One of the world&#8217;s most popular board games is being altered to be less competitive and more &#8220;inclusive&#8221; to appeal to young people.
Scrabble&#8217;s parent company Mattel announced the move Tuesday, the first major change in 75 years.
The new version will involve “a second side to the board that is collaborative and faster-paced to make gameplay more accessible for anyone who finds word games intimidating,” Mattel said in a press release, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/scrabble-together-game-scli-intl-gbr/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CNN.
The classic word game will debut a new way to play the game called &#8220;Scrabble Together&#8221; on the flip side of the game board. The other side will have the original game.
Scrabble Together was designed to appeal to a younger generation of players who are less interested in competition. Mattel <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/scrabble-together-game-scli-intl-gbr/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it conducted research that showed Gen Z board gamers in Britain were less competitive than older generations.
“The game speaks to a trend in younger people who want to avoid competitive games, instead favouring teamwork and collaboration working towards a fun goal together,” said Brett Smitheram, who is the current number one Scrabble player in the UK and the 2016 World Scrabble Champion, as part of the statement.
The new version <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/09/lifestyle/scrabble-makes-historic-change-for-first-time-in-75-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will have</a> goal cards rather than scoring. It will also have helper cards with prompts and clues as well as an option to play on teams. It will also be a shorter game overall.
“The way we use words is constantly evolving and so is Scrabble, which is why the iconic game has created a second side to the board that is collaborative and faster-paced to make gameplay more accessible,” Mattel <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/09/lifestyle/scrabble-makes-historic-change-for-first-time-in-75-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
In the new version, goal cards have different challenge levels and offer challenges like, “Play a horizontal word,” “play a three-letter word,” or “play a word that touches the edge of the board.”
The winner is the player who completes 20 challenges. The loser is the player who uses all their helper cards without completing a challenge.
Scrabble was invented in 1938 and has become one of the most popular board games in the world over the better part of a century.
“Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” Ray Adler, vice president and global head of games for Mattel <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/09/lifestyle/scrabble-makes-historic-change-for-first-time-in-75-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post.
“For anyone who’s ever thought ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated by the classic game, Scrabble Together mode is an ideal option,” Adler said. “Scrabble Together Mode continues to celebrate the wonder of words just as the Classic version does, but thanks to its exciting new co-operative and dynamic gameplay, it’s more accessible and brings people together.”
The new version of the game will be available in Europe but not in the U.S. since Mattel does not hold the license there.

Family playing scrabble at dining table

Classic Board Game Dumbed Down To Be More ‘Inclusive,’ Less ‘Intimidating’ To Young People

Classic Board Game Dumbed Down To Be More 'Inclusive,' Less 'Intimidating' To Young People

