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How did Taylor Swift get so popular? She never goes out of style

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-pattison-1407185">Kate Pattison</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> Last week, USA Today/Gannett <a href="https://us231.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/gannett/Posting/View/63544">posted a job ad</a> for a Taylor Swift reporter, seeking an experienced journalist and content creator to “capture the music and cultural impact of Taylor Swift”. It’s not the first time Swift has been the focus of professional and academic work. In 2022, New York University’s Clive Davis Institute <a href="https://variety.com/2022/music/news/taylor-swift-course-nyu-clive-davis-institute-1235170200/">announced a course focused on Swift</a>, taught by Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos. They also gave Swift <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2022/march/Commencement_HDs_2020_2021_2022.html">an honorary doctorate in fine arts</a>, as “one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of her generation”. Other universities around the world followed with their own dedicated courses, including “<a href="https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/taylor-swift-is-the-subject-of-a-new-university-course-3483713">The Psychology of Taylor Swift</a>”, “<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-songbook-class-offered-university-of-texas-1235130293/">The Taylor Swift Songbook</a>” and “<a href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/style/taylor-swift-lyrics-course-belgian-university/index.html">Literature: Taylor’s Version</a>”. While musicians and celebrities have been the subject of our fascinations for decades, it’s not often they receive such individualised attention. Swift’s impressive career can be studied from multiple perspectives, including marketing, fandom, business and songwriting, to name a few. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KudedLV0tP0?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>So why Taylor Swift?</h2> From a music perspective, Swift has broken a lot of records. Last month, she became the <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/news/taylor-swift-spotify-record-monthly-listeners-1235707101/">first female artist in Spotify history</a> to reach 100 million monthly listeners. Swift has achieved 12 number one albums on Billboard, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/arts/music/taylor-swift-speak-now-billboard-chart-record.html">the most by a woman artist</a>, overtaking Barbra Streisand earlier this year. She’s the first and only woman solo artist to win the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/taylor-swift/15450">Album Of The Year Grammy</a> three times, for Fearless (2009), 1989 (2015) and Folklore (2020) – each in a different musical genre. It’s a credit to Swift’s masterful songwriting, and demonstrates her ability to adapt her craft for different audiences. There is an expectation for female artists to constantly re-invent themselves, something <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/10/interesting-reinvention-taylor-swift-celebrities">Swift reflected on</a> in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana: <blockquote> The female artists I know of have to remake themselves like 20 times more than the male artists, or you’re out of a job. </blockquote> Over the course of her career, Swift has evolved from an award-winning country music singer to one of the biggest pop stars in the world. Each of her ten original studio albums <a href="https://www.thelist.com/463869/every-taylor-swift-era-explained/">has a distinct theme and aesthetic</a>, which have been celebrated on Swift’s juggernaut Eras Tour. The tour, which has just wrapped up its first US leg, is set to be the highest-grossing of all time, boosting local travel and tourism revenue along the way. A <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-eras-tour-boosted-economy-tourism-federal-reserve-how-much-money-made/">recent report estimates</a> the tour could help add a monumental US$5 billion (A$7.8 billion) to the worldwide economy. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b1kbLwvqugk?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>‘All I do is try, try, try’</h2> But to measure Swift’s impact by her music alone would be limiting. Swift has been instrumental in changing the business game for musicians. She’s taken on record labels and streaming services, advocating for better deals for artists. In 2015, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33220189">Apple Music changed its payment policies</a> after Swift wrote an <a href="https://www.stereogum.com/1810310/read-taylor-swifts-open-letter-to-apple-music/news/">open letter</a> campaigning for better compensation. Most notably, she took a stand <a href="https://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/185958366550/for-years-i-asked-pleaded-for-a-chance-to-own-my">against her former record label</a>, Big Machine Records, after it wouldn’t give her an opportunity to buy back her original master recordings. Her back catalogue was eventually sold to music executive Scooter Braun, kicking off a <a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/taylor-swifts-music-ownership-controversy-with-scooter-braun-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters/">very public feud</a>. While she’s not the first artist to go after her masters, she’s generated an enormous amount of attention to an issue that’s often overlooked. Of course, Swift is in a position of privilege – she can take risks many other artists can’t afford to. But with this power she’s driving conversations around contracts and the value of music, paving the way for emerging artists. In an effort to regain control of her earlier work, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-on-lover-and-haters/">Swift announced</a> she would be re-recording her first six albums. Each re-recorded album has included additional <a href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-fearless-rerecord-release-date-unreleased-songs-2021-2">vault tracks</a>, previously unreleased songs left off the original recordings. These releases have each been accompanied by a robust promotional campaign, including new merchandise and multiple, limited-edition versions of each record for fans to collect. The release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marked the halfway point of this process, which has paid off big time. Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) <a href="https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-taylors-version-stats-chart-numbers/the-equivalent-album-units-gap/">have all performed better</a> than the originals. This is largely due to the unwavering support from her fans, known as “Swifties”. They’ve embraced the new recordings, shaming anyone who plays the original “stolen” versions. <h2>The power of Swifties</h2> Swift’s loyal fandom are known for their high levels of participation and creativity. Fans have spent an extensive amount of time hand-making outfits for concerts, and discussing elaborate theories online. Swift has a reputation for leaving clues, known as <a href="https://junkee.com/taylor-swift-easter-eggs/219709">Easter eggs</a>, in her lyrics, music videos, social media posts and interviews. There are fan accounts dedicated to analysing these Easter eggs, studying specific number patterns and phrases to uncover hints for what Swift might do next. Swift and Taylor Nation, a branch of her management team, encourage these behaviours by rewarding fans for their participation. For the upcoming release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Swift has unveiled a series of puzzles on Google, which fans must solve together in order to reveal the names of the upcoming vault tracks. Swifties collectively <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/09/20/taylor-swift-vault-puzzle-1989-tracks/">solved the 33 million</a> (yes, that’s million) puzzles in less than 24 hours. The games played a dual role - not only did <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxbFSR1RAOv/?img_index=1">Swift announce the vault track titles</a>, but she’s <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSN1uHN9R/">reclaimed her Google searches</a> in the process. Swift’s fandom crosses generations. She’s a quintessential millennial, and many fans have grown up with Swift over the past two decades. Some have even started to bring their children along to the concerts, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@folkloreswift_/video/7255857466213158149?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6972316934294291973">posting videos</a> of them set to the bridge to Long Live. She’s also found a younger audience on TikTok, a platform <a href="https://sproutsocial.com/insights/tiktok-stats/">predominantly used by Gen Z</a>. Affectionately dubbed “<a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/year-on-tiktok-music-report-2021">SwiftTok</a>” by fans (and now <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLokp2rQ/">Swift herself</a>), users post videos to engage with other Swifties and participate in the community. Swift’s songs are often used in popular trends. The release of Midnights last year had many dancing to <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a43488940/taylor-swift-surprised-fan-viral-tiktok-dance-bejeweled-eras-tour/">Bejeweled</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tatycake/video/7216131364469427499?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6972316934294291973">Karma</a>, but Swift’s older catalogue has also gotten a good run. A remix of Love Story <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-tiktok-love-story-remix-disco-lines-1035691/">went viral in 2020</a>, which helped a new generation discover her older music. Most recently, her song August has been used for running on the beach and <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLok2jRb/">spinning around</a> with your pets. <iframe id="tc-infographic-925" class="tc-infographic" style="border: none;" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/925/cad71d8026910236be1d5880a20a247cdee29c82/site/index.html" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> She’s also closely aligned with young adult shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty, which has <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2023/08/taylor-swift-summer-i-turned-pretty.html">featured 13 of her songs</a> throughout the show’s first two seasons. Swift’s music is so central to the story that <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-08-19/summer-i-turned-pretty-music-jenny-han-taylor-swift">author Jenny Han nearly dedicated</a> the second book to her. Swift continues to dominate the cultural conversation through her music, business decisions and legions of devoted fans. Right now, Swift’s popularity is at an all time high, and it could be easy to dismiss this hype as a passing trend. But if these first 17 years are anything to go by, Swift’s proven she’s in it for the long haul, and worthy of our time.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213871/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-pattison-1407185">Kate Pattison</a>, PhD Candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-did-taylor-swift-get-so-popular-she-never-goes-out-of-style-213871">original article</a>.

