April 23, 2025 • 16 mins
Gen Z is “locking in”—cutting out booze, social media, and nights out to hyperfocus on goals and mental health. Is it the secret to success, or just another online trend?
Plus, what’s life really like on the election campaign trail? We chat with Federal Politics Reporter Jess Wang to find out what goes on behind the scenes with the people vying to lead the country.
If you're interested on being even more informed this Federal Election, listen to Mamamia's chats with Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton.
And in headlines today the coalition pledges they will make using a mobile phone or computer to harass a domestic partner a crime if elected; Former Independent MP Tony Windsor is calling on regional Aussies to embrace independents and stop being loyal to MP's who don't do anything for them; Mud slinging expected to ramp up as the May 3 election closes in and campaigning pauses for ANZAC Day tomorrow; Elon Musk says he'll return to more Tesla duties and decrease time spent doing DOGE work as Tesla posts 71% drop in profit; Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman will reportedly be served subpoenas in the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni case this week.
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Hosts: Grace Rouvray & Claire Murphy
Guests: Jess Wang & Tahli Blackman
Executive Producer: Taylah Strano
Audio Producer: Lu Hill
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I'm Grace Riverray. This is Mumma MEA's twice daily news podcast.
The Quickie jen Zed is locking in. They're cutting out
social media, alcohol and nights out to hyper focus on
goals and mental health. Is it the secret to success
and happiness or just ironically another online hack? Plus, with
the federal election looming, what's life really like on the
(00:43):
campaign trail? We speak to someone traveling with the major
parties to find out what goes on behind the scenes
with the people vuying for the top job to lead
the country. But before we get there, here's Claire Murphy
with the latest from the Quickie newsroom for Thursday, April
twenty four.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thanks Grace. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to make
using a mobile phone or computer to harm a domestic
partner a crime if elected. The coalition has promised ninety
million dollars to addressed domestic violence issues, building on the
National Plan to end Violence against Women and Children within
a decade by implementing measures focused on prevention early intervention
(01:19):
and crisis response. The new offenses would criminalize the tracking
of victims or coercing them through the use of devices.
Mobile phones would also be recycled, ensuring victim survivors can't
be further tracked or harassed. Mister Dalton said a government
that he leads would be focused on delivering real change
so that families, women and children are safer, and that
(01:40):
he would end family and domestic violence. A former Independent
MP has told regional Australians that staying loyal to a
local member is never rewarded, saying its marginal seats that
get the most attention. Tony Windsor, the former Member for
New England, a seat now held by the Nationals, Barnaby Joyce,
says that country people have suffered because they've stayed loyal
(02:01):
to people who've never done anything for them, calling on
rural Australians to embrace political competition and that independent candidates,
including former Tres Triple Jay radio host Alex Dyson, who's
running for the Victorian seat of Wannen, are a breath
of fresh air. The May three election has been tipped
to result in a minority government, due in part to
the predicted rise of independence in key regional seats, mister
(02:23):
Windsor saying the claims that minority governments are chaos aren't
true and in fact it can mean more bargaining power
for seats that have otherwise been considered safe and therefore
not necessarily important to focus on. With the election now
just over a week away, Australians can be expected to
see more mud slinging from all sides of the political
spectrum as they employ the dirt tactic to try and
(02:45):
convince you to vote for them and not the opposition.
With campaignings set to pause for ANZAC Day tomorrow, Opposition
leader Peter Dutton has ramped up personal attacks on Prime
Minister Anthony Alberizi, calling him weak and a liar. Mister
Alberzi has also started to go on the offensive, warning
the coalition will unleash secret cuts if they win government.
(03:06):
According to Latrobe University politics professor Andrekhusen, studies shown negative
campaigning does work because it builds on our fears and
fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action. It's not
just the major parties who get dirty. As election day
closes in either the Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed they've
identified the person behind a flyer drop that threatened to
(03:28):
expose independent MP Allegoris Spender in the seat of Wentworth.