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Education

Gen Z

Generation Z

Generation Z and younger millennials have the misfortune of being ready to buy a home amid a prohibitively expensive housing market.
As the youngest generation of adults looks to buy their first home, they&#8217;re finding it&#8217;s often cheaper to just keep renting than to invest in a mortgage right now.
Some are waiting out the unwelcoming housing market with a seemingly endless cycle of rent payments, but some are biting the bullet and purchasing now.
&#8220;We bought so our money wouldn&#8217;t go to someone else&#8217;s mortgage,&#8221; a Gen Z homeowner and new mother of a baby boy in Virginia told The Daily Wire.
She and her husband wanted to own land, she said. They plan on putting a few extra thousand dollars toward the principal of their mortgage every year, and they also invested in a larger down payment to get a lower fixed interest rate.
&#8220;There are ways to manipulate the system, but again, you usually need some money up front to do so,&#8221; she said.
She added that there is &#8220;a lot of ignorance&#8221; among young home buyers.
&#8220;Every young homeowner I have spoken to looks like a deer in the headlights when I mention how crazy it is that your interest rate can end up costing you at least double the cost of the house across 30 years,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And most people don&#8217;t realize they are paying mostly interest during the early mortgage years and the bulk of the principal later on. Works great for the loaners.&#8221;
Despite the challenges, there have been big upsides to owning a home, she said.
&#8220;Homeownership has made us feel unrestricted in our homemaking and privacy,&#8221; the mom said.
A Gen Z man who is getting married this summer in the Washington, D.C., area said he is planning to wait a year or two before buying a house. His fiancée, a younger millennial already owns a condo, and they plan to hang onto that property as the value goes up, although they hope to move into a second home once they have their first child.
&#8220;A medium to large-sized house is pretty much guaranteed to be a million bucks,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The &#8216;350k or lower&#8217; dream is kind of out the window &#8230; After a quick glance at the market a couple months ago, it looks like the expectation is 700k or more, and that&#8217;s before all that yucky interest.&#8221;
Home prices <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/04/housing-affordability-crisis-states-00150463#:~:text=Income%20Housing%20Coalition.-,Home%20prices%20are%20up%2047%20percent%20since%20January%202020%2C%20and,and%20fewer%20people%20over%20time." target="_blank" rel="noopener">are up</a> 47% since the beginning of 2020, while rent is up more than 20%. Homelessness has spiked as well, rising 12% in 2022, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/04/housing-affordability-crisis-states-00150463#:~:text=Income%20Housing%20Coalition.-,Home%20prices%20are%20up%2047%20percent%20since%20January%202020%2C%20and,and%20fewer%20people%20over%20time." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Renting a two-bedroom residence is now actually cheaper than buying that property for about 89% of Americans, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231128140139/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/11/28/is-it-cheaper-to-rent-or-buy-property" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a November analysis by The Economist.
Back in 2020, that was true for only 16% of Americans.
Meanwhile, the housing crash that many potential home buyers <a href="https://www.inman.com/2023/11/28/35-of-americans-hope-the-housing-market-will-crash-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hoped</a> for does not look likely to happen. In November, nearly half of Americans, 44% said they thought the housing market could crash in the next year, according to a LendingTree consumer survey. Economists say they do not expect a housing crash either this year or even in 2025.
In fact, house prices are expected to keep rising as much as 4.1% this year, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/housing-market-predictions-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage prices are expected to dip but not by much, and rent prices will likely remain about the same due to a glut of newly built apartment buildings with low demand.
Nevertheless, the tough market has not stopped millennials and even some Gen Z-ers from buying homes, perhaps simply because they are fed up with waiting for the market to turn in their favor.
About 38% of all home buyers were millennials last year, <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/home-buyer-and-seller-generational-trends" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report from the National Association of Realtors, up from 28% in the previous year. Among younger millennials ages 25 to 33, 75% were buying a home for the first time.
The younger Gen Z buyers ages 18 to 24 made up only 3% of home buyers last year, showcasing both the difficulty of breaking into the housing market at a young age as well as the tendency of today&#8217;s young adults to wait before tying themselves down to one property.
Baby Boomers, the wealthiest generation is also contributing to the housing shortage by staying put in their current homes, reluctant to lose the lower mortgage rates they locked in during less expensive years. Previously, older generations would typically move into smaller homes as they aged, freeing up inventory for younger families, but nearly 40% of Boomers have lived in their home for at least 20 years, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/blame-baby-boomers-housing-shortage-redfin-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Redfin.
This shortage is causing any property that does go on the market to sell quickly at very high prices, often above the asking price.
Despite the daunting circumstances, some younger buyers remain optimistic, although they have adjusted their expectations.
The engaged Gen Z-er said he remains hopeful that he and his fiancée will find something they both love.
&#8220;I basically just want a three-bedroom house with a large backyard and some quiet. It exists, but it&#8217;s just a lot more than I thought it was,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My plan is to put a really big down payment on whatever we get.&#8221;

Home for sale with real estate sign

Gen Z, Young Millennials Debate Endless Rent Or Sky-High Mortgages

Economy

Housing

Inflation

Millennials

Readers Pass

Generation Z is riddled with mental health issues, but some have doubts that more therapy is really the answer.
Gen Z, often defined as young people between ages 12 and 27 has worse mental health, lower self-confidence, and generally more dissatisfaction with life than older generations, one study <a href="https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/inclusion-equity-diversity/the-least-resilient-demographic-alive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> last year.
Overall, only 33% of young adults say their mental health is &#8220;excellent&#8221; or &#8220;good&#8221; compared to 48% of other adults, according to the study. Similarly, another survey from 2022 <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/future-of-america/how-does-gen-z-see-its-place-in-the-working-world-with-trepidation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that Americans from 18 to 24 report high rates of mental health challenges, impediments to effective work, and worries about the future.
A whopping 55% of Gen Z young adults 18 to 24 also say they have either been diagnosed with or have received treatment for mental illness, well above the rate of older groups, the 2022 survey found.
The pandemic also notably increased the mental health crisis among both young adults and children.
Author Abigail Shrier posited recently that the youngest generation might be less resilient because they are encouraged to focus on their bad feelings under the guise of working them out.
&#8220;Millennials thought they could do anything. They were the Mark Zuckerberg generation,&#8221; Shrier <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z72hgYk-5iI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during an appearance on Joe Rogan&#8217;s podcast last month on the release day for her latest book, &#8220;Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren&#8217;t Growing Up.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re not seeing that with these young people. They don&#8217;t want to be in charge. They&#8217;re afraid,&#8221; Shrier said.
Therapy, she suggested, might not be helping as much as we think it is.
Shrier cited studies where teens who were taught coping techniques for emotional regulation became even sadder and more anxious.
&#8220;The reason was regularly ruminating on your bad feelings can make you feel worse,&#8221; Shrier said. &#8220;The amazing story of human history is — doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s not painful, but — of resilience. They get on. They aren&#8217;t permanently suffering with mental illness.&#8221;
To be fair, some of Gen Z&#8217;s anxieties are backed in reality, such as their mounting concerns about their financial future, but this is all the more reason therapy might not be the answer to dealing with these outside problems.
Inflation has spiked over the last several years, and wage growth has not kept up. Housing prices continue to rise, making rent unaffordable in many areas for entry level workers and putting home ownership out of reach of even young people with established careers. When Gen Z looks back at their parents&#8217; and grandparents&#8217; generations they wonder whether they will ever experience financial security in the same way.
Only 37% of Gen Z workers said they believe most people in the country have economic opportunities, a data point that showcases the generation&#8217;s potent economic pessimism, the 2022 survey found. About 26% of Gen Z workers said they think their pay does not allow them a good quality of life, compared to 20% of older workers. A whopping 77% of Gen Z workers said they were looking for a new job, nearly double the rate of older workers.
Dovetailing with Gen Z&#8217;s pessimism about their financial future, they also tend to distrust political and societal institutions, including Congress, the news, the presidency, police, and large technology companies, a Gallup study from last year <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/510395/gen-voices-lackluster-trust-major-institutions.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a>. &#8220;Science&#8221; is the only institution trusted by a majority of Gen Z young people.
This distrust seems to grow as young people grow up and approach their early 20s — younger Gen Z kids ages 12 to 18 who are still in K-12 school are more trusting of institutions than those over 18.
Against this challenging economic backdrop, the newest adult generation&#8217;s lack of motivation is somewhat understandable.
However, at the same time, a slew of mental conditions have become popular content on social media including Tourettes Syndrome, ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression. Many young people are eager to diagnose themselves and find community online with others who supposedly share their trendy condition.
While some may indeed have these conditions, critics say a dose of good, old-fashioned tough love — and maybe a social media detox — could help steer those who wrongly self-diagnosed towards a more fulfilling purpose.
On the bright side, Gen Z is <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90842227/gen-z-not-experience-imposter-syndrome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> less likely to suffer from imposter syndrome at work, and there are signs this generation could be primed to be more optimistic and mentally healthy given the right circumstances.
Some Gen Z members <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90842227/gen-z-not-experience-imposter-syndrome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> they are eager to harness the power of social media to start influential movements, but certain things are extremely important to them including higher starting salaries and flexibility in work scheduling.
Gen Z is the largest generation in the world, making up about 32% of the 7.7 billion people on earth. They are more numerous than their older siblings the millennials and even bigger than the huge baby boomer generation.
There may not be a silver bullet to fix all their problems, but their success or failure will have an enormous effect on the future.

