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Why we should embrace the joy of dressing ‘outside of the lines’ like Gen Z

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-wright-1416088">Steven Wright</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gwyneth-moore-1416089">Gwyneth Moore</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em></p> <p>Have you seen that <a href="https://www.voguescandinavia.com/articles/this-is-how-to-style-the-new-cargo-pant-according-to-these-danish-influencers">cargo pants are back</a>? Young people are once again swishing down hallways and they might even be wearing <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/crocs-lyst-hottest-product">Crocs</a> on their feet, because these are cool now too. For many this could be seen as dressing “badly” but Y2K (2000s fashion) is all the rage at the moment.</p> <p>Fashion has long been one of the most creative playgrounds to express yourself and also define your personal identity and status. Gen Z take this very seriously. However, they are no mere followers of fashion but are adventurously carving out their own trends and styles – joyfully playing with the way they dress and express themselves through their clothes.</p> <p>Gen Z are rejecting everything from outdated gender tropes <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/beauty/why-gen-z-yellow-will-never-be-millennial-pink/">to curated colour schemes</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/22697168/body-positivity-image-millennials-gen-z-weight">the idea of the “perfect” body</a>.</p> <p>For several hundred years, it was the fashion industry who controlled what was on trend. It was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42978704">in bed with</a> the media, style icons, designers and the tycoons of the industry. This relationship has enabled trends to be predicted and for aesthetic movements to be planned and consumers to be catered for. The masses watched and waited to be told what was new and “hot”.</p> <p>This relationship is now being short-circuited by a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17569370.2022.2149837">generation of digital natives</a> who live in a world where the distinction between the digital and the physical is blended.</p> <p>Gen Z will not be dictated to, they are not anxiously waiting to be told they are on trend, on social media they are making heir own trends by breaking rules, embracing creativity and finding joy in dressing bravely.</p> <h2>The democratisation of fashion</h2> <p>Each generation has changed fashion. The baby boomers brought us flower power in the 1960s and 1970s using free love in contrast to their parents’ <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30036343?searchText=free+love+counter+culture+fashion&amp;searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dfree%2Blove%2Bcounter%2Bculture%2Bfashion&amp;ab_segments=0%2FSYC-6744_basic_search%2Ftest-1&amp;refreqid=fastly-default%3A1b4986acdbd4197e33c408f8641061a6">clearly defined social and gender roles</a>.</p> <p>Boomers’ younger siblings brought us “punk” in the 1970s and 1980s, a subculture dedicated to using the symbols of the state against itself and deliberately playing with the obscene and vulgar. This was amid a global political climate of conservatism and repression.</p> <p>Then <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/742606?searchText=baby+boomer+fashion+flower+power&amp;searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dbaby%2Bboomer%2Bfashion%2Bflower%2Bpower&amp;ab_segments=0%2FSYC-6744_basic_search%2Ftest-1&amp;refreqid=fastly-default%3Af122f7705806e1673dfa550b2fc44c16">again in the 1990s</a> we saw grunge, Gen X’s response to a futureless world post-cold war.</p> <p>Well, Gen X have had children and those kids have decided that they find joy in dressing outside of the lines (so to speak), you can be anything, you can be everything and you can be nothing.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9GUkkenYvlY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Gen Z (and even millenials) have witnessed the ever-increasing democratisation of fashion through social media sharing and the global reach of online platforms. They have seen thousands of tiny subcultures formed online where they undergo a near constant cycle of evolution, explosion and reformation.</p> <p>Take the early <a href="https://www.instyle.com/fashion/clothing/emo-style">2000s “emo” trend</a>. Once a big subculture, it was thrust to the corners of the internet where everyone thought it would languish and die.</p> <p>However, emo is experiencing a revival with people wearing all black, corsets becoming cool again and heavy eye makeup being sported by the likes of Gen Z darlings <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/mariasherm2/willow-smith-bullied-my-chemical-romance-paramore-emo">Willow Smith</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/juice-wrld-olivia-rodrigo-kid-laroi-emo-music/621069/">Olivia Rodrigo</a>.</p> <p>But Gen Z are not sticking to one style. Fashion has become a pick and mix of trends and ideas where an individual can use the ingredients to create and recreate identity as often as they desire. There is joy in dressing, not fear. There are no rules.</p> <h2>No rules</h2> <p>As new fashion consumers gleefully reinvent notions of good taste and beauty, the traditional trickle-down effect for trends has been replaced by a bubbling up from new sources defining what’s new and what’s next. From Instagrammers to icons, vloggers and TikTokkers, the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFMM-12-2020-0275/full/html">sources for trends are broad and varied</a>.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none;" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7127790531932949766" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p>Young people are creating <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14614448221146174">their own place in a new world</a>. A world where crocs are high fashion and what “goes” is in the eye of the beholder. Boxers as a headdress or leggings as scarf? sure. Why not even wear a <a href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/jw-anderson-ss23-womens-runway-collection/">keyboard</a> as a top? <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@saracampz/video/7127790531932949766">Maximalism</a> is being taken to new extremes as clothes are layered over more clothes and no colour, object or pattern is out of bounds.</p> <p>These are the COVID kids, a generation that came of age during a global calamity where the only form of communication was digital and two-dimensional.</p> <p>The loudest and boldest and most insane outfit is the one that will get you most attention on screen. For kids used to consuming media through TikToks rather than glossy editorials, <a href="https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijbtm/article/view/20001">only the most dramatic, fun and playful will do</a>. Fashion has taken itself way too seriously for way too long. A cleansing fire of young, creative people is exactly what is needed right now. We should all take a page out their book and find joy in dressing in whatever we want.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199940/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-wright-1416088">Steven Wright</a>, Head of Subject - Fashion Marketing and Photography, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gwyneth-moore-1416089">Gwyneth Moore</a>, Course coordinator - BA (Hons) Fashion Business &amp; Marketing &amp; BA (Hons) Fashion Design, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-embrace-the-joy-of-dressing-outside-of-the-lines-like-gen-z-199940">original article</a>.</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Gen X dad’s odd punishment for four-year-old son sparks debate

