What Happened to Hobbies?

A few years ago, after I had moved out of the dorms and into my first apartment, one of my roommates, an art student, would always bring home his latest creations, whether it be a knife he had forged or a mug or a painting, I would always think "wow look at this awesome stuff he is creating, why don't I ever make anything cool like that?" However, I would tell myself he does these things in his classes and I don't have time for that. One day I actually looked at how I spent my time though, I noticed I was spending a large amount of my time ether on social media or watching Netflix. So I decided I was going to pick up a hobby and try to create something with my time rather than just watch TV and scroll through social media with all my free time. Two years later I find myself able to create just about anything out of wood, I've built end tables, rocking chairs, carved chess sets, and many other tings. I can also now play the guitar moderately well and am now attempting to learn to play the piano.

So you may be asking what point am I trying to make here? I've spoken to many friends and classmates who tell me they are too busy to have a hobby of any sort, yet when I ask those same people if they know of any good Netflix series they will immediately tell me about three different series and about the time they binge watched a whole series in one weekend. In 2015 the average time spent on a Netflix account per day was one hour and 33 minutes. At the same time the average American spends 4.7 hours a day on their phones.  Now I'm not saying you should swear off Netflix, or stop using your phones, because watching an episode or movie on Netflix from time to time can be very relaxing and fun! And Smart phones can be great tools. However, spending hours on social media and watching Netflix all day are not healthy physically or mentally.

Having a hobby on the other hand, whatever it may be, can be very beneficial. A hobby can help you develop your creativity which could transfer directly to your work. It can also increase your confidence having skills outside of work might prepare you to be ready for a change in your career. Hobbies can also help you grow as a person and truly discover who you are and what you want to do. 

So next time you are planning a day of Netflix think what else you could be doing or maybe even what you've wanted to do for a while but haven't had time.

http://time.com/4186137/netflix-hours-per-day/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/informate-report-social-media-smartphone-use/

https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/5-reasons-everyone-hobby/

Nudge Toward Conversing

In last weeks class spent trying to find Nudges in Jabs hall My partners and I noticed that the main lobby area in Jabs was designed so that you have to sit with others. All the tables are made for more than one person  and in close proximity to each other. We thought they purposely set up the lobby like this because they wanted people to engage with each other and communicate. Although this is a good nudge we found problems with the space that could be improved. We all noticed that when working in this space between class periods it gets extremely loud and you essentially can't accomplish anything. Also if it is mostly empty we noticed that you can hear people working in the lobby throughout the entire building.

While reading Creative Confidence one of the examples of creativity they provided was called a digital yurt, which is basically a circular enclosure with a table in the middle that is covered in paper. The purpose of these are to inspire, or nudge, people to collaborate with eachother and be creative in a public space that feels private.


I think these yurt stations would be perfect for the first floor lobby in Jabs hall. They would be even more of a nudge toward working with others, which is already being nudged in Jabs, and on top of that they would solve some of the noise problems faced when trying to work in the lobby.

Nudge Toward saving

In the book Nudge the authors state that the average American credit card debt as of 2008 was $5,000. A study done in 2015 https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/  the average American House hold credit card debt was $15,675. The average debt nearly tripled in the last seven years. The authors of Nudge also say that Americans are saving less and spending more than ever before.

http://static.parade.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/credit-cards-ftr.jpg

After reading this section on money in Nudge, and reading Sonja Jacobson’s blog about how much makeup women buy (http://sjacobsoncbexperience.blogspot.com) an idea came to me that could possibly help people that are over spending on non-essential products, and save more money.

Imagine a credit card where every time you buy a non-essential item, whatever the cost, that same amount of money is also set aside into a savings account. A card like this would not only force people to think a lot more about their purchases but also create more savings for consumers.

Now I realize many consumers would be terrified of a card like this and would not want to use it, but for the people out there that are genuinely trying to save more and spend less it could be a great tool. I myself spend way too much money on backpacking equipment and am planning on implementing this strategy in order to help myself not spend as much money. Whether or not I actually follow through is yet to be seen but I know I would be much more likely to do it if I actually had a card like this.

Finding a credit card company that would make a card like this is another trick, considering that if people are thinking more about how much they spend they will likely spend less, and credit card companies make their money off of people who spend too much money so they might not be very excited about this idea. However if you are a person whose trying to save more, or spend less, or both this might be an idea you can try. 

Problems With Being Too Popular

Last month I was lucky enough to be invited to join my parents on their vacation. While on this vacation I got to see Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, which is another National Park. Both of these places were amazing and beautiful. Unfortunately however, both were outrageously crowded. We were actually able to go to Zion twice and no matter what time we showed up the park was so busy that we were forced to park outside both parks and take shuttles into them. All the while I was thinking the summer is over students are back to school and it was during the week I was expecting the parks to be sparsely populated during my visit. So why are these parks so busy even during a time of year when most people are back to school or working?