Rear view of woman looking out to city through window

Gen Z Has The Worst Mental Health, But Is More Therapy The Answer?

Anxiety

Depression

Health Care

Mental Health

Therapy

A popular Florida realtor explained how hard it has become for today&#8217;s younger generation to live a middle class lifestyle, declaring that the old American dream no longer exists.
Freddie Smith, an Orlando realtor with a popular TikTok <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fmsmith319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">account</a> where he posts about the financial struggles of millennials and Generation Z to his 422,000 followers, said young people need a much higher salary than their parents did to live the same lifestyle.
&#8220;A lot of us grew up middle class, and we watched what middle class was in the 80s and 90s as millennials. And nowadays, what has moved the goalpost more than anything is the housing market,&#8221; Smith <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/the-old-american-dream-died-realtor-details-salary-needed-to-buy-a-home-afford-a-middle-class-life-in-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News this week.
Smith explained that younger Americans trying to start their lives are often priced out of the housing market.
&#8220;I think most of us in America would define the middle class as somebody who can work a 40-hour-a-week career and can have the income to purchase the average home in America,&#8221; Smith said.
Smith said that a salary as low as $60,000 would have been enough to qualify to buy a home just a few years ago. Now though, the average house price sits around $400,000 or more, meaning people have to make about $120,000 even just to qualify and have a chance at buying a normal house.
Another issue for young people is the crippling debt many face such as student loans, which can be more than $1,000 a month.
&#8220;The millennials, they&#8217;re the pinched generation where college essentially stopped working for most. The debt piled up, and the old American dream died, and we got left holding the bag,&#8221; Smith said.
Besides higher rent costs eating up 30% or 40% of people&#8217;s incomes and student loans taking even more, having children can entail thousands a month for daycare if both parents need to work.
All of these factors make it difficult for young adults to save for a down payment on a home, qualify for a home, and even make monthly mortgage payments after they purchase one, not to mention eventually paying off their home.
Spiking inflation has also contributed to the cost of living woes, particularly for young people who are dealing with these extra expenses.
&#8220;If you are someone who bought a house before 2020 and you have it paid off or you have a 3% interest rate, you are not burdened by the housing costs like the 2024 adults are now,&#8221; Smith said.
As of September, the median home price in the country was $412,000, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/median-home-prices-by-state/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Redfin, a 2% increase over 2022.
In California, the median home price was much higher at $787,000 back in the fall.