The AEC says they've identified the person responsible for the
flyers that gave no authorization so couldn't be attributed to
anyone or give those receiving them any idea where the
information came from, but have chosen not to reveal that
person's identity at this time. The person is said to
(03:49):
have no link to any political party or candidate contesting
the seat. After his company, Tesla, reported a seventy one
percent drop in first quarter profits, Elon Musk has announced
he'll be returning to a more operational role in the company.
On a call with investors, Musk revealed that starting early
next month, his time allocation to the Department of govern
(04:09):
Efficiency that he's been running in Washington for President Donald
Trump will drop significantly. He had said he would be
dropping the DOSE responsibilities completely, but has since said he'll
now have a couple of days a week and can
allocate more time to Tesla. Competition from Chinese brands and
mister Musk's role in slashing thousands of government employee jobs
(04:29):
has seen the once popular car brand, sales drop significantly
in twenty twenty five, the company posting its worst performance
since twenty twenty one. It's being reported that both Taylor
Swift and Hugh Jackman will be subpoenaed to give evidence
in the court case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni have sued each other over there falling
(04:50):
out during the filming of the movie. It ends with
us Lively accusing Baldoni of emotional distress and lost wages,
Baldoni accusing Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds of hijacking the
movie he was directing and making a joke of him
in the dead Pool movie. Baldoni claims Swift, who's a
friend of Lovely and Reynolds, was used as a weapon
against him to waited him to hand over creative control
(05:11):
of the movie. His complaints, saying she was at their
home when he was called over for a meeting and
that she praised Lively's rewrites of the script, making it
clear that he was facing influential and wealthy celebrities in
this battle. It's being reported that both Swift and Jackman
will be served this week.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Thanks Claire next, want to know what the election campaign
looks like from the inside, we chat to someone on
the ground living it in real time. With the federal
election creeping closer, the political noise is only getting louder.
But what's really happening behind the headlines, the press conferences
(05:51):
and the carefully curated sound bites To find out, we're
talking to someone who's right in the thick of it.
Jess Wang is a federal politics reporter for Newswire, and
she's been traveling across the country with the major parties
in the lead up to the election day. From early
morning media calls to last minute policy drops, She's seen
what life is like on the campaign trail and what
(06:11):
it reveals about the people who want to run this country.
Just we only sort of know about these campaign trails
from film and TV about how they all run this
like chaos of jumping on buses and off buses. And
I feel like, maybe that's correct because you've just jumped
off a plane. But can you take me through the
day to day of the campaign trail?
Speaker 4 (06:28):
So we sort of, depending on what camp you're on,
your either find out what you're doing the day before,
and then you sort of just get on the bus.
Normally most days of flight bolt you don't really know
what you're doing. It's all sort of a bit by
the hour.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Really have you been following both the PM and the
opposition leader? And I guess it's got to be completely
unbiased reporting. How do you sort of divide your time?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Generally if you're on the buses, it's definitely difficult to
sort of get as overly that you would normally have
in the office, depending on what you're scheduled. You don't
have reception when when the opponent or the other person
is doing the press conference. But I think that election
times are the only time really we have that daily
access to a leader. You'll see them three or four
(07:15):
times really in a day, versus at best feeding during
parliament and parliament sitting alone and sort of see them
and you really get to see how they responded daily
news cycles. I guess in terms of the unbiasedness, if
you're going on the campaign trail, you're sort of trying
to get as much of that color and the personality
as the leader and sort of seeing how they respond
to the surprise situations that come out during an election
(07:38):
campaign and.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
What is the energy like in both of the camps,
as we're almost a week ount.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I remember when I was on sort of the Peter
Dutt's camp. It was kind of interesting because he didn't
really do that man commedia appearances. I'm based in Canberra.
You barely did a post conference, so being able to
see him and asking questions sort of on the daily basis,
that was really interesting. I thought he handled everything quite well. Generally,
(08:03):
like Dutton's boys praised for how calm he is. He's
not reactive and he sort of is able to sort
of handle all those questions, so he deals with them
quite well. I wouldn't say that there were any major
mistakes or stuff up. Definitely think I could work from
home policy. When they had to ditch that, that was embarrassing.
It's a big news story, but I don't think it
railped this campaign necessarily. And then on the Labor's campaign,
(08:26):
I think we've definitely seen a pace pick up a bit.
