On Culture #4
Welcome to On Culture, edition 4.
Five trending cultural insights of the month, from Canvas8.?
1.
Nu metal relief
Nostalgic listening provides comfort for Gen Zers.
Dust off your head-banging moves; nu metal music is back.
Bands like Deftones and Slipknot are resonating with younger fans, thanks to TikTok, the Y2K revival and, of course, enduring teenage angst, Canvas8’s Alex Strang tells 纽约时报 .
During Nu Metal’s explosion in the 90s, visual aesthetics were central to the scene.
Historically, the genre appealed to outsiders who felt a strong emotional connection with its gloomy subject matter.?Either you were all in, or you were a poser.
Now, Gen Zers are listening to nu metal for the first time. Parents are finding joy connecting with their kids over the dulcet tones of Slipknot, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. Nostalgia marketing, but make it grunge.
With the world in a tumultuous period, people are seeking a sense of community and nostalgia to feel better about the present.
Post-pandemic, people have naturally become more attracted to?creating stronger?and more meaningful connections. Digital communities are thriving, and lines between online and offline groups are more blurred than ever, with people's identities increasingly influenced by both IRL and virtual interactions.
Alongside this, rising?inflation,?high energy prices, and a?breakdown in government trust?have many people looking backwards for comfort instead of forwards.
Nu metal is providing a sense of relief both to those who experienced it first-hand and younger audiences.?They may have mocked ‘cheugy’ Gen Yers, but Zers are joining them in shouting along to Limp Bizkit in gelled up mohicans and chain wallets.
80%?of Gen Zers feel as though they were born in the wrong era because of their taste in music DOLBY LABORATORIES, 2021
60%?of US listeners say they listen to the music of the 1990s, the largest share for any decade AXIOS, 2022
2.
ADHD girlies
Step aside 'naughty boy' stereotype.
Due to ADHD and ASD presenting differently in girls than boys – as well as and outdated data and stereotypes – there is a significant gender diagnosis gap.
Women are using platforms like Twitter and TikTok to spark discussions and share neurodivergent experiences and stories. The emergence of hashtags such as #actuallyautistic and #adultadhd have helped illuminate the vast and complex experiences that exist in the neurodivergent community – and they’ve gained over 5.8 billion and 457 million views, respectively.
As neurodivergent symptoms present differently in girls than in boys, many girls are overlooked and undiagnosed until well into adulthood. ADHD Girls is a platform that aims to improve neurodiversity through an intersectional lens, allowing girls and women with ADHD to thrive.
Research suggests that teams with neurodivergent professionals in some roles can be 30% more productive than those without them.?
Nadya Powell, the co-founder of inclusive workplace consultancy Utopia, states that “we need to design for mixed needs rather than dominant needs. Neurodiversity is so individual, you cannot make generalisations.”?
By better understanding how to work with neurodiverse people in the workplace, employers, brands, and organisations can align with the 71% of consumers who prefer to shop with brands that reflect their values and support efforts for DE&I.?
Two million people in the UK have ADHD but are undiagnosed. ADHD UK, 2023
In 2021, around?254,400?women took a health professional-verified online test to see if they have ADHD, up from?7,700?in 2019. CLINICAL PARTNERS, 2021
3.
Slobby self-care
Gen Z’s newest form of self-care: bed rotting.
Bed rotting is definitely trending across social media – but so were ‘duvet day’ and ‘goblin mode’ before it. But while the term may be new, the ritual itself is not: it’s one more part of the pushback against productivity and an attempt at self-soothing.
In an attempt to push back against toxic productivity culture and girl boss attitudes, people are rebranding self-care to fit in with current self-soothing practices and lifestyles. Self-care has become messy, slobby, and everything in between as comfort and leisure is prioritised over aesthetics.
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Videos relating to self-care on TikTok have over?48 billion?views.
In the UK, more than?80%?of consumers believe the country needs to place a greater emphasis on self-care after a chaotic few years.
75%?of Americans believe self-care activities and rituals can help reduce stress while 71% believe society will collectively prioritise self-care in the next five years.
4.
Sober curious?
You’re not the only one.
Are people over booze? Helen Jambunathan speaks to NBC about why the 'sober curious' movement is growing in the United States.?
Low- and no-alcohol is no longer confined to a warm orange juice or a middling beer dupe.
As well as moving away from alcohol for health reasons, consumers are also actively seeking non-alcoholic beverages that contain health benefits, as seen with the rise and rise of?functional drinking.?
For example, Corona has launched the world’s first non-alcoholic beer with 30% of the daily recommended vitamin D and just 60 calories per 330ml bottle.
The desire for sober options that combine both social and wellbeing benefits is another indication of the shift away from drinking culture as part of broader trends towards wellness.
Young people, like those active on?#sobertiktok, are leading the charge and demonstrating to brands that they want to feel in control of how they drink.
64% of people across ten markets say they're looking to explore low- and no-alcohol options. The IWSR, 2021
“People having non-alcoholic drinks don’t want to look like they’re the odd one out,”?says Laura Willoughby MBE , co-founder of Club Soda .?
5.
Lucky girl syndrome
Positive thinking, or toxic positivity?
Enter the latest social media behavior: ‘lucky girl syndrome’. On TikTok, videos relating to the #luckygirlsyndrome have over 1.3 billion views and counting, as creators share tips, tricks and techniques on how people can get a little bit of good luck in their lives.
Lucky girl syndrome is culturally connecting with people as it allows them to have a positive outlook during times of turbulence.
This is leading people to seek comfort, support, community and connection in any way they can as they attempt to manage the stressors of the modern world.
The behavior is a mindset shift towards positive thinking as people begin to put power into their words and the act of manifestation, holding the belief that if you think you're lucky good things will come to you.
Brands can help their audiences by putting the power back in their hands, helping consumers and wider audiences feel a little bit of respite and calm through the launch of new products, initiatives and campaigns.
That has come in the form of merch from?The Good Day Store, which sells manifestation hoodies and personalised motivational sweatshirts, the?Men's Repair Shed?initiative launched by New Mills that offers mental health support for men and fosters camaraderie through DIY activities, and?Lofi Girl, a popular YouTube channel that creates calm through community listening.
A survey by Pew Research Center found that?six-in-ten (58%)?of Americans say that life for people like them is worse today than it was 50 years ago, and in the UK?23%?of young people say that they’ll never recover from the emotional impact of the pandemic.
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