For sale by owner sign hangs in front of Long Island house

‘Old American Dream Died’: Realtor Describes How Millennials, Gen Z Struggle To Be Middle Class

'Old American Dream Died': Realtor Describes How Millennials, Gen Z Struggle To Be Middle Class

Could Generation Z — the generation currently in their teens and early 20s — be finding religion?
This week, a TikTok from the fall resurfaced showing a young girl who looks to be in her early 20s sitting alone in a large, empty church with her knees up as the sound of someone playing piano echoes through the cavernous space.
&#8220;2023 hit so hard I had to turn to religion,&#8221; reads the caption of the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dandanthexanman/video/7293440492614847777?_r=1&amp;_t=8ivWbBWsofu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>, which was originally posted back in October.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
is the next vibe shift a Gen Z religious revival? 
this tiktok has 2.1M views &amp; 382k likes, with comments like:
“I started praying” “I got baptized” “I went to church last week for the first time in my life”
what’s going on? 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/IWbfXwFkGu">pic.twitter.com/IWbfXwFkGu</a>
&mdash; Danielle Vermeer (@DLVermeer) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLVermeer/status/1735711025087873040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A quick look at the comments casts doubt on the idea that the post might just be a joke.
The video has a whopping 385,000 likes and more than 8,000 comments, most of which are from other Zoomers saying they too have wandered into churches recently.
&#8220;For real. I went to a church last week for the first time in my life. I get it now,&#8221; someone wrote.
&#8220;No bc low-key this,&#8221; wrote another. (That means &#8220;I kind of identify with this,&#8221; in Gen Z speak for those of you who are not chronically online.)
&#8220;The way I went from basically atheist to praying every day and going to church w my family now,&#8221; posted another.
&#8220;Nah bc I randomly started praying consistently,&#8221; another wrote.
&#8220;So relatable I left the church at 15 and now I&#8217;m back as an adult because I&#8217;m so scared of life,&#8221; one girl wrote.
Two commenters said they were just recently crying and looking up nearby churches. Others expressed relief that they were not alone in their desire to become religious.
&#8220;This wasn&#8217;t only me oh my gosh?? I became religious this year and go to church every week. Loving it,&#8221; someone wrote.
&#8220;Ok so it&#8217;s not just me? I literally started the process of becoming catholic,&#8221; someone wrote.
&#8220;So is this a collective thing? Cus it&#8217;s so bad that I even went to church yesterday, I need a reason to keep going on life,&#8221; someone wrote.
At least four people commented that they recently got baptized. Several said they recently returned to the Catholic Church, and one said they &#8220;literally went to confession the other day.&#8221;
Other commenters wrote that they were thinking of going to church for &#8220;some sort of direction in my life,&#8221; and one girl said a &#8220;breakup pushed me to church.&#8221;
At one point, the girl who posted the video commented, &#8220;Imma keep showing up.&#8221;
Comments like this, written in telltale Zoomer lingo, go on and on. Just when you think the hate comments are around the corner, more Zoomers are posting that they went to church.
A few other TikToks <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mandymalake/video/7298004187340721441?_r=1&amp;_t=8ix2qKEexP5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">show</a> young people saying the same thing — that they started going to church last year, although those videos got fewer views.
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On paper, Gen Z is the least religious generation. Nearly half, 49% of Zoomers say they do not have a religious affiliation, <a href="https://religioninpublic.blog/2023/04/03/gen-z-and-religion-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a 2022 YouGov survey.
However, about a year ago another survey noted a surprising increase in young people saying they believe in God. About a third of people age 18 to 25 say they believe, more than doubt, the existence of a higher power, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-surprising-surge-of-faith-among-young-people-424220bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a survey from the Springtide Research Institute. That&#8217;s up from only about a quarter of young people in 2021.
While belief in God does not necessarily translate to joining organized religion, some Zoomers commented on TikTok that they were drawn to church for the &#8220;peace and quiet.&#8221;
Back in April, a Los Angeles rabbi <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-surprising-surge-of-faith-among-young-people-424220bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Wall Street Journal that more young adults were showing up to Friday night services at the synagogue.
In many more traditional Catholic parishes, the churches are <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/3-reasons-why-young-catholics-love-latin-mass" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filled</a> with young people, including older Gen Z-ers who are already young parents with small children themselves.
Another driving force in these young people&#8217;s turn to religion could be Gen Z&#8217;s rampant anxiety.
More than 40% of 18 to 26-year-olds are diagnosed with a mental health condition, and 90% of the time it&#8217;s anxiety, <a href="https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a survey by Harmony Healthcare IT.
The pandemic sent the most anxious generation&#8217;s mental health further into a tailspin, isolating them and intensifying worries about finances and their loved ones.
In response to life&#8217;s stressors, some Zoomers say they <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-surprising-surge-of-faith-among-young-people-424220bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are</a> searching for relief in something beyond themselves and that faith provides an answer.
Belief in God “gives you a reason for living and some hope,” an Iowa college student told the Journal last year. Some of the TikTok commenters said they ended up in church for this reason as well.
Whatever the reason Gen Z-ers are ending up in church, clearly the next generation has the same age-old longing for peace, meaning, and truth.

Last Minute Christmas Shopping in Birmingham

Is Gen Z Going Back To Church?