We're heading into the last week and a half now
and we've got three or four stops a day, but
you know, we're seeing them cover a lotmockground. By today,
we've flown from Sydney and then we flew to the
South Coast West Australia, and I know we'll be impact more.
We'll be in city and then maybe Canberra again to
(08:46):
Anti day. So we've got that really fast paced city
to city going to marginal seats, firming up the best support.
I think that pace is them is going to continue
as we get close to May three.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
What can we expect in this last week apart from
the pace of the campaigning pickup? Is there anything that
we should be on the lookout publicity moments that we
might be seeing that they could help us make a
decision into who we want to vote for.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I will say that was a passing of Cope Frances
on Tuesday. We haven't seen any of the leaders go
to a pre polling group. Generally, the campaigning really reached
big pitch in the last week. You've got both camps,
normal rules to go from three or four states in
the day. It's got Morrison I think the last campaign
in twenty and twenty two h which is going all
over the place like a crossing the country. That's likely
(09:31):
something that will see from I imagine leads. It's probably
going to be a lot of that. Really, you know,
we won't get too many new policy ideas and really
they announced everything to day now and what they're doing
ours for just breaking.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yet there's always a new trend that gen Z seems
to be bringing into our lives, from fashioned doos and
domes to bed rotting or slang that leaves this millennial
completely confused. But one trend, well, maybe it's a hack.
It feels like they've cracked the code on why we're
(10:06):
also overwhelmed. It's gold locking. This is where GenZ, the
digital generation raised on scrolling, is choosing to switch off completely.
They're saying no to distractions like alcohol and social media,
and yes to hyper focus. Whether it's working hard for
an exam or building a side hustle or protecting their
(10:26):
mental health. They're opting out of the noise to lock
in something more meaningful. Gen Zed, who are often labeled
screen addicted or lazy, might actually be setting better boundaries
than the rest of us. They're sleeping more, drinking less,
logging off, many in bed by nine pm, not out
clubbing until five am. So maybe this is a cultural
(10:47):
reset we didn't know we need it. Tarlie Blackman is
our resident gen Zed council here at Muma Mia. Having
grown up on social media. She's embraced locking in as
a way to stay focused and protect her mental health. Tarlie,
how do you think growing up online has shaped your worldview?
If it has compared to older generations.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
We're the only generation that's grown up with technology throughout
our life, like it's never not been there, and so
the influence that social media has on our lives is
that we're constantly comparing ourselves to what we see on
the Internet, and we're constantly trying to prove ourselves to
the world that we are excelling and that we're actually
(11:26):
trying because I feel like gen Z gets a really
bad rap and people think that we're lazy, and people
think that we don't want to have careers or have
successful relationships and all that sort of stuff, and I
think that we're just really prone now to needing to
prove ourselves online.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Do you think there are specific ways you've noticed social
media has changed how your generation sees things, whether that's
success or relationships or identity.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It's now measured in how many followers you have, or
how many likes you have, or how you can go
viral on TikTok. That is the success that a lot
of us are seeing because so many gen Zers work online.
So even though I have a lot of success in
my role, my role isn't in social media. My role
(12:14):
isn't documented online, so I'm not getting a lot of
external validation about my success.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Before we get into the gen Z theory of locking in,
I do want to know when did you first get
social media and what was the first platform, because, for example,
I can remember the first social media platform for me
was MySpace and it was when I was in year twelve.
Even is that yeah long gone. I'm so thankful that
it came in when I was in year twelve versus
(12:41):
growing up with it at school. So I would love
to know what your first social media platform was and
how early it was that it came into your life.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So my first social media was Instagram, and I got
Instagram when I was twelve, and my sister introduced me
to it, and so I got it. She helped me
set up my profile and I started posting obviously selfies
that I took on my iPod Touch. That's why wouldn't
you I think it was really interesting that she made
it out to be amazing platform where you could communicate
(13:13):
to all your friends. But we were just so blissfully
unaware of the downsides to social media and how constantly
wanting to know what our friends up to was having
negative impacts. Like for me, when I would see my
friends posting photos of them in a group like they
were out of the movies and I wasn't invited, I
(13:34):
would think to myself, do they not like me? Am
I not friends with them anymore? So it was really
having negative impacts from that young age.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
From the get go.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
So can you explain your understanding of locking in and
if it's something that you do, feel like you do.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah. So, for me, locking in is getting rid of
any external distraction. So what I do when I lock
in is I'll get my phone and put it somewhere else.