<p dir="ltr">A self-proclaimed Gen X dad has sparked a furious debate after a video clip of him punishing his four-year-old son went viral on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wisconsin-based dad Derek Longstreth said he had no other choice but to make his young son, Truman, heave massive jugs of water across the yard because he hit his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All right little man, let's go, you've got all these jugs to carry,” he told his son, as he showed five water jugs.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He hit his mom today, so, spanking is out of the question because you liberals made it so we can’t spank our children any more,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">The father-of-one recorded his son struggling to carry the water jugs, but offered him words of encouragement as the boy tried to carry it across the yard.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Let's go, young man. I love you just so you know, but you're not going to hit your mom,” he said. “You can do it. I love you son but we don't hit women in this family.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth then explained why he chose to punish his son this way, and said that spanking your child is not allowed in Wisconsin.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He's four. We're not allowed to spank in the state of Wisconsin because some liberals are saying there are better ways.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“'Well liberals, what's the better way?”</p> <div><iframe title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7256440921728863530&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40hamburgerjones23%2Fvideo%2F7256440921728863530&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp19-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2Fc29492b9251f41139161e469b64b4d0e%3Fx-expires%3D1689789600%26x-signature%3DRnuVqM3A6bo1miOskT3JdYiBlWA%253D&amp;key=5b465a7e134d4f09b4e6901220de11f0&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">After the father complained about the liberals, he continued to try and teach Truman a lesson, despite the child complaining that he “can’t do it” multiple times throughout the video.</p> <p dir="ltr">At the end of the clip, Longstreth asks his son: “Are you going to hit your mom again?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“No,” the four-year-old responded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth also made his son apologise for hitting his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">The nine-minute clip has racked up over 1.9 million views, while many applauded the father for his “gentle” ways of parenting and disciplining his son, others slammed him for “abuse”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Big respect to this dad. He gave the kid a hard job with encouragement and reassurance that he loves him as well as why the kid had to do it,” wrote one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is honestly probably the best and most effective way to discipline your child. Every moment they do this they are thinking about what they did,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Good dad, raising his son right, teaching him to never lay his hands on any women especially his momma. Very good,” agreed a third.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is like so gentle yet so disciplining in all the good ways,” wrote a fourth.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, other viewers disagreed with the father’s method.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is abuse.... I said what I said. I'm sorry he hit his mom though, talking it out is fine. He's too little for this,” commented one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Lol. When people ask what the next traumas will be, it’ll be every moment being a phone in their face. Did you need to post this? Pathetic,” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You don't want him to associate work as punishment. how about no tv, no sweets, something that is usually a privilege. work is something that is good,” added another user.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Gen Z grew up in a world filled with ugly fashion – no wonder they love their Crocs