Catholicism

Christianity

Culture

Jewish

Religion

Veteran actress Jodie Foster made it clear that she is not impressed with the work ethic of members of &#8220;Gen Z,&#8221; complaining during a recent interview that they would show up late if they weren&#8217;t &#8220;feeling it&#8221; and did not make an effort to sound professional in email correspondence.
The two-time Oscar-winner (for 1989&#8217;s &#8220;The Accused&#8221; and 1991&#8217;s &#8220;The Silence of the Lambs&#8221;) spoke to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/06/jodie-foster-interview-true-detective" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a> about her upcoming projects, and the topic turned to her experience thus far working with younger generations.
Foster was just 15 when she received her first Academy Award nomination (for the 1977 film &#8220;Taxi Driver&#8221;), and she told the outlet that her own experiences growing up both in the public eye and in a tough business like the film industry was part of the reason she chose so often to reach out to younger actors and actresses.
&#8220;Well, I’m pretty fun. I mean – I don’t take anything seriously. I make jokes all the time,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;They need to learn how to relax, how to not think about it so much, how to come up with something that’s theirs. I can help them find that, which is so much more fun than being, with all the pressure behind it, the protagonist of the story,&#8221; Foster added. &#8220;I do a lot of reaching out to young actresses. I’m compelled. Because it was hard growing up.&#8221;
But she also noted that she occasionally found herself irritated by some of the workplace habits she saw in the younger generations.
&#8220;They’re really annoying, especially in the workplace,&#8221; she said of Gen Z in particular. &#8220;They’re like, &#8216;Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am.&#8217; Or, like, in emails, I’ll tell them this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling? And they’re like, &#8216;Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?'&#8221;

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Jodie Foster Roasts Gen-Z Over ‘Really Annoying’ Workplace Habits

Jodie Foster Roasts Gen-Z Over 'Really Annoying' Workplace Habits

Celebrities

Entertainment

Hollywood

Movies

Oscars

Mary Jane Copps is raking in thousands of dollars for teaching Generation Z-ers — who have spent most of their lives only using texts — to have actual conversations via telephone.
Business Insider published a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-charges-480-hour-gen-z-workers-overcome-phone-fear-2022-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> Monday on Copps — who has dubbed herself &#8220;The Phone Lady&#8221; — revealing that she charges up to $480 per hour for private lessons in phone etiquette for those who either don&#8217;t understand how to use a phone in the workplace or who have a phobia around doing so.
VeryWellMind <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/afraid-making-phone-calls-tips-3024317" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defines</a> Phone Anxiety as &#8220;the fear of making or answering phone calls (also known as telephobia)&#8221; and notes that it &#8220;is a common fear among those with social anxiety disorder (SAD).&#8221; Emotional symptoms of Phone Anxiety include: &#8220;Avoiding making calls or having others call you, delaying making or answering phone calls, obsessing about what was said after calls, stressing about embarrassing yourself, worrying about bothering the other person, and worrying about what you will say.&#8221;
Copps told Insider that she had seen the rise of what she referred to as &#8220;phone phobia&#8221; — which coincided with the rise of smartphone usage and text/chat features coupled with the gradual death of the traditional home telephone. A recent Fox News <a href="https://www.fox9.com/video/1159341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> explored the rise of phone phobia, especially among younger generations.
&#8220;Gen Z have never had the skills given to them. In my generation, the phone was on the wall in everyone&#8217;s house, and we were taught to answer it and make calls at a young age,&#8221; Copps told Insider. &#8220;Now we have several generations that were never taught anything about talking on the phone, and people have removed phones from their homes.&#8221;
But phones are still part of the job in many workplaces — whether they be retail stores, restaurants, or offices — and prospective employees who don&#8217;t have previous experience carrying on a telephone conversation may find themselves feeling anxious when the situation arises at work.
Copps said that her consultancy was designed to ease that anxiety and give clients the skills and confidence to answer phones effectively and with less stress. Toward that end, she charges up to $480 an hour for individual coaching and $365 for 30-minute webinars. Her program also includes corporate workshops, for which she charges $3,500 daily.

Businesswoman tangled up in telephone cord

Woman Rakes In The Dough Teaching Scared Gen-Z-ers How To Actually Talk On Phones

cell phones

General

U.S.

