Latest news with #digitalworld
Forbes
a day ago
- Health
- Forbes
2 Ways Real Friendships Help You Survive Tough Times, By A Psychologist
What if leaning on others made you stronger, not weaker? Here is what research says about the ... More importance of social support in your life. As a society today, we are increasingly shifting toward an individualistic culture where personal achievement and independence are often prioritized over community and collective connection. A 2017 global study analyzing 51 years of data across 78 countries found that individualism is on the rise worldwide and is largely influenced by socioeconomic development. The rapid advancement of the digital world and social media is, unsurprisingly, a major contributing factor. For instance, many young people today consider sending memes or quick messages as an ideal way of communicating and staying connected. While these digital connections can feel comforting, they often fall short of fulfilling deeper social needs, leading to increased feelings of isolation. This shift can be seen in the alarming rise of loneliness. A recent survey by Gallup reveals that 52 million people in the U.S. struggle with loneliness, with around 20% of U.S. adults reporting that they feel lonely daily. As found in the survey, adults who experience daily loneliness are nearly five times more likely to rate their current life poorly compared to those who aren't lonely. Despite evidently feeling the impact of this shift, the power of connection and social support is still undervalued. Leaning on others can feel like a weakness to many. Whether it's emotional encouragement or simply knowing someone is by your side, having real friends who care for you can quite literally change how you experience challenges both mentally and physically. Here are two ways, based on research, friendships can support you through difficult times. For many people, when something feels overwhelming or too difficult, it's possible that they would try to avoid it or experience higher stress while trying to cope with it. On the other hand, when the same challenge appears less threatening, people are more likely to stay engaged and perform better. Friendships, in this case, act as a powerful tool in shaping how you feel and also in influencing how you perceive the challenge itself. Research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology explored the impact of social support on how people perceive physical challenges. They focused on a simple question: Does having support make a steep hill look less steep? This was done through two experiments. Researchers highlight that the quality of the relationship mattered in this experiment. It wasn't just about having anyone around. It was about feeling close, supported and emotionally connected. People who had known their friend for a longer time or felt closer to them saw the hill as significantly less steep. So, closeness was the key factor influencing perception. The study supports the larger idea that the social resources you have, such as strong and supportive relationships, change the way you perceive the world. People with strong support systems see their world as less threatening, less overwhelming and more manageable. Those without them may see the world as more demanding and stressful. In tough times, when the instinct might be to withdraw or isolate yourself, remember that reaching out to those who truly care for you can shift everything. You don't have to face it all alone, and you're not meant to. While the desire to be independent and grow on your own is valid, it's just as important to nurture your community and prioritize meaningful friendships, not out of self-interest, but because mutual support has a real ability to lighten life's load for everyone involved. A 2021 study published in Physiology and Behavior looked at how even imagining social support affects physical performance and how hard a task feels. This was tested by making the participants perform a handgrip exercise while looking at photos of either someone supportive (like a close friend) or a stranger. The findings revealed that when participants saw the supportive person's photo, they were able to squeeze harder, especially when the task was more difficult. Even though they exerted more effort, the participants reported feeling that the task was easier compared to when they saw a stranger's photo. This suggests that friendships that support you can act like an energy resource and a motivating factor, ultimately enhancing your performance. They can help you perform better physically while also making the effort feel less taxing. So, feeling supported can have a significant impact on how well you handle the situation and your performance in the face of a challenging event. This explains why working out with a friend, for instance, might often feel easier and more energizing than doing it alone. It's the psychological lift their presence provides. Friendships, in this way, can fuel your stamina and make hard things feel more doable. The next time you're pushing through something tough, remember that you don't have to go through it alone. Sometimes, just having someone by your side can change how far you're able to go. It is imperative that we realize the power of a supportive circle. That said, another important reminder is that a supportive circle is built through consistent effort and showing up for each other in both the everyday, ordinary moments as well as in hard or challenging times. Real connection calls for intention. Try not to focus on quantity but rather on the quality of connections you build and finding the few real ones who will stick by you through thick and thin. If you are lucky enough to have people who have been with you for a long time, learn how to embrace those connections and not take them for granted, because even the strongest bonds need nurturing. Let that understanding remind you to keep investing time and care into these relationships so you continue to grow together. If you haven't yet found your people, that's okay, too. There's no deadline for finding a real connection and you are not 'too old' to make new friends. What matters is that you keep showing up and trying to build connections in the best way you can. Whether you want to deepen the bonds you already have or cultivate new friendships, these few simple habits can help you nurture your social support system in everyday life. While independence is valuable, it's connection that sustains you. It's not just resilience that gets you through challenges, but also the relationships that remind you that you're not alone. How connected have you been feeling lately to those around you? Take this science-backed test to find out: Social Connectedness Scale