<p>In 2017, Julia Hobbs of British Vogue <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/crocs-sandals-christopher-kane-trend-test">declared</a> Crocs “have an unrivalled ability to repel onlookers and induce sneers”.</p> <p>But over the two decades since the notoriously ugly shoes were released, the clogs seem to be going from strength to strength. </p> <p>No longer just the comfortable, easy-to-wear boat shoes they were designed as, now they’re being worn by celebrities like <a href="https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/ariana-grande-crocs-controversial-shoe-trend">Ariana Grande</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-10-13/justin-bieber-crocs-bad-bunny-post-malone">Justin Bieber</a>, <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20220531141686/the-view-whoopi-goldberg-divides-fans-backstage-photo-concern-for-safety/">Whoopi Goldberg</a> and Drew Barrymore, who has her <a href="https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Drew-barrymore-launches-crocs-collection,943183.html">own collection</a>.</p> <p>Bedazzled white Crocs are being worn with <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/brides-mocked-for-wearing-blinged-out-crocs-on-their-big-day/">wedding dresses</a>, #crocs has more than 7.3 billion views <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crocs?lang=en">on TikTok</a>, and diehard fans can buy <a href="https://www.carousell.sg/p/preorder-mini-crocs-jibbitz-accessory-charms-fun-quirky-1174036132/">mini Crocs</a> to decorate their Crocs with.</p> <p>Even supermodel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-LLMIjIQM">Kendall Jenner</a> admitted on the <em>Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon</em> that she is not ashamed of her comfy Crocs.</p> <p>But the most common place you’re likely to see Crocs today is on the feet of Generation Z. They grew up with ugly fashion, and are now making it their own.</p> <h2>A brief history</h2> <p>Crocs’ ancestors are the clog: a cheap, comfortable, lightweight, practical wooden shoe popular in medieval Europe and Scandinavia. </p> <p>Traditional wooden clogs were easy to clean, non-slip, protected the wearer’s feet and kept them warm and dry. </p> <p>The oldest surviving pair found in Holland <a href="https://isgeschiedenis.nl/reportage/geschiedenis-van-de-klompen">date to 1230</a>.</p> <p>Crocs premiered their shoe at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in 2002. Made from a tough form of injection-moulded ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, which moulds to the wearer’s foot, all 200 pairs at the show sold out. </p> <p>Crocs were easy to clean, non-slip, could easily be pulled on and off, and would not suffer from continued exposure to water. </p> <p>But they weren’t popular in all corners. Time magazine included Crocs in their 2010 list of <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991743,00.html">the 50 worst inventions</a>.</p> <p>And from the outset, even Crocs’ cofounders considered them <a href="https://www.parents.com/kids/style/fashion/crocs/">ugly</a>. </p> <h2>Ugly fashion</h2> <p>The 21st century’s love of deliberately ugly fashion can be traced to 1996, with Miuccia Prada launching her <a href="https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-1996-ready-to-wear/prada">“Bad Taste” collection</a>. </p> <p>The early 2000s gave us ugly comfort dressing in the form of the bright, velour <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2014/06/70125/juicy-couture-stores-closing">Juicy Couture</a> tracksuit. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s <a href="https://people.com/style/britney-spears-justin-timberlake-matching-denim-moment-20th-anniversary/">iconic matching double denim moment</a> at the 2001 American Music Awards embodied the era’s ugliness.</p> <p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">Generation Z</a> grew up in this ugly fashion world. Many rocked their first brightly coloured pair of Crocs as toddlers. </p> <p>This generation also learned to express themselves online, where <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470412914544516">Internet Ugly</a> – a deliberately grotesque, anti-authoritarian and amateurish aesthetic – is a key look of memes. </p> <p>Memes celebrate ugliness as a relatable, authentic foil against the slickly perfect images generated by filters, Hollywood and self-serious corporate design. Memes evolve, but the images, templates and looks of memes stays similar and the ugly aesthetic continues to spread and be enjoyed.</p> <p>Crocs are, in a sense, wearable memes for Gen Z. </p> <p>Like memes, Crocs have changed and returned through nostalgic affectation. </p> <p>In the two decades since their launch, Crocs have constantly reinvented themselves. There have been new colours and collaborations with popular brands, including <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/collab/minecraft">computer games</a> and high fashion houses like <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/p/liberty-london-x-crocs-classic-clog/206447.html">Liberty of London</a>.</p> <p>Each generation rediscovers the objects of its youth and replicates these objects in new ways. The resulting objects – in this case, Crocs – are passed around and either made uglier or beautified in the eye of the beholder. Every pair of Crocs can be customised with “<a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/c/jibbitz">Jibbitz</a>”, a small ornament that fits into the holes throughout the shoe to beautify Crocs for their owner. </p> <p>In the United Kingdom, Crocs <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/fashion/primark-shoppers-hysterics-hideous-9-25693380">paired with</a> fast-fashion retailer Primark and high-street bakery Greggs to create ugly, fur-lined, black £9 Crocs with Greggs’ logo. </p> <p>At the other end of the budget, you can buy <a href="https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/g36656071/croc-collaborations/">Balenciaga’s lime green Crocs</a> with a black sole and black stiletto heel.</p> <h2>Crocs and the pandemic</h2> <p>Ugliness lets viewers laugh and release tensions in situations where they <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674024090">are helpless to act</a>.</p> <p>Adrian Holloway, Crocs’ general manager, told <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/crocs-rubber-shoe-trend">Vogue, "</a>In times of stress and uncertainty, consumers seem to want comfort […] Everything was so heavy and scary, it felt good to treat yourself to something cheerful and inexpensive, but also practical and comfortable."</p> <p>The COVID pandemic left Gen Z unable to participate in important social rites of passage like graduations, milestone birthdays, weddings and funerals. </p> <p>Global lockdowns also left people feeling a strange blend of shock, boredom and irritation. </p> <p>Like laughing at ugly memes, laughing at cute, ugly Crocs helped release feelings of powerlessness. </p> <h2>Here to stay</h2> <p>Popular predictions of <a href="https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/june-2022/clothes/comfort-or-style/">post-pandemic fashions</a> suggest there are two options: we will continue to dress for comfort, or we will embrace eye-catching colours and patterns and strange silhouettes. </p> <p>The popularity of Crocs among Gen Z suggests a third option: a combination of the comfortable with the crazy.</p> <p>Worn today, these shoes signal the wearer’s capacity for casualness, irony, rebellion, and a desire to forge their own fashion rules in an Internet Ugly world. </p> <p>Crocs are <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g41416862/spring-2023-shoe-trends/">here to stay</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/gen-z-grew-up-in-a-world-filled-with-ugly-fashion-no-wonder-they-love-their-crocs-200718" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Beauty & Style