Daily Wire host <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/matt-walsh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Walsh</a> mocked <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> employees who spend their days enjoying the firm’s fancy office amenities rather than actually working.
As billionaire entrepreneur <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> took control of Twitter this week, a report indicated that he planned to whittle the social media company’s workforce from 7,500 to 2,000. Walsh remarked during an episode of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Matt Walsh Show</a>” that the move is well-advised given Twitter employees’ bent toward the censorship of free speech and, apparently, laziness.
The acclaimed culture warrior and mastermind behind “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is a Woman?</a>” watched a Twitter employee’s “day in the life” <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1585395267552960512" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>, which involved yoga studios, specialty coffees, foosball, rooftop lounges, and a glass of red wine on tap to finish the day. To her credit, she managed to squeeze a 15-minute meeting in between all of her relaxation.
“No work was done at all,” Walsh commented. “I think there’s a lot of fat we can trim here. I really think there is. He wants to fire 75% of employees; I think you can probably fire 90% and you’ll be fine. … If you have time for yoga and foosball and meditation during the workday, you aren’t needed.”
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Walsh then offered a further piece of advice for Musk as he revamps the leftist social media giant: “If I was an employer, I might put all of that stuff in the office just so that I can fire whoever uses it. It gives people an opportunity to tell on themselves.”
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-proposes-twitter-buyout-at-54-20-per-share-trading-halted-as-stock-price-soars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revived</a> efforts to purchase Twitter earlier this month after fighting the company in court over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-purge-is-coming-twitter-explodes-after-elon-musk-tanks-44-billion-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempt to cancel</a> a previous offer, a move he said was driven by concerns that executives were underestimating the number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-the-latest-in-the-elon-musk-twitter-legal-feud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake accounts</a> on the platform. The world’s richest man <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-officially-takes-over-twitter-as-sale-is-now-final-top-execs-fired-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">immediately fired</a> CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and censorship czar Vijaya Gadde, who had a role in removing former President Donald Trump from the platform and suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story days before the election of 2020. Walsh, however, had a sage piece of advice for any remaining workers who desire to keep their heads.
“If you want to have job security … you have to make yourself irreplaceable,” Walsh explained. “Your value to your employer increases with the degree of your irreplaceability. If they can find just anyone off the street to do your job, then you have almost no value as an employee.”
Twitter employees are not the only Silicon Valley residents addicted to deluxe workplace amenities. One product manager at Meta filmed her own “day in the life” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-of-23-year-old-meta-employee-enjoying-perks-goes-viral-as-investor-tells-zuckerberg-to-cut-headcount" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> complete with a workout, a large plate of freshly cooked breakfast food, and a custom coffee made with a high-end machine, yet included no mention of staff meetings, reports, work calendars, laptops, or anything else related to bringing a consumer product through its various stages of development. She had scribbled the words “work, workout, vibe” in her to-do list.
As with Twitter, the adults in the room are encouraging Meta leadership to send a few employees packing. Altimeter Capital Management <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investor-tells-zuckerberg-to-cut-headcount-cool-down-metaverse-push-since-no-one-knows-what-it-even-means" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reform the company’s hiring practices and focus on core competencies amid the challenging macroeconomic environment, noting that Meta has more than tripled its workforce from 25,000 people to 85,000 people over the past four years.

Matt Walsh

I’d ‘Fire Whoever Uses’ Them: Matt Walsh Responds To Posh Amenities At Twitter Offices

Matt Walsh Reacts To Twitter Employee Whose 'Day In The Life' Includes Yoga And Foosball At Work

Elon Musk

Twitter

A video of a young <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/meta" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meta</a> employee enjoying company perks and not appearing to do much work has gone viral and drawn online mockery just as company founder <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/mark-zuckerberg?_gl=1*6z1goy*_ga*OTAwNTI1NTYwLjE2MTM5NzIxMzI.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY2NjcxOTc5Ny4xMzg3LjEuMTY2NjcxOTgxOC4zOS4wLjA." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Zuckerberg</a> faces pressure from investors to cut headcount.
In the &#8220;day in the life&#8221; video, Riley Rojas described herself as a product manager at Meta, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facebook-changes-company-name-to-meta-will-focus-on-bringing-the-metaverse-to-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed its name</a> from Facebook last year. The video, which has since garnered more than 1.5 million views on Twitter after its original posting on TikTok, is long on Meta&#8217;s benefits and short on staff meetings, reports, work calendars, laptops, or anything else related to shepherding a consumer product through its various stages of development.
According to her video, Rojas works out before fixing herself a large plate of freshly cooked breakfast food at the Meta office and making herself a coffee with a high-end machine. She says she “did some work on the roof,” a modern lounge with sofas and a fireplace, before grabbing lunch and returning home on a shuttle, after which she spent the evening with friends and her boyfriend.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24META&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$META</a> bagholders in shambles. <a href="https://t.co/0ZZ9KsxGTd">pic.twitter.com/0ZZ9KsxGTd</a>
— TTI (@TikTokInvestors) <a href="https://twitter.com/TikTokInvestors/status/1584593828769845248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Social media users also noticed Rojas’ journal, which she filled out before her morning exercise routine. Rojas had written “affirmations” such as “I am beautiful, I am smart, I am amazing, I am capable, I love my life.” Under her “to do” list, she had written “work, workout, vibe.”
Rojas’ profile on LinkedIn is impressive: She attended the London School of Economics and the University of California Los Angeles. She has been working at Meta for nearly two years and is presently a product manager for advertising monetization.
The video happened to gain traction online as Altimeter Capital Management <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investor-tells-zuckerberg-to-cut-headcount-cool-down-metaverse-push-since-no-one-knows-what-it-even-means" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reform the company’s hiring practices and focus on core competencies amid the challenging macroeconomic environment. A letter written by Altimeter CEO Brad Gerstner said that the social media company has drifted into a “land of excess” and “lack of focus and fitness.”
Among other actions, Gerstner suggested a three-step plan centered upon investing no more than $5 billion into technologies related to the metaverse, an immersive virtual reality that the company forecasts will serve as the next phase of digital communication and reducing at least one-fifth of headcount expenses. The letter noted that Meta has more than tripled its workforce from 25,000 people to 85,000 people over the past four years.
“It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people,” Gerstner contended. “I would take it a step further and argue that these incredible companies would run even better and more efficiently without the layers and lethargy that comes with this extreme rate of employee expansion.”
Share prices for Meta have plummeted 59.9% since the beginning of the year, significantly trailing the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the technology-heavy NASDAQ, which have fallen 13.4% and 29.7%, respectively.
Technology companies were among the first to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lay off large numbers</a> of employees when the stock market began its most recent decline. Elon Musk, slated to purchase Twitter, reportedly plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-to-gut-twitter-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut headcount</a> at the social media company from 7,500 to 2,000.
Reducing a large share of employee-related expenditures would bring Meta to human capital investment levels seen toward the middle of last year. “I don’t think anybody would argue that Meta wasn’t sufficiently staffed in 2021 to tackle a business that looks similar to how it looks today,” Gerstner continued.