Music

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you

If you’re like me, you’ve managed to kill even the hardiest of indoor plants (yes, despite a doctorate in plant biology). But imagine a world where your plants actually told you exactly when they needed watering. This thought, as it turns out, may not be so silly after all. You might be familiar with the growing body of work that <a href="https://theconversation.com/heard-it-on-the-grapevine-the-mysterious-chatter-of-plants-6292">provides evidence for</a> plants being able to sense sounds around them. Now, new research suggests they can also generate airborne sounds in response to stress (such as from drought, or being cut). A team led by experts at Tel Aviv University has shown tomato and tobacco plants, among others, not only make sounds, but do so loudly enough for other creatures to hear. Their findings, <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00262-3">published today</a> in the journal Cell, are helping us tune into the rich acoustic world of plants – one that plays out all round us, yet never quite within human earshot. <h2>Plants can listen, but now they can talk!</h2> Plants are “sessile” organisms. They can’t run away from stressors such as herbivores or drought. Instead, they’ve evolved complex biochemical responses and the ability to dynamically alter their growth (and regrow body parts) in response to environmental signals including light, gravity, temperature, touch, and volatile chemicals produced by surrounding organisms. These signals help them maximise their growth and reproductive success, prepare for and resist stress, and form mutually beneficial relationships with other organisms such as fungi and bacteria. In 2019, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/flowers-can-hear-bees-and-make-their-nectar-sweeter">researchers showed</a> the buzzing of bees can cause plants to produce sweeter nectar. Others <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15592324.2017.1368938">have shown</a> white noise played to Arabidopsis, a flowering plant in the mustard family, can trigger a drought response. Now, a team led by Lilach Hadany, who also led the aforementioned bee-nectar study, has recorded airborne sounds produced by tomato and tobacco plants, and five other species (grapevine, henbit deadnettle, pincushion cactus, maize and wheat). These sounds were ultrasonic, in the range of 20-100 kilohertz, and therefore can’t be detected <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10924/">by human ears</a>. <h2>Stressed plants chatter more</h2> To carry out their research, the team placed microphones 10cm from plant stems that were either exposed to drought (less than 5% soil moisture) or had been severed near the soil. They then compared the recorded sounds to those of unstressed plants, as well as empty pots, and found stressed plants emitted significantly more sounds than unstressed plants. In a cool addition to their paper, they also included a soundbite of a recording, downsampled to an audible range and sped up. The result is a distinguishable “pop” sound. The number of pops increased as drought stress increased (before starting to decline as the plant dried up). Moreover, the sounds could be detected from a distance of 3-5 metres – suggesting potential for long-range communication. <h2>But what actually causes these sounds?</h2> While this remains unconfirmed, the team’s findings suggest that “cavitation” may be at least partially responsible for the sounds. Cavitation is the process through which air bubbles expand and burst inside a plant’s water-conducting tissue, or “xylem”. This explanation makes sense if we consider that drought stress and cutting will both alter the water dynamics in a plant stem. Regardless of the mechanism, it seems the sounds produced by stressed plants were informative. Using machine learning algorithms, the researchers could distinguish not only which species produced the sound, but also what type of stress it was suffering from. It remains to be seen whether and how these sound signals might be involved in plant-to-plant communication or plant-to-environment communication. The research has so far failed to detect any sounds from the woody stems of woody species (which includes many tree species), although they could detect sounds from non-woody parts of a grapevine (a woody species). <h2>What could it mean for ecology, and us?</h2> It’s temping to speculate these airborne sounds could help plants communicate their stress more widely. Could this form of communication help plants, and perhaps wider ecosystems, adapt better to change? Or perhaps the sounds are used by other organisms to detect a plant’s health status. Moths, for example, hear within the ultrasonic range and lay their eggs on leaves, as the researchers point out. Then there’s the question of whether such findings could help with future food production. The <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/sitecollectiondocuments/abares/publications/Outlook2012FoodDemand2050.pdf">global demand</a> for food will only rise. Tailoring water use to target individual plants or sections of field making the most “noise” could help us more sustainably intensify production and minimise waste. For me personally, if someone could give a microphone to my neglected veggie patch and have the notifications sent to my phone, that would be much appreciated! Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/attention-plant-killers-new-research-shows-your-plants-could-be-silently-screaming-at-you-202833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Home & Garden

