
Gen Z wishes goodnight to bedtime stories for children
According to Dr Seuss, 'you're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child'.
But when it comes to the bonding experience of sharing a story together, research suggests that Gen Z parents are less likely to read to their children than previous generations.
Parents aged 28 and under, who are the first generation to have grown up with social media, were the least likely to value reading out loud to a small child as a 'fun' experience.
The research also found that parents were more likely to read to girls than boys.
Only 29 per cent of boys aged two and under were treated to daily story time with an adult, compared with 44 per

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The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Welcome to a new ‘gloomcycle' of news. Here's how to stop compulsive scrolling
The threat of a world war. Political assassinations. Federal raids on unsuspecting migrants. There seems to be no end to terrifying news these days. In fact, it comes at us so unceasingly that numbness can set in. Or even depression or melancholy, like a black cloud over every part of our lives. The 'gloomcycle' is what Rachel Janfaza, who founded the gen Z-oriented site known as the Up and Up, has dubbed what's going on. In a recent piece, she quoted one 23-year-old from Alabama: 'I am really overwhelmed by all of the bad news I am seeing right now.' Whatever generation we're from, that's a familiar sensation. The question is, how to deal with it? After all, particularly because of Donald Trump's chaotic ways, it shows no signs of slowing down. And while it's important not to tune out altogether, it's also important to stay grounded. Where's the balance? I'm certainly not a life coach but as someone whose work requires me to stay connected and informed, I've developed some coping resources. Here are three recommendations to manage the firehose of bad news and to protect your spiritual and emotional health while still staying engaged in the world. Set thoughtful limits. Can you put your phone in another room or in a drawer for a period of each day? Can you pledge never to sleep with it nearby? I have a friend who has made a pact with her spouse to have an hour after waking and an hour before going to bed in which they don't talk about current events, and certainly never utter the name of the 47th president. Can you decide not to be on social media during significant hours of the day? And maybe even to ignore your email unless it's during loosely defined business hours? (This is an especially tough one for me; I always want to respond immediately, which only elicits another response.) Engage in self-care. Maybe you go to the gym or for a run. Maybe it's a bubble bath. Maybe it's listening, without any other distractions, to Mozart – or Jon Batiste. For me, it's daily yoga (the challenging ashtanga practice) followed by meditation. And it's reading fiction or memoirs unrelated to politics – most recently, Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, Fredrik Backman's My Friends, Molly Jong-Fast's How to Lose Your Mother, and, in galley form, Susan Orlean's not-yet-published memoir, Joyride. A friend told me recently that she's rereading all six novels of Jane Austen as an antidote to these fractious times. I like to read books in print, not on a device, since screens are already too dominant in my life. Can you slow down enough to give your full attention to literature for an hour? It will help, and it will also help to build back your undoubtedly frayed attention span. Rely on trusted voices and sources of news. I think the Guardian is one of these, and I would think so even if I didn't write here almost every week. I know a lot of people who count on the perspective of Heather Cox Richardson, the history professor who writes a daily newsletter, Letters from an American. Robert Reich, a former labor secretary, is one of my go-to sources of perspective, as are a few columnists, including Will Bunch at the Philadelphia Inquirer and Lydia Polgreen at the New York Times. While traveling in Asia recently, I read the Japan Times and the international edition of the New York Times each morning; they were bundled together and delivered to my hotel room. There was something about that well-organized news – delivered in old-fashioned print form – that was incredibly calming. A prominently displayed column about Israel by Thomas Friedman gave me more context than a freaked-out social media thread, no matter how smart. While it's unlikely that we're going to return to reading a print newspaper as a major news source, the daily pacing and the sensible curation of what's important has a lot to recommend it. In Chris Hayes's recent book, The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource, the political commentator identifies what's going on for all of us – and the dangers. Hayes confessed in a Vox interview that despite his knowledge about the 'attention economy' and its personal costs, he still struggles. 'I've written a recovery memoir,' Hayes joked that he told his wife, 'and I'm still drinking.' The bad news will keep coming. As citizens, we need to know what's happening so we can act – in the voting booth, at a protest rally, in conversations with our neighbors or loved ones. But that doesn't mean constant immersion. A little of the gloomcycle goes a long way. Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture


The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
Strangest ways Brits have tried to open a bottle revealed – including wooden spoon, cigarette lighter & their own teeth
SOME of the strangest ways Brits have tried to open a bottle are with a wooden spoon, a cigarette lighter - or their own teeth. But 23 per cent of those who have tried the latter ended up with a chipped tooth – although in 90 per cent of cases, they did at least get the bottle open. 3 3 One in 20 (four per cent) have attempted to use a three-pin plug to get a lid off, while 34 per cent have used a spoon's handle. The research of 2,000 adults found 61 per cent of those who have damaged a tooth would consider an ' accessory ' - like a diamond - to cover it up. With Gen Z far more likely than any other age group to consider this oral upgrade. The research was commissioned by Kopparberg to mark the launch of its custom tooth caps which double up as a bottle opener, in partnership with Tuff Tooth - and is giving away 18 gold-plated caps on its social channels. Rob Salvesen, from the fruit cider maker, whose collection includes a design which nods to its Strawberry & Lime drink, said: 'We know that sometimes you find yourself without a bottle opener, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out. 'That's why we've created limited-edition custom caps - a clever solution for opening your drink whenever you need it." Other odd ways adults have tried to crack into a bottle included using a key (37 per cent) or a house brick (23 per cent). For those who have attempted to get into a much-needed refreshment without the proper equipment, 64 per cent just couldn't find one to hand. While 17 per cent consider their unusual opening technique a 'party trick', they do it in order to show off. On average, bottle-drinking Brits estimate they have to open one without a traditional opener 25 per cent of the time. Fury as cost of 12-pack of beer set to soar by £1 thanks to sinister new tax brought in by Labour In total, 52 per cent of respondents have tried to open a bottle with something other than a standard opener according to the data. With 19 per cent considering it likely they'll attempt to get into one via their teeth, at some point in the future. A little more than a fifth (21 per cent) would consider a tooth accessory to cover up any damage, were it to occur. Top 10 things people have used to open a bottle - without a bottle opener 1. The edge of a countertop or table 2. A key 3. Your teeth 4. Piece of cutlery (fork, spoon, knife) 5. Brick or wall 6. Another bottle 7. A screwdriver 8. A ring on your finger 9. Cigarette lighter 10. Wooden spoon


The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Crashing out: how gen Z adopted the perfect term for our unstable era
Name: Crashing out. Age: Psychologically ancient, lexically new. Appearance: Emotional. What do you mean by lexically new? The latest edition of the journal American Speech has recognised the term 'crash out' and it was runner-up for the publication's 2024 word of the year, losing out to 'rawdog'. 'Crash out' is two words. Don't start with me, seriously. What does it mean? To the TikTok generation, to crash out is to become suddenly, uncontrollably angry or distressed. As opposed to fall asleep really quickly or exit a tennis tournament early? This sense of crashing out originated as a slang term in African American Vernacular English and may be more than a decade old. But it's become better known recently thanks to TikTok? Correct. The young people of today, overwhelmed by stress and emotionally impaired by their social media addictions, are finding themselves prone to visceral outbursts. Are they now? You really don't want to take that tone with me today. Sorry, carry on. The widespread nature of this phenomenon among gen Z has in turn popularised the expression. 'I like that there's a term for it now,' one 24-year-old social media user told the New York Times. There was always a term for it. Don't say 'hissy fit', because it's not the same thing. I wasn't going to say that. It's also true that similar outbursts were once covered by the term 'meltdown' – the emotional equivalent of a collapsing nuclear reactor core – but crashing out is more nuanced. I wasn't going to say meltdown, either. Perhaps you're from the era when such behaviour was known as 'acting out', suggesting a performative element to the outburst. Actually, I was going to say 'conniption'. That really does date you. To about 1833. I suppose crashing out isn't as full blown as having a conniption. It depends – the definition has stretched to include everything from a momentary loss of composure to a mental breakdown. However you label it, it's all just 'losing it', isn't it? I'm going to do some breathing exercises now. Is that a preventive measure to avoid crashing out? One of them. Others include self-soothing – calming some or all of your senses – and taking a break from social media. So one of the cures for a condition popularised by TikTok is … getting off TikTok? Inevitably, yes. Do say: 'Regulating stress levels is central to maintaining an emotional balance.' Don't say: 'Don't worry, you're just having what is technically known as a tantrum.'