back, relax, and enjoy the journey for themselves.
I can’t help but think of Simon & Garfunkel song - The 59th Street Bridge written by Paul Simon,
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
#2. ‘For The Love Of Fun!’
What:
The world is a mess, and the economy is meh, but does it mean we can’t have fun anymore? New York Times wrote a piece about the Afternoon Fun Economy, showing an uptick in recreational activities (e.g., golf, yoga, etc.) driven by remote workers. But what struck us was the comment section, where the general theme was in a tough economy, if you indulge in fun, you will be the first to perish.
I asked my 4.5-year-old how kids have fun, and he said, “we find things we like and just do them” (which lately includes drawing treasure maps everywhere). I asked him how adults have fun, he said, “they use machines and break things.” I have no idea where he got his adult version, but the BBC points out that as we get older, we internalize the message that leisure is wasteful, and these negative beliefs are associated with lower reported happiness and greater reported depression, anxiety, and stress.
Why do we have such a torrid relationship with fun in this country? In Finland, they have such an enjoyable lifestyle they are offering free vacations for people to come and learn how to be happy.
Contextual language is often an indicator of what countries value and we love this bizarre but absolutely fun Finnish phrase “kalsarikännit”- “the feeling when you are going to get drunk home alone in your underwear – with no intention of going out”. They even have an emoji to go with it.
What the data tells us:
Having fun is good for our health; it reduces cortisol levels, leads to fewer negative emotions, and laughing improves our immune systems. We can’t talk about the importance of well-being while leaving fun and leisure on the table.
The British Cohort Study — a study that has been following 17,000 people born in 1970 — found that reading for fun improves our language skills and more surprisingly, our proficiency in math as well. It appears that fun activities that introduce us to new ideas and concepts foster self-directed learning. Scientists are now also exploring if reading for fun can also protect us against cognitive decline as we age.
What to think about:
Fun isn’t just a trivial part of our lives, it’s integral to our well-being. If your product, service, or experience cares about people’s well-being, put some more fun on the table to help people release more dopamine in their lives. We don’t need to live on a binary of productivity or fun; we can and must find a balance. NPR offer five tips here.
Some recent fun examples;
To get into this party, you’ll need the right name. (It’s Ryan).
The Standard has made giant pasta-shaped swimming pool inflatables
mschf’s big red boots had a moment in February
“Party with a purpose:” Black skiers return for camaraderie
Fun foods proliferate as Americans snack more than ever
Classical music is surging in youth culture, leading new fashion trends
Now elementary schools around the world are teaching happiness in the classrooms.
3 Links
I’m Lost All the Time. So I Went on a Labyrinth Vacation.(NYTimes)
These new tools let you see for yourself how biased AI image models are (MIT Tech Review)
To help Earth’s future, people are getting buried like it’s 1860 (Washington Post)
Curiosity is contagious; if you like this newsletter, please share it!!
Penned by Libby Rodney and Abbey Lunney, founders of the Thought Leadership Group at The Harris Poll. To learn more about the Thought Leadership Practice, just contact one of us or find out more here.
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