Modern open plan office space interior

Video Of 23-Year-Old Meta Employee Enjoying Perks Goes Viral As Investor Tells Zuckerberg To Cut Headcount

Meta Employee Details A Typical Workday At The Company. It Entails Very Little Work.

Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg

Karoline Leavitt

MAGA Republican Wins NH Primary, Could Become Youngest Woman Ever Elected To Congress

MAGA Republican Karoline Leavitt Wins NH Primary, Could Become Youngest Woman Elected To Congress 

America First

MAGA

New Hampshire

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/generation-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Generation Z</a> is four times more likely than past generations to require financial assistance from family members when buying their first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">home</a>.
According to data from luxury real estate firm <a href="https://www.rubyhome.com/">RubyHome</a> obtained by The Daily Wire, 79% of members of Generation Z received financial help from their parents when buying their first property — a substantial increase from the 19% of Baby Boomers and Silent Generation members who reported the same.
“When combined, data show that adults under 45 are more than three times as likely as people 45 and older to say their parents gave them a property outright or paid the entire deposit,” the RubyHome analysis summarized.
Prices for single family homes have soared over the past two years. In the second quarter of 2022, the median sale price of a home in the United States was $440,300, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS">data</a> from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, marking a 36% rise from $322,600 in the second quarter of 2020.
Younger Americans have been particularly impacted by the dismal real estate market. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/half-of-millennials-cant-afford-to-rent-a-one-bedroom-apartment-in-californias-biggest-cities">analysis</a> from Filterbuy indicated that at least half of Millennials — defined by the company as those between 24 and 39 years old — are unable to afford a one-bedroom apartment in many major American cities. For the metropolitan area surrounding Los Angeles, California, median wages are $36,649 while the annual wage needed to rent a one-bedroom apartment is $72,560.
“The combination of rising rents and stagnant wages has been a challenge for Americans of all stripes, but certain groups have been more disadvantaged by this state of affairs than others,” Filterbuy explained. “Even well-off households are feeling pressure, as rising real estate costs price would-be buyers out and keep them competing for space in the rental market — and as they spend more on rent, they have a harder time saving for homeownership.”
Another recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/young-americans-dont-see-a-point-in-saving-for-retirement-in-a-post-covid-world">study</a> from financial services company Fidelity shows that the economic turmoil of the last two years has disrupted many Americans’ savings behavior. Roughly 55% of “Next Gen” — which the study defines as Americans between the ages of 18 and 35 — said that they placed their retirement plans on hold as COVID rapidly spread through the United States, while 45% do not “see a point in saving until things return to normal.” Roughly 39% of young adults therefore “plan to retire later.”
The dire financial straits impacting many members of Generation Z reflect a broader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-decline-of-the-american-family-shown-in-4-statistics">social decline</a> in the United States. Last year, the population of the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-2021-americas-population-grew-at-slowest-rate-since-founding-of-the-nation">grew</a> at its slowest pace since the nation’s founding, according to <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/12/us-population-grew-in-2021-slowest-rate-since-founding-of-the-nation.html">data</a> from the Census Bureau. Among other reasons for the decline, the agency cited “decreasing fertility” and “increasing mortality due to an aging population,” as well as the onset of COVID. Meanwhile, only 17.8% of America’s 130 million households <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/only-18-of-american-households-are-families-with-married-parents">feature</a> married parents with children — a decline from over 40% in 1970.
Over the past several months, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly criticized the notion that the world is at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/overpopulation-fears-give-way-to-another-bogeyman-a-fertility-slump">risk of overpopulation</a>.
“I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate,” Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-warns-civilization-will-crumble-without-people-having-more-kids">explained</a> at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit last year. “And yet, so many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control. It’s completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers — if people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.”