How an Aussie artist captured the attention of A-list celebrities

An Australian artist who specialises in vivid contemporary pieces of art has captured the attention of celebrity A-listers, including pop singer Miley Cyrus. Nick Thomm left his native Melbourne in 2014 to move to New York in order to pursue his passion for art. Just two years later, he received a message on Instagram from Miley Cyrus, who commissioned the up and coming artist to paint a mural in her Los Angeles home. “Miley's awesome. She just followed me on Instagram and we started talking,” he told <a href="http://linda-kovacs-kokw.squarespace.com/nick-thomm">Westwood</a>. “Literally, two weeks later I was at her house putting up a mural for her. She's a really inspiring person to be around - a full genius. She kind of inspired me to get over to the United States permanently. She's been awesome to me.” The hyper-coloured mural is saturated with radiant shades of purple, blue and orange on a pink backdrop. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBjVubar1Rh/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBjVubar1Rh/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by NICK THOMM (@nickthomm)</a> </div> </blockquote> His abstract street-style artworks explore a modern colour scheme through a deep hallucinatory style that draws you into the art. The mural serves as the backdrop for Miley Cyrus’s disco ball-esque grand piano, giving her music room a futuristic feel. Nick owes a lot of his international success to Instagram, which he used to promote his works and his small exhibits he hosted during his first years in New York. This self-exposure led to working with numerous celebrities, as well as international brands such as Nike, Maybelline and Adidas. He's also made paintings for museums around the world including the Moco Museum in Barcelona. Image credits: Instagram @nickthomm

Art

Pay attention to this story!

<div class="copy"> A team of researchers from Yale University in the US has announced that it can use data from brain scans to predict how good someone will be at paying attention to a task. “Attention is such a fundamentally important ability for school, sports, work and even happiness, but it is hard to put a number on it,” says Marvin Chun, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Yale and co-corresponding author on the study. For example, difficulty paying attention can be linked to mental-health conditions or brain damage, the authors say. The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 92 people as they were asked to complete three attention-related tasks. The tasks involved watching a series of images and responding when they recognised a certain type of scene, tracking multiple moving objects, and a short-term memory test. The researchers also scanned the participants’ brains while at rest and when watching a movie. They then fed data from the fMRIs and performance on the tasks into a computational model to try to identify the relationships between how people scored on different tasks and how their brain behaved at rest. The researchers reported that the model could successfully predict how well someone would perform on attention-related tasks in general, based on scans of their brain either at rest or performing one of the three tasks. “The brain is all interconnected, and is always running like a beating heart,” says Chun. “What we can do is take all those complex patterns and analyse the data to create a fingerprint of the brain’s ability to pay attention.” The researchers suggest that their model could be used to help diagnose or monitor conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dementia. The study is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01301-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in Nature Human Behaviour. Image credits: Getty Images  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=183921&title=Pay+attention+to+this+story%21" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/paying-attention-brain-scan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Matilda Handsley-Davis. </div>