It's like out of my eyesight, because even having my
phone here on the table right now, it's very distracting.
(14:13):
And I don't know why. For us, I think we
feel the need to constantly have it in our hand
or be on it, or have it close to us.
So locking in is getting rid of that distraction and
being able to set your mind on a particular task
or achievement and get that done.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Do you think there are benefits in terms of the
social challenges that you spoke about. Do you think locking
in it goes productivity into a self worth if you're
not engaging with it.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
When I'm feeling really bad about myself or my self
esteem is really low, I will also lock in, so
I will mute my social media apps or just delete
them off my phone, because I don't want to go
onto social media and see someone's life that they've curated
that looks perfect and they're beautiful when I'm not feeling
(15:04):
beautiful and content in myself. I think it's a really
good strategy for self preser in that sense, locking in
really does help with your mental health when you're feeling
like you're not equivalent to the lives that you're seeing
on social media.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Do you think jen z are more comfortable to say
no to things or even disappearing from the feed, which
is in theory, disappearing from existence for their own wellbeing.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think that we are actually very self aware as
a generation, and that we know when we have been
on social media for too long. I mean, our phones
will tell us we've been on our screens for nine
hours that day, and then we're like, oh, that's enough,
So I think, yes, we are in comparison to like
my mum who's on Facebook all the time. She doesn't
(15:51):
think about it in that sense that she's like, I've
been on my phone for too long, Maybe i should
get off my phone, because she doesn't really think about
the negative impacts that that is having on her. But
I also think that we will get off our phones
or get off social media for a certain period of
time that suits us, and then we'll go back to it,
or we'll go onto TikTok and we'll make a TikTok
(16:12):
about how we were just off our phones locking in
for the day because we need to hone in on
one particular task. Or I've got friends who are like,
they've spoken about locking in for getting fit, so it's
not just social media or getting rid of your phone.
It's like some of my friends will do dry July
(16:35):
throughout the whole year because they want to be really
fit and focus on their health, which is something I
know that also like NRL players will do. They'll lock
in for the season and just focus on getting fit
for the games. But I think it's really interesting. It's
definitely a self preservation.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Tool for us. Thanks for taking the time to feed
your mind with us today. The quickie is produced by
me Grace Ruverrey and Claire Murphy, with audio production by
Lou Hill.
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges
the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast
is recorded on.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I'm Grace Riverray. This is Mumma MEA's twice daily news podcast.
The Quickie jen Zed is locking in. They're cutting out
social media, alcohol and nights out to hyper focus on
goals and mental health. Is it the secret to success
and happiness or just ironically another online hack? Plus, with
the federal election looming, what's life really like on the
(00:43):
campaign trail? We speak to someone traveling with the major
parties to find out what goes on behind the scenes
with the people vuying for the top job to lead
the country. But before we get there, here's Claire Murphy
with the latest from the Quickie newsroom for Thursday, April
twenty four.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thanks Grace. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to make
using a mobile phone or computer to harm a domestic
partner a crime if elected. The coalition has promised ninety
million dollars to addressed domestic violence issues, building on the
National Plan to end Violence against Women and Children within
a decade by implementing measures focused on prevention early intervention
(01:19):
and crisis response. The new offenses would criminalize the tracking
of victims or coercing them through the use of devices.