Aerial photography of suburbs, NY

Four Times As Many Generation Z Members Got Parents’ Help Purchasing First Home Than Past Generations

Generation Z Struggles To Buy New Homes Without Aid From Parents

Money

Poverty

Mobs of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/generation-z">high school boys</a> are dressing to the nines and flooding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">movie</a> theaters to watch the latest flick in the “Despicable Me” franchise, leading some theaters to turn away the dapper young gentlemen.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” — which centers upon the antics of an 11-year-old version of hero Felonious Gru and his playful “minion” allies — earned $125 million in its opening weekend, setting an all-time record for a weekend falling on or around the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/4th-of-july">Fourth of July</a> holiday, according to <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/minions-fourth-of-july-box-office/">The Wrap</a>. Young people participating in the “gentleminion” trend appear to have aided the new film.
“High schoolers have been showing up to movie theaters in large groups, donning suits and even smoking cigars as part of an ironic online love for the movie,” <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/gentleminions-tiktok-trend-despicable-me-movie-suits-cinema-1721380">Newsweek</a> summarized. “Many even go one step further, moshing and cheering loudly inside the movie theater.”
Footage of the trend has garnered millions of views on social media.
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Why Minions is crushing the box office. <a href="https://t.co/IsFSW7Tkrf">pic.twitter.com/IsFSW7Tkrf</a>
&mdash; Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/rob_keyes/status/1543457909899763713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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I love being gen z. We have so much power😭💀💀🤌🏼 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tiktok?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tiktok</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MinionsTheRiseOfGru?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MinionsTheRiseOfGru</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Minions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Minions</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gentleminions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gentleminions</a> <a href="https://t.co/2OUarPhubj">pic.twitter.com/2OUarPhubj</a>
&mdash; Mr. Worldwide (@FairiesUnite) <a href="https://twitter.com/FairiesUnite/status/1543380224288739331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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better start believing it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gentleminions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gentleminions</a> <a href="https://t.co/54Yo8652r3">pic.twitter.com/54Yo8652r3</a>
&mdash; leviticus (@dramatdc) <a href="https://twitter.com/dramatdc/status/1543731748869136384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Jim Orr, Universal Pictures president of domestic distribution, could not be more thrilled with the enthusiasm. “The movie is playing to a very broad audience, as well to families and the very young,” he told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/minions-rise-of-gru-meme-gentleminions-1235175207/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.
“The audience was more than eager to come out and see this movie,” Orr added. “It is so gratifying to see this sort of box office.”
The skeleton of the “Tickets to X” meme, however, is not new. As Mat Jones of <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/gentleminions-meme-minions-the-rise-of-gru-suits">IGN</a> explained, the format centers upon “juxtaposing popular characters with their intent to see a movie which doesn’t necessarily reflect the tone of their own world.” For example, depicting the cast of “Breaking Bad” gathering to view the latest “Barbie” film is “clearly inherently funny.”
Yet not everyone in the movie business is happy with the trend, as reports of theaters banning suit-clad young people from seeing “The Rise of Gru” are also circulating on social media. A spokesperson for British theater company Odeon confirmed to Newsweek that &#8220;due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.&#8221;
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Thoroughly entertained by this sign <a href="https://twitter.com/ODEONCinemas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ODEONCinemas</a> and then saw a bunch of kids in suits refused entry! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gentleminions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gentleminions</a> <a href="https://t.co/zo7seJ5COl">pic.twitter.com/zo7seJ5COl</a>
&mdash; 𝔾𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝔻𝕦𝕕𝕤 (@gillduds) <a href="https://twitter.com/gillduds/status/1543600645294415872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Stephen Healy — whose TikTok of his friends attending a showing of “The Rise of Gru” earned over 11 million views — condemned the backlash against the “gentleminions.”
&#8220;There wasn&#8217;t much reaction if I can recall because we walked into the cinema late because we were too busy filming, but I do remember some laughs and stares as we walked down the stairs,” he told Newsweek.
Members of Gen Z enjoy an incredible degree of unpredictable and unorthodox market power. Teenagers duped Sony — the company behind failed superhero flick “Morbius”— into releasing the movie for a second time after ironically praising it through a flurry of internet memes. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/we-were-all-busy-that-weekend-please-bring-morbius-to-the-theatre-a-third-time">petition</a> entitled “We Were All Busy That Weekend — Please Bring Morbius to the Theatre a Third Time” then gained tens of thousands of signatures.
In 2020, TikTok pranksters may have played a role in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-team-denies-tiktok-pranksters-were-cause-of-low-rally-attendance">sabotaging</a> a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for former President Donald Trump. Campaign manager Brad Parscale blamed the low attendance on “fake news media warning people away from the rally because of COVID and protestors, coupled with recent images of American cities on fire.”
Internet culture has also had tangible impacts on the stock market. In 2021, Wall Street was left reeling after amateur investors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-4-business-moguls-cheering-for-the-little-guys-in-the-gamestop-fiasco">poured money</a> into GameStop and other companies heavily <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszj1flDxl0">bet against</a> by financiers. Hedge fund Melvin Capital alone <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloodbath-hedge-fund-short-sale-losses-top-1-billion-following-gamestop-stock-surge">lost</a> 53% on its investments in a single month.

Universal Studios Hollywood Celebrates The Premiere Of New 3D Ultra HD digital Animation Adventure “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem”

‘Gentleminions’: Movie Theaters Frazzled As Mobs Of High School Boys Don Suits To Watch ‘Despicable Me’ Sequel

Here's Why High Schoolers Are Donning Suits And Watching The Latest 'Despicable Me' Movie

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