Mind

What sadfishing is and how it can mean something darker

When Kendall Jenner recently shared a series of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BswTPcNDbuH/?utm_source=ig_embed">emotionally-charged Instagram posts</a> about her experiences with acne, the 24-year-old model was immediately accused by many online observers of “sadfishing” – particularly because the post was a paid brand partnership with a skincare product used to treat acne. Although the term “sadfishing” is relatively recent – coined at the beginning of 2019 by <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/21/sadfishing-social-media-trend-making-misery-profitabl-8367931/">writer Rebecca Reid</a> – many people are probably familiar with the act of fishing for sympathy online, whether they’ve seen it happen, or are guilty of it themselves. Reid defines sadfishing as the act of posting sensitive, emotional personal material online to gain sympathy or attention from the online community. <blockquote> Lots of us sadfish sometimes, and that’s okay. Attention seeking is a perfectly legitimate thing. There’s nothing wrong with wanting attention. — Rebecca Reid (@RebeccaCNReid) <a href="https://twitter.com/RebeccaCNReid/status/1178967554808778753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2019</a></blockquote> However, sadfishing is increasingly being used to accuse people of attention-seeking, to criticise people, or to belittle a person’s online content – whether they were actually sadfishing or not. When Justin Bieber made a post <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B17JfkkHEKt/?utm_source=ig_embed">detailing his mental health struggles</a>, for example, he was met with a variety of responses, including accusations of sadfishing. However, it’s almost impossible to know if someone is genuinely sadfishing or not. And everyone from regular people to politicians and entertainers have been accused of sadfishing for attention or trying to exaggerate the importance of a particular issue. The concept of online “sadfishing” is relatively new, which means there’s currently no research examining these behaviours. However, parallels can be drawn with sadfishing and general attention-seeking behaviour, where a person acts out to gain attention, sympathy, or validation from others. <a href="https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/book/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596">Attention-seeking behaviour</a> is associated with low self-esteem, loneliness, narcissism, or Machiavellianism (the desire to manipulate other people). However, it’s difficult to understand the motivations of social media users just by reading through their posts or online activity. It might be the case that so-called sadfishing posts are intended to genuinely highlight an important or sensitive issue, such as depression or anxiety. Others might simply be sharing information with little regard for the response it might generate. Some so-called sadfishing posts might even exist only to exploit or provoke readers. Attention-seeking and sadfishing Although everyone can be guilty of sadfishing, celebrities are more commonly accused of sadfishing by online users, especially if they’ve shared personal details about struggles they’ve faced. These accusations can often become hostile, with many celebrities becoming victims of online abuse as a result. But what impact does even just observing online abuse have on observers? <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.09.020">Recent research</a> had participants read a series of celebrity tweets, some of which were emotionally negative. They were then asked to judge if these celebrities were to blame for any abuse that they received. The study found that the way a person perceived the severity of online abuse depended upon how strongly they exhibited narcissism, Machiavellianism, or psychopathy – the so-called <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/dark-triad">“dark triad”</a>. Results showed that people who exhibited higher dark triad characteristics gave less sympathy to celebrities. It’s likely that if a person exhibits these dark triad personality traits, they will be more likely to judge posts as less genuine, or an example of sadfishing. It’s also likely that these traits influence whether or not a person is a sadfisher. People who score high in narcissism and Machiavellianism are more like to <a href="http://www.fortunejournals.com/articles/exploring-the-dark-side-relationships-between-the-dark-triad-traits-and-cluster-b-personality-disorder-features.pdf">exhibit attention-seeking behaviour</a> – which may mean they’re more likely to sadfish. But like real-world attention-seeking behaviour, sadfishing might reflect a deeper problem, such as a personality disorder. For example, <a href="https://icd.who.int/browse10/2016/en#/F60.4">histrionic personality disorder</a> is characterised by high levels of attention-seeking, and begins in early adulthood. These people have an excessive need for approval, are dramatic, exaggerate, and long for appreciation.<a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-sad-girl-smartphone-one-hand-1508704817?src=cce4ed71-d2c9-4f48-96a5-eb0f90754cdf-1-7" class="source"></a> Sadfishers may be hard to recognise, unless they admit to these behaviours openly. Although presenting sensitive or deeply personal information publicly might lead to accusations of sadfishing, it’s possible that these accusations may be incorrect. Wrongly accusing someone of sadfishing when they’ve genuinely reached out for support – rather than for attention – can have a <a href="https://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/new-daukhmc-report-identifies-latest-online-trends/">powerful impact on that person’s health</a>. A person wrongly accused of sadfishing may be at risk of <a href="https://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/new-daukhmc-report-identifies-latest-online-trends/">experiencing lowered self-esteem, anxiety, and shame</a>. They might also be discouraged from seeking support from family, friends, partners, or support workers. But people who deliberately “go sadfishing” should know their actions can potentially <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/facebook-emotions-are-contagious/">effect the well-being of others</a>. Posting deeply emotional content, such as about serious health concerns, might also cause readers to experience anxiety, physical or mental stress. Although social media can provide a supportive place for people to talk about their mental health or other health issues, it’s important to know that disingenous posts could do more harm than good. Social media users should think carefully about what information they share and with who. Those genuinely needing support might find it better to reach out to people close to them privately as they might be able to <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/seeking-help-for-a-mental-health-problem/talking-to-friends-family/#.XeUemuj7TIU">provide support</a>, or even share their own experiences. It’s also important to make contact with support services such as healthcare providers or professional support groups. Despite its new name, sadfishing is simply just a new label for attention seeking. This deliberate attention seeking can have a negative impact on both the person writing the post, and those reading it. <hr /> If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts as a result of cyber-bullying, phone Samaritans on 116 123. Young people under the age of 19 can also phone Childline on 0800 1111. These services operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126292/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-hand-876077">Christopher Hand</a>, Lecturer, Psychology, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/glasgow-caledonian-university-913">Glasgow Caledonian University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/sadfishing-frequently-sharing-deeply-emotional-posts-online-may-be-a-sign-of-a-deeper-psychological-issue-126292">original article</a>.