Mobile phones would also be recycled, ensuring victim survivors can't
be further tracked or harassed. Mister Dalton said a government
that he leads would be focused on delivering real change
so that families, women and children are safer, and that
(01:40):
he would end family and domestic violence. A former Independent
MP has told regional Australians that staying loyal to a
local member is never rewarded, saying its marginal seats that
get the most attention. Tony Windsor, the former Member for
New England, a seat now held by the Nationals, Barnaby Joyce,
says that country people have suffered because they've stayed loyal
(02:01):
to people who've never done anything for them, calling on
rural Australians to embrace political competition and that independent candidates,
including former Tres Triple Jay radio host Alex Dyson, who's
running for the Victorian seat of Wannen, are a breath
of fresh air. The May three election has been tipped
to result in a minority government, due in part to
the predicted rise of independence in key regional seats, mister
(02:23):
Windsor saying the claims that minority governments are chaos aren't
true and in fact it can mean more bargaining power
for seats that have otherwise been considered safe and therefore
not necessarily important to focus on. With the election now
just over a week away, Australians can be expected to
see more mud slinging from all sides of the political
spectrum as they employ the dirt tactic to try and
(02:45):
convince you to vote for them and not the opposition.
With campaignings set to pause for ANZAC Day tomorrow, Opposition
leader Peter Dutton has ramped up personal attacks on Prime
Minister Anthony Alberizi, calling him weak and a liar. Mister
Alberzi has also started to go on the offensive, warning
the coalition will unleash secret cuts if they win government.
(03:06):
According to Latrobe University politics professor Andrekhusen, studies shown negative
campaigning does work because it builds on our fears and
fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action. It's not
just the major parties who get dirty. As election day
closes in either the Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed they've
identified the person behind a flyer drop that threatened to
(03:28):
expose independent MP Allegoris Spender in the seat of Wentworth.
The AEC says they've identified the person responsible for the
flyers that gave no authorization so couldn't be attributed to
anyone or give those receiving them any idea where the
information came from, but have chosen not to reveal that
person's identity at this time. The person is said to
(03:49):
have no link to any political party or candidate contesting
the seat. After his company, Tesla, reported a seventy one
percent drop in first quarter profits, Elon Musk has announced
he'll be returning to a more operational role in the company.
On a call with investors, Musk revealed that starting early
next month, his time allocation to the Department of govern
(04:09):
Efficiency that he's been running in Washington for President Donald
Trump will drop significantly. He had said he would be
dropping the DOSE responsibilities completely, but has since said he'll
now have a couple of days a week and can
allocate more time to Tesla. Competition from Chinese brands and
mister Musk's role in slashing thousands of government employee jobs
(04:29):
has seen the once popular car brand, sales drop significantly
in twenty twenty five, the company posting its worst performance
since twenty twenty one. It's being reported that both Taylor
Swift and Hugh Jackman will be subpoenaed to give evidence
in the court case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni have sued each other over there falling
(04:50):
out during the filming of the movie. It ends with
us Lively accusing Baldoni of emotional distress and lost wages,
Baldoni accusing Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds of hijacking the
movie he was directing and making a joke of him
in the dead Pool movie. Baldoni claims Swift, who's a
friend of Lovely and Reynolds, was used as a weapon
against him to waited him to hand over creative control
(05:11):
of the movie. His complaints, saying she was at their
home when he was called over for a meeting and
that she praised Lively's rewrites of the script, making it
clear that he was facing influential and wealthy celebrities in
this battle. It's being reported that both Swift and Jackman
will be served this week.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Thanks Claire next, want to know what the election campaign
looks like from the inside, we chat to someone on
the ground living it in real time. With the federal
election creeping closer, the political noise is only getting louder.
But what's really happening behind the headlines, the press conferences
(05:51):
and the carefully curated sound bites To find out, we're
talking to someone who's right in the thick of it.
Jess Wang is a federal politics reporter for Newswire, and
she's been traveling across the country with the major parties
in the lead up to the election day. From early
morning media calls to last minute policy drops, She's seen
what life is like on the campaign trail and what
(06:11):
it reveals about the people who want to run this country.
Just we only sort of know about these campaign trails
from film and TV about how they all run this
like chaos of jumping on buses and off buses. And
I feel like, maybe that's correct because you've just jumped
off a plane. But can you take me through the
day to day of the campaign trail?
Speaker 4 (06:28):
So we sort of, depending on what camp you're on,
your either find out what you're doing the day before,
and then you sort of just get on the bus.
