As we make our way out of the darkest parts of winter and see the sun setting after we leave the office for the day, we can say for once that it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, if you’ve been practising bloomscrolling, a positive alternative to doomscrolling, it might just be bloom and, uhh, bloom. Poor wordplay aside, others looking for an escape from the negative feelings associated with social media are trying naked running, or going for runs without devices for music (or distraction). For some, they might be trying to escape a sense of heteropessimism, or a negative perception of current heterosexual dating culture and ‘the apps’. They might also be trying to escape the news cycle, which has brought our attention to newer terms such as the franken-can, a mixed plastic-metal drink container which won an award for least recyclable packaging, and, surrounding the test of the new AusAlert system, safe phones, or secret devices providing untracked communications for victims of domestic violence.
bloomscrolling
Terms to describe an alternative to doomscrolling seem to come and go. A few months ago, ‘hopequesting’ caught our attention but never seemed to go anywhere. This time around, bloomscrolling appears to be doing the rounds. Will it catch on or see any of the staying power we’ve seen with its more negative forefather? It seems unlikely to us at this stage, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth keeping an eye on. There’s something to be said here about the staying power of the term doomscrolling alongside the phenomenon it describes, especially when contrasted with the more ephemeral nature of any possible antonyms. It seems like avoiding doomscrolling and finding an alternative is just as difficult and fleeting as the terms for said alternatives.
naked running
It’s worth being clear, naked running is far more legal an activity than the name might suggest. Rather than being an activity for naturists (though such activities surely do exist), here the term refers to running without certain mod cons such as phones, smart watches, music players, and so on. A descendent of the rawdogging movement (again, not in that sense), naked runners are trying to run without the distraction of music or podcasts, or even in some cases are going as far as to leave devices behind completely and run without any connection to the modern world and the stress it brings.
heteropessimism
Speaking of the stress of the modern world, heteropessimism refers to a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the current heterosexual dating culture. People experiencing and discussing heteropessimism often point to the challenges associated with modern dating apps, as well as growing cultural divides between men and women. As the world has become more and more reliant on the internet, so too has dating culture. Some suggest that this is bringing about growing reliance on dating apps, which face an inherent conflict of interest, because an effective dating app will destroy its own user base as its users find relationships. At the same time, especially in countries such as the USA, there is a growing divide between the cultural and political beliefs of men and women, as, for instance, male voters are tending right and female voters are tending left. This is causing further frustration as the perceived paucity in the pool of potential partners proliferates.
franken-can
To describe the franken-can as an award-winning design, while technically true, certainly buries the fact of the matter here. These cans, made of clear plastic and sealed with an aluminium lid, have been named Australia’s worst packaging in the inaugural Unpackit awards, run by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Plastic Free Foundation and WWF-Australia. The cans are used in cafes for serving cold drinks, and are filled and sealed by the barista before the drink is served. The awards flagged that the cans, in being made of two different materials, are much more difficult to recycle, not accepted by container refund schemes, and, as single-use plastics intended for on-the-go use, are more likely to end up as street litter. The cans have already been banned in Western Australia, but it remains to be seen how many other states will follow.
safe phone
Safe phones are mobile phones with a prepaid service, intended for use by victims of domestic violence. Kept secret, they provide a method for an individual to communicate without fear of being tracked or intercepted by an abuser, allowing the user safer access to support services. While not new, they came into the public eye in mid July this year as warnings were spread to ensure that they were switched off prior to the test of the new AusAlert emergency alert system, which would have caused them to sound an alarm, potentially revealing their presence.