Technology

Memory and attention difficulties are often part of a normal life

From young adults to people in their 60s, everyday functioning in today’s world can place high demands on our attention and memory skills. Memory lapses such as forgetting an appointment, losing our keys, forgetting a distant relative’s name or not remembering why you opened the fridge can leave us believing our thinking skills are impaired. But you might be too hard on yourself. Tiredness, stress and worry, and feeling down or depressed are all common reasons adults experience attention and memory difficulties. Attention and memory systems Attention and memory skills are closely connected. Whether we can learn and remember something partly depends on our ability to concentrate on the information at the time. It also depends on our ability to focus our attention on retrieving that information when it’s being recalled at a later time. This attention system, which is so important for successful memory function, has a limited capacity – we can only make sense of, and learn, a limited amount of information in any given moment. Being able to learn, and later successfully remember something, also depends on our memory system, which stores the information. Changes in attention and memory skills In people who are ageing normally, both attention and memory systems <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-45562-001">gradually decline</a>. This decline starts in our early 20s and continues slowly until our 60s, when it tends to speed up. During normal ageing, the number of connections between brain cells slowly reduce and some areas of the brain progressively work less efficiently. These changes particularly occur in the areas of the brain that are important for memory and attention systems. This normal ageing decline is different from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which cause progressive changes in thinking skills, emotions and behaviour that are not typical of the normal ageing process. Dementia comes from a group of diseases that affect brain tissue and cause abnormal changes in the way the brain works. If you’re concerned your memory difficulties may be a symptom of dementia, talk to your GP, who can refer you to a specialist, if needed, to determine whether these changes are due to normal ageing, dementia or some other cause. If you experience persistent changes in your thinking skills, which are clearly greater than your friends and acquaintances who are of a similar age and in similar life circumstances, see your GP. Normal attention and memory difficulties Broadly, there are two main reasons healthy adults experience difficulties with their memory and/or attention: highly demanding lives and normal age-related changes. A person can be consistently using their attention and memory skills at high levels without sufficient mental relaxation time and/or sleep to keep their brain working at its best. Young adults who are working, studying and then consistently using attention-demanding devices as “relaxation” techniques, such as computer games and social media interaction, <a href="https://willsull.net/resources/KaplanS1995.pdf">fall into this group</a>. Adults <a href="https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?site=eds&scope=site&jrnl=21528675&AN=83525068&h=746XcJnf0qjmaQYDoqYWEsXgl8RLBY8oP631iGbnBfEIOVCJNS12LFen5etfOkNg5UAJ6nKqJipZs%2b4OKOVZLw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultLocal=ErrCrlNoResults&resultNs=Ehost&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d21528675%26AN%3d83525068">juggling the demands</a> of work or study, family and social requirements also fall into this group. <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-much-sleep-do-we-need-29759">Most adults need</a> around seven to nine hours of sleep per night for their brain to work at its best, with older adults needing seven to eight hours. The second common reason is a combination of ageing-related brain changes and highly demanding work requirements. For people in jobs that place a high load on thinking skills, the thinking changes that occur with normal ageing <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Memory-complaint-as-a-predictor-of-cognitive-a-of-Blazer-Hays/41fd23f208c261065296a54b826602ff2bf8ee09">can become noticeable</a> at some point around 55 to 70 years of age. It’s around this time age-related changes in the ability to carry out complex thinking tasks become large enough to be noticeable. People who are retired or don’t have the same mentally demanding jobs generally experience the same changes, but may not notice them as much. This is also the age many people become more aware of the potential risk of dementia. Consequently, these normal changes can result in high levels of stress and concern, which can result in a person experiencing even greater difficulties day to day. Emotional distress can take its toll Feeling down and sad can affect memory and concentration. When a person is feeling worried and/or down regularly, they may become consumed by their thoughts. It’s important to recognise how you’re feeling, to make changes or seek help if needed. But thinking a lot about how you’re feeling can also take a person’s attention away from the task at hand and make it difficult for them to concentrate on what is happening, or remember it clearly in the future. So feeling worried or down can make it seem there is something wrong with their memory and concentration. Boosting your attention and memory skills There are a number of things that can be done to help your day-to-day memory and attention skills. First, it’s important to properly rest your mind on a regular basis. This involves routinely doing something you enjoy that doesn’t demand high levels of attention or memory, such as exercising, reading for pleasure, walking the dog, listening to music, relaxed socialising with friends, and so on. Playing computer games, or having a lengthy and focused session on social media, requires high levels of attention and other thinking skills, so these are not good mental relaxation techniques when you are already mentally tired. It’s also important to get enough sleep, so you are not consistently tired – undertaking exercise on a regular basis often helps with getting good quality sleep, as does keeping alcohol consumption <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/managing-your-alcohol-intake">within recommended limits</a>. Looking after your mental health is also important. Noticing how you are feeling and getting support (social and/or professional) during longer periods of high stress or lowered mood will help ensure these things are not affecting your memory or concentration. Finally, be fair to yourself if you notice difficulties with your thinking. Are the changes you notice any different to those of other people your own age and in similar circumstances, or are you comparing yourself to someone younger or with less demands in their life? If you have ongoing concerns about your attention and memory, speak with your GP, who can refer you to a specialist, such as a clinical neuropsychologist, if needed. Written by Jacqueline Anderson, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Melbourne. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/memory-and-attention-difficulties-are-often-part-of-a-normal-life-119539">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