Normally most days of flight bolt you don't really know
what you're doing. It's all sort of a bit by
the hour.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Really have you been following both the PM and the
opposition leader? And I guess it's got to be completely
unbiased reporting. How do you sort of divide your time?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Generally if you're on the buses, it's definitely difficult to
sort of get as overly that you would normally have
in the office, depending on what you're scheduled. You don't
have reception when when the opponent or the other person
is doing the press conference. But I think that election
times are the only time really we have that daily
access to a leader. You'll see them three or four
(07:15):
times really in a day, versus at best feeding during
parliament and parliament sitting alone and sort of see them
and you really get to see how they responded daily
news cycles. I guess in terms of the unbiasedness, if
you're going on the campaign trail, you're sort of trying
to get as much of that color and the personality
as the leader and sort of seeing how they respond
to the surprise situations that come out during an election
(07:38):
campaign and.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
What is the energy like in both of the camps,
as we're almost a week ount.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I remember when I was on sort of the Peter
Dutt's camp. It was kind of interesting because he didn't
really do that man commedia appearances. I'm based in Canberra.
You barely did a post conference, so being able to
see him and asking questions sort of on the daily basis,
that was really interesting. I thought he handled everything quite well. Generally,
(08:03):
like Dutton's boys praised for how calm he is. He's
not reactive and he sort of is able to sort
of handle all those questions, so he deals with them
quite well. I wouldn't say that there were any major
mistakes or stuff up. Definitely think I could work from
home policy. When they had to ditch that, that was embarrassing.
It's a big news story, but I don't think it
railped this campaign necessarily. And then on the Labor's campaign,
(08:26):
I think we've definitely seen a pace pick up a bit.
We're heading into the last week and a half now
and we've got three or four stops a day, but
you know, we're seeing them cover a lotmockground. By today,
we've flown from Sydney and then we flew to the
South Coast West Australia, and I know we'll be impact more.
We'll be in city and then maybe Canberra again to
(08:46):
Anti day. So we've got that really fast paced city
to city going to marginal seats, firming up the best support.
I think that pace is them is going to continue
as we get close to May three.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
What can we expect in this last week apart from
the pace of the campaigning pickup? Is there anything that
we should be on the lookout publicity moments that we
might be seeing that they could help us make a
decision into who we want to vote for.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I will say that was a passing of Cope Frances
on Tuesday. We haven't seen any of the leaders go
to a pre polling group. Generally, the campaigning really reached
big pitch in the last week. You've got both camps,
normal rules to go from three or four states in
the day. It's got Morrison I think the last campaign
in twenty and twenty two h which is going all
over the place like a crossing the country. That's likely
(09:31):
something that will see from I imagine leads. It's probably
going to be a lot of that. Really, you know,
we won't get too many new policy ideas and really
they announced everything to day now and what they're doing
ours for just breaking.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yet there's always a new trend that gen Z seems
to be bringing into our lives, from fashioned doos and
domes to bed rotting or slang that leaves this millennial
completely confused. But one trend, well, maybe it's a hack.
It feels like they've cracked the code on why we're
(10:06):
also overwhelmed. It's gold locking. This is where GenZ, the
digital generation raised on scrolling, is choosing to switch off completely.
They're saying no to distractions like alcohol and social media,
and yes to hyper focus. Whether it's working hard for
an exam or building a side hustle or protecting their
(10:26):
mental health. They're opting out of the noise to lock
in something more meaningful. Gen Zed, who are often labeled
screen addicted or lazy, might actually be setting better boundaries
than the rest of us. They're sleeping more, drinking less,
logging off, many in bed by nine pm, not out
clubbing until five am. So maybe this is a cultural
(10:47):
reset we didn't know we need it. Tarlie Blackman is
our resident gen Zed council here at Muma Mia. Having
grown up on social media. She's embraced locking in as
a way to stay focused and protect her mental health. Tarlie,
how do you think growing up online has shaped your worldview?