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These emojis make you ‘old’ according to Gen Z

<p dir="ltr">Language is an ever-evolving thing, full to the brim with nuance and meaning that might not seem obvious upon first glance - and it turns out that emojis are no exception.</p> <p dir="ltr">Members of Generation Z have taken to social media claiming that using certain emojis is a sign that you’re “officially old” and that the popular thumbs-up emoji is actually rude.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to users on Reddit, the official list of “cancelled” emojis includes:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">❤️ (Red heart)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">👍 (Thumbs up)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">👌 (“OK” hand)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">✅ (Tick or Checkmark)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">💩 (Poo)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">🙈 (Monkey covering eyes)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">😭 (Loudly crying face)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">👏 (Clapping hands)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">💋 (Lipstick kiss mark)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">😬 (Grimacing face)</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">Many younger users also considered the thumbs-up emoji to be rude, explaining that it gives off a passive-aggressive or even confrontational air.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For younger people (I’m 24 for reference) the thumbs-up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive,” one person wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up. So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same.”</p> <p dir="ltr">They chalked up the difference in the workplace to a “generational communication culture difference”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Everyone my age in the office doesn’t do it, but the Gen X people always do it,” they wrote. “Took me a bit to adjust and get out of my head that it means they’re mad at me.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Others agreed, saying using it in the workplace makes team members “unaccommodating” and seems “unfriendly”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I understand what you mean, my last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send info to each other on and most of the people on there just replied with a [thumbs-up emoji],” one commenter said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me, like an acknowledgment but kind of saying ‘I don’t really care/am not interested’? Don’t know if that’s the way you feel but I got used to it in time and I’m just as bad for sending a thumbs up now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another said: ““It’s not that odd to see it as passive-aggressive. Just imagine how would it feel to go into your boss’ room, say something, and then see him turn to you, look you in the eye, and [give a thumbs-up].”</p> <p dir="ltr">But, older users expressed their confusion at this emoji etiquette, with one saying it must be “a younger generational thing”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So it’s like a sarcastic thing? Man I’m getting old lol,” one wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another defended their use of the thumbs up, saying it “means many things”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It means ‘I approve’ or ‘I understood and will obey’ or ‘I agree’. If anything, my only objection would be that some days it might be hard to tell which one it means,” she offered. </p> <p dir="ltr">“But it is generally pretty clear.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s just a way to say ‘i’ve read your message and have nothing to add and I hope and pray to all the gods all the bazillion people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too,’” another chimed in.</p> <p dir="ltr">Linguists have been studying emojis since the appearance of the modern emoji in 2015. In her book <em>Because Internet: Understanding how language is changing</em>, linguist Gretchen McCulloch explains that some emojis, like most of those that have been “cancelled”, are gestures, like the ones we make with our hands while talking.</p> <p dir="ltr">While these can be quite universal, like the thumbs up or smiling emojis, there can also be nuance based on culture and the writing systems people use.</p> <p dir="ltr">With younger people interpreting emojis such as the thumbs-up as “rude” or “old”, it seems there is nuance between generations too.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3239804b-7fff-1206-dc92-834ccb95a484"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Technology