Celine Dion continues to demand attention with her latest fashion forward looks in Paris

Celine Dion is not only a world-class singer, but also a trendsetter. Opting for haute couture ensembles from major fashion designers, the My Heart Will Go On songstress isn’t afraid to take risks when it comes to her outfits. For her most recent display of fashion, the 51-year-old chose a black pleated gown with a plunging neckline by Italian fashion house Schiaparelli on her trip to Paris. She accessorised the bold look with statement leather gloves, peep-toe boots and a black headdress, turning heads wherever she went. The Canadian musician was attending the same label’s haute couture 2019 show, however this isn’t the first groundbreaking look she has debuted. Working with acclaimed stylist, Law Roach, Dion has become a high-fashion favourite as she went from wearing traditional silhouettes to custom made looks. Scroll through the gallery above to see Celine’s chic ensembles in Paris, including a hot pink strapless, full-length number.

Music

Demanding dog shuts owner’s laptop in bid for attention

A dog’s life is very tough. After hours and hours of being alone, your owner comes home, only to jump straight on Facebook. For one dog, that simply wasn’t good enough. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshyannrachael%2Fvideos%2F10206846736365265%2F&show_text=0&width=400" width="400" height="700" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Cheeky pooch Koda has won himself some fans after his owner, Shyann Rachel, posted a video of her sassy dog slamming her laptop shut, captioned, “do you think he maybe needs attention?” It’s almost as if he’s saying, “what are you doing on Facebook? Are you looking at other dogs? There’s a dog right here!” The cute video has been seen almost 5,000 times and dozens of people are saying how much Koda reminds them of their own four-legged friends. Tell us in the comments below, has your dog ever been as demanding as this?

Family & Pets

Baby elephant dances to get cow’s attention

Navann might be the youngest elephant in this nature park, but when it comes to entertaining the cows in the neighbouring field he’s certainly not bashful. And, as you can see in the video above, he pulls out all the stops! Navann lives at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and he loves nothing more than trying to communicate with the cows in the field next to him. Navann does everything he can think of to try and get their attention. At one point it looks as though he’s pulling off some bizarre elephant dancing moves. That being said, the cows aren’t having any of it. In fact, they look a little less than impressed. Oh well, at least Navann looks like he’s having fun. Isn’t Naveen the cutest elephant? We love baby elephants, what’s your favourite type of animal and have you ever seen it in real life? Share your story in the comments. Video credit: YouTube / elephantnews Related links: <a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/03/where-to-see-elephants-in-the-wild/">Where to see elephants in the wild</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/06/elephant-calf-rescued-from-drain-in-sri-lanka-video/">Elephant calf rescued from drain in heart-stopping video</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/05/elephant-lulled-to-sleep-by-caretakers-gentle-song/">Elephant lulled to sleep by caretaker’s gentle song</a>

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How did Taylor Swift get so popular? She never goes out of style

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you

How an Aussie artist captured the attention of A-list celebrities

Pay attention to this story!

What sadfishing is and how it can mean something darker

Memory and attention difficulties are often part of a normal life

Celine Dion continues to demand attention with her latest fashion forward looks in Paris

Demanding dog shuts owner’s laptop in bid for attention

Baby elephant dances to get cow’s attention

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

How did Taylor Swift get so popular? She never goes out of style

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you

How an Aussie artist captured the attention of A-list celebrities

Pay attention to this story!

What sadfishing is and how it can mean something darker

Memory and attention difficulties are often part of a normal life

Celine Dion continues to demand attention with her latest fashion forward looks in Paris

Demanding dog shuts owner’s laptop in bid for attention

Baby elephant dances to get cow’s attention

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