Is it really already May? The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and we have another set of new terms for your consideration. It can be easy to fall into a pattern of lifestyle creep following a promotion at work, where your discretionary spending increases along with your income, but be aware of fambushing, where teens are tracking down their parents out and about to nab some free food. In an ever-increasingly digital-first world, some are putting together analog bags, full of non-electronic activities to keep them occupied and off their phones. Others are coping through social offloading, allowing AI chatbots to handle their decision-making and social interactions for them. Others still are finding themselves feeling like an otrovert, feeling like an outsider looking in at group social interactions.
lifestyle creep
You’ve finally got that promotion at work, and you’re looking forward to the extra savings it’ll help you put away. Before you know it, your discretionary spending has crept up to meet your new income, and those extra savings are nowhere to be found. Maybe you’re heading out to restaurants more than you used to, you’ve taken up a new hobby, or you’ve started watching new shows across five different streaming services. If this sounds familiar, you’ve found yourself a victim of lifestyle creep, where that extra money has caused a shift in your lifestyle that can be hard to revert once it’s started.
fambushing
It’s not uncommon for parents to have tracking apps installed on their children’s phones, but some teens (especially those who are old enough to be out and about on their own) are beginning to realise that this can work two ways. If they see on the tracker that a parent is stopping at the cafe on the way home, they can send a text asking for a snack. If they see that their parents are out at a restaurant, they might show up unannounced and join them for dinner. While some might see this as an extra cost they weren’t planning for, others are happy to have their children engaging with them and showing up for dinner (even if it’s interrupting date night).
otrovert
Do you ever feel like an outsider looking in in a group social situation, even if you’re an accepted member of the social group? Do you find yourself more at home in one-on-one conversations and not inclined to join in on group jokes? You might be an otrovert, a term coined by US psychiatrist Rami Kaminski for individuals who don’t find themselves fitting in in group settings, built from the Spanish word otro, meaning other, and -vert as in introvert or extrovert.
analog bag
More and more apps are designed these days to capture our attention and hold onto it for dear life, and it certainly feels like we’re feeling the negative effects of being exposed to such a ceaseless firehose of terrible news and new dance trends (see past Word of the Year winners doomscrolling and AI slop). It’s no surprise that some people are putting together analog bags, bags of non-digital activities such as novels, sketchbooks, knitting projects, sudoku puzzles, and (if you’re us) dictionaries, to keep themselves off their phones.
social offloading
Look, we get it, it’s difficult. It’s certainly not surprising that some people are turning to social offloading to reduce or manage their mental or emotional loads. That is, they’re offloading uncomfortable social interactions, difficult decisions, or annoying tasks to others. Most commonly this takes the form of AI chatbots, but it could also be unsuspecting friends or partners. Is it healthy in the long run? Probably not, but it might provide some much needed respite in today’s world.