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Passive-aggressive shop sign sparks furious debate online 

<p>Furious debate has erupted after a shop owner took aim at Gen Z workers in a brutal sign blaming them for their business having to close.</p> <p>The obviously frustrated owner shared in great detail why a pair of young former employees were the reason the doors had to close.</p> <p>“I apologise for us closing AGAIN,” the sign, erected on the front window of a store in Indiana, USA, on April the 20th, read.</p> <p>“My two new cashiers quit because I said their boyfriends couldn’t stand here for their entire shift.”</p> <p>They went further to include some questionable hiring advice for other business owners, telling them: “Don’t hire Gen Zs, they don’t know what work actually means”.</p> <p>Underneath, they announced the store was “now hiring”, but specified it would be employing “Baby Boomers only thanks”.</p> <p>The sign sparked backlash online, after it had been shared around online.</p> <p>With Hundreds of people responding in comments to the post, after it had attracted over 5000 reactions and had been shared over 300 times, some agreed Boomers made better workers than their younger counterparts, but others argued it was unfair to age discriminate.</p> <p>“A lot of the older people I’ve worked with refuse to do anything physically demanding due to having a ‘bad this’ and ‘my this hurts’ and if asked to do so they will whine and complain,” one wrote.</p> <p>“That's a pretty awful and ageist sign. I’m pretty young and I work 48 hours a week and never sit once while I’m on the clock. There are people who are young and hard working,” another said.</p> <p>Most respondents agreed that regardless of whether a certain generation had better workers, openly discriminating against Gen Zs was the wrong way to go.</p> <p>“I’m a boomer and I wouldn’t want to work at a place that excludes people because of their youth. Good workers can offer service with vitality and enthusiasm at any age,” one person wrote.</p> <p>Others agree the sign hadn’t done the store owner any publicity favours.</p> <p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Which generation has the worst cleaning habits?

<p>This mightn’t come as much of a surprise, but Gen Y has been found to be the dirtiest generation in Australia in a survey on the nation’s cleaning habits from ALDI Australia and Galaxy Research.</p> <p>Gen X and Baby Boomers lead the way in Australia, being twice as likely to spend 10-14 hours a week cleaning compared to Gen Y (45 per cent of whom clean for less than 90 minutes a week!).</p> <p>Australians on average spend about three hours cleaning a week, although a busy schedule and procrastination often stand in the way of getting the job done.</p> <p>Other key findings include:</p> <ul> <li>Top five cleaning tasks performed every week are washing the dishes, doing the laundry, sweeping and vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and putting out the rubbish</li> <li>The least preferred cleaning task for Australians is cleaning the oven</li> <li>One third of Australians spend less than 90 minutes a week cleaning</li> <li>59 per cent of people don’t complete chores due to procrastination and distractions</li> </ul> <p>The findings from ALDI’s Clever Cleaning Study were released in conjunction to ALDI’s Claundry campaign which encourages customers to complete chores during laundry cycles.</p> <p>“With so many competing priorities in this day and age, we’re drawn to finding the most convenient way possible to get through the day’s tasks. Rather than procrastinating or spending hours on the household chores, the concept of Claundry is about dedicating a small amount of time to do a power clean during each washing cycle,” said an ALDI Australia spokesperson.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/11/ways-to-use-bicarb-soda-in-the-garden/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 ways to use bicarb soda in the garden</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/11/ways-to-use-hairspray-at-home/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 surprising ways to use hairspray at home</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/11/easy-diy-for-home/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>15 easy DIYs that will instantly lift your home</strong></em></span></a></p>