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Create more authentic customer connections through storytelling
Reaching audiences and earning their trust is getting tougher as digital content creation accelerates. But honing your brand's storytelling chops can make it easier. Storytelling is more than a marketing tool; it's a strategy for authentic connection with the people in your audience. Storytelling works because stories are one of the main ways that people learn. In fact, information shared as stories is 22 times as memorable than information shared as lists of facts. Context makes it easier to fit information into our mental landscape, so we can remember and review it. In a digital world of low-effort content, well-crafted stories can be guideposts that your audience can remember and trust. Your experts should be the reliable narrators at the center of your content strategy. They can cultivate trust by sharing their expertise and experience to help your audience reach goals and solve problems. For example, a leading digital marketing agency wanted to drive awareness for its experience-driven work on GenAI initiatives. As part of that push, the agency targeted specific terms related to experience and GenAI to align with the brand, knowing that they would need to tell relevant stories to make that association among its audiences. The agency put its subject matter experts at the forefront of the brand stories, in formats that included contributed articles for industry news outlets, podcast episodes, and case studies that they could also reference in other story formats. Those stories spoke directly to customer pain points, combining trending news with the SME's lived experience to educate readers about best practices to resolve those challenges. The agency tailored those stories according to which thought leader was narrating and which audience they were addressing. For example, the leading retail expert told stories about the emerging role of GenAI in retail, while the CMO led question-and-answer sessions on how businesses might expand their use of GenAI to improve, and even redefine, customer experience. Telling stories through each SME's unique perspective let the agency's audience connect names and personalities with the brand and its story—another way stories make it easier to remember information. Stories require repetition to sink in, but that doesn't mean simply repeating the same message. The agency used several thought leaders to tell aspects of its overall brand story in different formats and channels across an entire year. They also wove elements of that story into all the company's communications, including executive bios, social posts, and other content marketing efforts. As weeks and months of storytelling built momentum, the agency started getting outreach from reporters who wanted to talk to the SMEs for insights on articles the journalists were researching. The expertise and authority of the content the agency had created also lifted the brand above the fold on page 1 of search results for the terms it was trying to associate with its brand. The storytelling strategy paid off because of strategic and consistent application. For example, a software company with customers across industries might choose to tell specific stories aimed at manufacturing or pharmaceuticals, rather than one general story for their entire audience. This approach lets you address segment-specific concerns while demonstrating your SMEs' understanding of that segment's key issues. The Audience's Roles And Goals Before you start a story, list the personas on a typical decision-making team in the target industry or vertical and what matters to each of them. For example, an identity authentication startup can tell a story that shows compliance officers putting out fewer fires, SOC team leaders having fewer ATO attacks to resolve, and CX managers avoiding churn with more seamless sign-in procedures. The Story's Place In The Customer Journey Each story you tell needs to speak to audience needs at a particular point in time. What are the typical stages in your audience's buying cycle? What information do they need at each stage, and how will they use it? Use this information to tell a story that helps your audience navigate specific steps or common challenges in the decision-making process. Bring Your Audience Into The Story Sharing case studies and customer success stories encourages your audience to imagine similar narratives for themselves. That's even more true when you share results for customers in the same industry and in similar roles because the context is more relevant. Surveying your audience and then creating a report with the results is another way to apply a SME's unique narrative to your customers' story. Brands often launch with strong storytelling but then shift their focus to other PR and marketing efforts. That's like canceling a promising TV series after the first few episodes! A more impactful strategy is to make storytelling part of your brand culture. Cultivate storytelling skills across your organization. Develop consistent narratives that your audience can relate to. Support your SMEs' development as thought leaders. Over time, you can adapt your approach based on the messaging, content, and formats that get the best engagement with your audience, and adjust your narratives thoughtfully as customer behavior, your offerings, and the market change. Putting storytelling at the heart of your culture will build trust and keep your audience eager to hear from you again.
CBC
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Liann Zhang on Julie Chan is Dead
BC-raised Liann Zhang shares her buzzy new thriller Julie Chan is Dead, which chronicles a young woman assuming her deceased twin's influencer identity—unearthing some dark secrets behind the digital world.
