Learn about why using your phone during a break is a bad idea; why we roll our eyes; and how the material values scale can help you measure your materialism so you can see how much you’re influenced by consumer culture. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Here's Why Using Your Phone on a Break Is a Bad Idea — https://curiosity.im/2ZGIt2C Why Do We Roll Our Eyes? — https://curiosity.im/2ZB890R Measure Your Materialism with the Material Values Scale — https://curiosity.im/32uuXRy Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why using your phone during a break is a bad idea; why we roll our eyes; and how the material values scale can help you measure your materialism so you can see how much you’re influenced by consumer culture.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/dont-use-your-phone-on-breaks-how-to-stop-being-materialistic-and-why-we-roll-our-eyes
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why using your phone during a break is a bad idea; why we roll our eyes; and how you can measure your materialism to see where you stand in consumer culture.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Here's Why Using Your Phone on a Break Is a Bad Idea — https://curiosity.im/2ZGIt2C (Republish) (Cody)
When you go the restroom or take a 10-minute break from doing hard mental work, do you pull out your phone and start swiping and scrolling? Well new research says that using your phone on a break is a bad idea. Because doing that doesn’t let your brain recharge effectively, and that could lead to poorer performance. As reported by Futurity, researchers from Rutgers University Business School designed a pretty simple experiment to come to this conclusion. They assigned 414 college undergraduates challenging sets of word puzzles. Halfway through, some were allowed to take breaks using their cell phones; others took breaks using paper or a computer; and others didn’t take a break at all. And you guessed it: the participants who took a break on their cell phone were among the least capable of solving the puzzles afterwards. They took 19 percent longer to do the rest of the task — AND they solved 22 percent fewer problems — than the participants in the other break conditions combined. The study’s coauthor Terri Kurtzberg said it’s important for us to understand the costs that go along with reaching for your phone between tasks — or even in the middle of a task, which certainly seems to be happening more often these days. She said that your phone may carry an increasing level of distraction that makes it hard to bring your attention back to what you were working before. As for why, Kurtzberg suggested that, quote, “Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, access to ever-refilling information, and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers and laptops,” unquote. So the next time you really want to get something done, and done well: turn off your phone. I promise, your latest Tinder match will still be there when you’re done.
Why Do We Roll Our Eyes? — https://curiosity.im/2ZB890R (Ashley)
If your reaction to an eye roll is to think about teens everywhere, then you’ll be pleased to know your reaction is supported by science. Research confirms we generally roll our eyes out of disapproval or contempt, and that this action is most common among teens and particularly teen girls. But it hasn’t always been this way. The eye roll has conveyed different emotions over the course of human history.
According to Slate's Forrest Wickman, at the turn of the 17th century, it was not annoyance, but LUST, that made you roll your eyes. In Shakespeare's 1594 poem "The Rape of Lucrece," the Bard describes the rapist Sextus Tarquinius as gazing at his victim's bed while "rolling his greedy eyeballs in his head." And even as late as 1950, country singer Hank Penny sung about a woman who would "roll those big brown eyes" to tempt an ex-lover.
People also rolled their eyes in fear or anger. In 1857, Charles Dickens wrote about a dying woman who "rolled her eyes fearfully."
The expression's modern meaning started to take hold around the 1900s, when the third book ever in the "Hardy Boys" series depicted a teen rolling his eyes.
Modern research that confirms eye rolls are associated more strongly with teen girls makes sense, according to the authors of a 2012 paper on social aggression in teen girls, since "among both children and adults, females tend to be more skilled both in the expression and decoding of nonverbal communication."
But if we haven't always rolled our eyes for the same reason, are we just faking it? Not necessarily. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of facial expressions aren't shared universally. When researchers asked indigenous people in Papua New Guinea to identify the emotion in a series of photos of facial expressions, their responses were very different from those in Western cultures. It makes sense that if the emotion behind facial expressions changes by culture, it can certainly change by era.
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Measure Your Materialism with the Material Values Scale — https://curiosity.im/32uuXRy (Cody)
Scientists have come up with a questionnaire to help you figure out how materialistic you are. And if you want to know how much you’re influenced in consumer culture, then this is the scale for you. First let’s talk about materialism in general, though. Sometimes, a little retail therapy doesn't hurt. It can feel pretty good to go on a clothes-shopping spree after a bad breakup or splurge on organizing supplies when life is chaotic. We all know that doesn't actually fix everything, though, and sometimes, consumer culture can really make things worse. In fact, scientists are increasingly thinking that materialism could be hurting our well-being. They’re still trying to figure out whether unhappiness fuels materialism or whether materialism fuels unhappiness, but one thing is certain: those who value things above all else tend to be pretty unhappy. As Knox College psychologist Tim Kasser, Ph.D., told the American Psychological Association, quote, "[M]aterialism is associated with lower levels of well-being, less pro-social interpersonal behavior, more ecologically destructive behavior, and worse academic outcomes," unquote. Not to mention it’s obviously also associated with spending problems and with being in debt. As for where it comes from, recent studies have suggested that materialism stems from insecurities that root themselves early in life. People who doubt themselves also tend to buy the most. But once our basic material needs are satisfied, science shows that more money doesn't lead to greater happiness. Extremely rich people even suffer from increased rates of depression. And that’s because when it comes to meeting psychological needs, material goods are like empty calories. Now, don’t lose all hope if you’re worried your values skew toward the materialistic end of things. Research shows that there's an antidote to consumerism, and it's already inside you. The answer is mindfulness, or a concentrated awareness of the present. Meditation and mindfulness could help you focus on your relationship with objects and the act of purchasing, and help you connect to other people. Recent research also shows that, in the U.S. at least, materialism might be decreasing all on its own. According to a 2013 American Express survey, only about a quarter of Americans believes wealth determines success. If you want to know where you stand in consumer culture, you can take a scientifically validated questionnaire known as the Material Values Scale that can help you suss out your relationship to things. You’ll rate how much you agree or disagree with various statements, then see a results page dividing your score into a few elements for analysis. You can find a link to that in our full write-up on this on curiosity-dot-com, and there’s a link to that in the show notes. Once you know your level of materialism — and how strongly science says material goods won't make you happy — you can take steps to disengage and find healthier ways to feel better.
And now, let’s recap what we learned today. Today we learned that if you want to stay focused and alert, you might want to put your phone down while you’re taking a break.
And that teenagers really do roll their eyes more, but it hasn’t always been that way. People used to roll their eyes to indicate lust, fear, or anger!
And that material goods just can’t meet psychological needs. If you think you’re too materialistic, then try meditation and mindfulness to help you understand your relationship with objects — and connect with the people around you.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!