If it has compared to older generations.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
We're the only generation that's grown up with technology throughout
our life, like it's never not been there, and so
the influence that social media has on our lives is
that we're constantly comparing ourselves to what we see on
the Internet, and we're constantly trying to prove ourselves to
the world that we are excelling and that we're actually
(11:26):
trying because I feel like gen Z gets a really
bad rap and people think that we're lazy, and people
think that we don't want to have careers or have
successful relationships and all that sort of stuff, and I
think that we're just really prone now to needing to
prove ourselves online.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Do you think there are specific ways you've noticed social
media has changed how your generation sees things, whether that's
success or relationships or identity.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It's now measured in how many followers you have, or
how many likes you have, or how you can go
viral on TikTok. That is the success that a lot
of us are seeing because so many gen Zers work online.
So even though I have a lot of success in
my role, my role isn't in social media. My role
(12:14):
isn't documented online, so I'm not getting a lot of
external validation about my success.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Before we get into the gen Z theory of locking in,
I do want to know when did you first get
social media and what was the first platform, because, for example,
I can remember the first social media platform for me
was MySpace and it was when I was in year twelve.
Even is that yeah long gone. I'm so thankful that
it came in when I was in year twelve versus
(12:41):
growing up with it at school. So I would love
to know what your first social media platform was and
how early it was that it came into your life.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So my first social media was Instagram, and I got
Instagram when I was twelve, and my sister introduced me
to it, and so I got it. She helped me
set up my profile and I started posting obviously selfies
that I took on my iPod Touch. That's why wouldn't
you I think it was really interesting that she made
it out to be amazing platform where you could communicate
(13:13):
to all your friends. But we were just so blissfully
unaware of the downsides to social media and how constantly
wanting to know what our friends up to was having
negative impacts. Like for me, when I would see my
friends posting photos of them in a group like they
were out of the movies and I wasn't invited, I
(13:34):
would think to myself, do they not like me? Am
I not friends with them anymore? So it was really
having negative impacts from that young age.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
From the get go.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
So can you explain your understanding of locking in and
if it's something that you do, feel like you do.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah. So, for me, locking in is getting rid of
any external distraction. So what I do when I lock
in is I'll get my phone and put it somewhere else.
It's like out of my eyesight, because even having my
phone here on the table right now, it's very distracting.
(14:13):
And I don't know why. For us, I think we
feel the need to constantly have it in our hand
or be on it, or have it close to us.
So locking in is getting rid of that distraction and
being able to set your mind on a particular task
or achievement and get that done.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Do you think there are benefits in terms of the
social challenges that you spoke about. Do you think locking
in it goes productivity into a self worth if you're
not engaging with it.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
When I'm feeling really bad about myself or my self
esteem is really low, I will also lock in, so
I will mute my social media apps or just delete
them off my phone, because I don't want to go
onto social media and see someone's life that they've curated
that looks perfect and they're beautiful when I'm not feeling
(15:04):
beautiful and content in myself. I think it's a really
good strategy for self preser in that sense, locking in
really does help with your mental health when you're feeling
like you're not equivalent to the lives that you're seeing
on social media.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Do you think jen z are more comfortable to say
no to things or even disappearing from the feed, which
is in theory, disappearing from existence for their own wellbeing.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think that we are actually very self aware as
a generation, and that we know when we have been
on social media for too long. I mean, our phones
will tell us we've been on our screens for nine
hours that day, and then we're like, oh, that's enough,
So I think, yes, we are in comparison to like
my mum who's on Facebook all the time. She doesn't
(15:51):
think about it in that sense that she's like, I've
been on my phone for too long, Maybe i should
get off my phone, because she doesn't really think about
the negative impacts that that is having on her. But
I also think that we will get off our phones
or get off social media for a certain period of
time that suits us, and then we'll go back to it,
or we'll go onto TikTok and we'll make a TikTok
(16:12):
about how we were just off our phones locking in
for the day because we need to hone in on
one particular task. Or I've got friends who are like,
they've spoken about locking in for getting fit, so it's
not just social media or getting rid of your phone.
It's like some of my friends will do dry July
(16:35):
throughout the whole year because they want to be really
fit and focus on their health, which is something I
know that also like NRL players will do. They'll lock
in for the season and just focus on getting fit
for the games. But I think it's really interesting. It's
definitely a self preservation.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Tool for us. Thanks for taking the time to feed
your mind with us today. The quickie is produced by
me Grace Ruverrey and Claire Murphy, with audio production by
Lou Hill.
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