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The rise of the Gen Y share investor

<p>In 2015, 62 per cent of a record eight-million trading accounts were opened by people under the age of 35. Gen Y, or the Millennials as they are also known, are those people born roughly between the 1980s and 2000s – and they are starting to get seriously involved in the stock market. Twenty years ago the majority of investors were aged in their late 40s and 50s and just one fifth of one fifth of their new investors were under 35. Now, according to research from CommSec, more than half of their investors are Millennials.</p><p>Managing director of CommSec, Paul Rayson, said “this shift in age demographic is a striking feature of a change in consumer behaviour looking back over the past 20 years. It demonstrates how younger people have embraced technology and become more self-directed in their approach to financial decision-making.”</p><p>So why are they investing now? As Baby Boomers and Gen X continue to dominate the property market in the major cities, Gen Y is feeling priced out. Shares offer an easier, more affordable investment point for young people with a smaller income and few savings. Plus, many Millennials find the trading exciting and it gives them the feeling that they are really in control of their own financial future.</p><p>One theory suggests that technological innovations and the high visibility of major companies encourage investment. Ryan Dinsdale from CommSec believes that Gen Yers have grown up around companies like Google and Apple that are talked about widely – and publicly listed on the share market. They have much more exposure to the workings and philosophies of these multinational corporations than any generation before them. “They think, I can have a share in a company I connect with,” says Dinsdale.</p><p>The rise of mobile technology also contributes to the new breed of Gen Y traders. People under 35 are used to doing everything on their smartphone and new technology means they can access their investments and make trades from the palm of their hand. A report from Investment Trends, a global finance market research company, found that 60 per cent of online investors use their mobile to monitor the market, but that figure rises to 77 per cent for under 35s. Gen Y likes to do their research and trade on the move, and it’s a pattern that shows no signs of slowing down.</p>

Money & Banking

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The rise of the Gen Y share investor

<p>In 2015, 62 per cent of a record eight-million trading accounts were opened by people under the age of 35. Gen Y, or the Millennials as they are also known, are those people born roughly between the 1980s and 2000s – and they are starting to get seriously involved in the stock market. Twenty years ago the majority of investors were aged in their late 40s and 50s and just one fifth of one fifth of their new investors were under 35. Now, according to research from CommSec, more than half of their investors are Millennials.</p><p>Managing director of CommSec, Paul Rayson, said “this shift in age demographic is a striking feature of a change in consumer behaviour looking back over the past 20 years. It demonstrates how younger people have embraced technology and become more self-directed in their approach to financial decision-making.”</p><p>So why are they investing now? As Baby Boomers and Gen X continue to dominate the property market in the major cities, Gen Y is feeling priced out. Shares offer an easier, more affordable investment point for young people with a smaller income and few savings. Plus, many Millennials find the trading exciting and it gives them the feeling that they are really in control of their own financial future.</p><p>One theory suggests that technological innovations and the high visibility of major companies encourage investment. Ryan Dinsdale from CommSec believes that Gen Yers have grown up around companies like Google and Apple that are talked about widely – and publicly listed on the share market. They have much more exposure to the workings and philosophies of these multinational corporations than any generation before them. “They think, I can have a share in a company I connect with,” says Dinsdale.</p><p>The rise of mobile technology also contributes to the new breed of Gen Y traders. People under 35 are used to doing everything on their smartphone and new technology means they can access their investments and make trades from the palm of their hand. A report from Investment Trends, a global finance market research company, found that 60 per cent of online investors use their mobile to monitor the market, but that figure rises to 77 per cent for under 35s. Gen Y likes to do their research and trade on the move, and it’s a pattern that shows no signs of slowing down.</p>

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