 As recently as 2013 Utah launched it “Mighty 5” campaign to promote its five National parks since then attendance to the parks in Utah has raised by nearly 20%. In addition to this there was a new marketing campaign across the U.S. in 2016 The “Find Your Park” campaign. This is an effort by the Parks to spread the word or raise people’s awareness of them, and at the same time celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the parks service.

Although the parks are probably happy that these advertising campaigns are working, very well I may add, because they are bringing in bigger crowds than ever before, it is my opinion that the parks have been ruined by the massive overcrowding. Maybe it’s just because I’m from Montana and I’m used to being alone when I go out into the mountains and wilderness but these crowds take away enjoyment of the experience for me. Having to wait in line for an hour to get into a park then be constantly surrounded by hundreds of people isn’t my idea of a good time. Often times in during my visit to Yellowstone this summer it took longer to find a parking spot then it did to actually go on the hike.

The end of the delicate arch hike in Utah’s Arches National Park.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiL1YWdjdPPAhUH02MKHfRTB4sQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Freagangirl.com%2Fnational-parks-americas-overcrowded-bumper-to-bumper-stress-test%2F&psig=AFQjCNEit1HAiKaIkVYFsEmfTssg4QmyVA&ust=1476287370740872

I hope that the parks service is able to maintain the beauty of these amazing places around the country but I fear that eventually this over popularization of our National Parks will degrade the ecosystems and ruin the parks permanently.

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/findyourpark.htm

http://www.hcn.org/articles/arches-crowds-tourism-national-parks-utah

Anchor Points

In chapter two of the book Predictably Irrational, Ariely discusses price point anchors. A price point anchor is the price you are expecting to pay for an item based on the first price you saw that item marked at. For example, I go to the store to buy bread and the first loaf of bread I see costs five dollars I having never bought bread before think okay this is what it costs to buy bread. The five dollars is now my anchor so next time when I go to a bigger store that has many different options and price points of bread I am shocked to see that I can get two loaves for only four dollars at this new store. Because my anchor was so high before, this price is amazing to me and will keep me coming back. So his real point is that all prices are relative, we don’t really know how many dollars a loaf of bread should cost until we see the available prices at other stores. However, the first price we see for any given product becomes our anchor point and that is often what we compare all the other prices we encounter to. I found this to be a very interesting chapter because it happens to me very often. I never noticed this before, so I started to wonder if there is anything else that might be affected by anchor points in life.

What hit me after thinking about this subject was my daily productivity. What I mean by this is how I start my day. I’ve noticed recently that when I start my day off by watching Netflix or YouTube videos, playing video games, or even spending the morning looking over social media, my tendency is to want to continue those activities and I never get a lot done. However, if I were to start my day off by reading a chapter in a book or reading the news, even if it’s for only 15 to 20 minutes, I seem to be much more willing to do my homework and be overall more productive in the day. It’s as though the way I start my day serves as the anchor point for the rest of my day - just as I expect all prices to be similar to the first one I see.

Contrary to the price point anchors though, I’ve noticed my productivity anchor is not as fixed as price anchors are. In the book, Ariely mentions that it takes a long time for people’s price point anchors to change, but with my productivity, I could start the day off lazy and when I come back from class as long as I begin my afternoon doing something productive it will be much easier for me to accomplish all my other tasks. The opposite rings true for me as well though. If I get back from class and watch an hour or two of Netflix, I’m a lot less likely to get much done for the rest of the night.

I have no real proof that this is true for every person, but it certainly is for me. If you are reading this and you are skeptical, the next time you have a big day ahead of you, get up and read the news or a little out of a book instead of spending time on social media or some other time wasting activity. Then continue on with your day and see if it makes a difference for you.

Sugar

I watched a Documentary on Netflix the other day titled Fed Up that was very thought provoking. The documentary was about the problem of obesity in America. This is a much bigger problem than I ever knew it to be. Today in America there are over 50,000 adolescence (under the age of 18) that have type two diabetes.  That number was at 0 a mere 30 years ago. This is the first time that the newest generation is predicted to have a lower life expectancy that the generation that came before it. So with all the advances in modern technology and medical treatment you might ask how this could be possible.

For the past thirty years there have been various scientific findings that show sugar is a leading cause of the obesity problem in America, but every time one of these articles is published or the government attempts to change something in the health standards huge companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or Kellogg will step in and fund scientists to perform research that finds evidence to the contrary of says that there isn’t enough proof. They also make promises that they will make their products healthier or that they will release new products that are healthier for us. So they go out and produce products that are low fat or less calories. But the sugar content is ether kept the same or even higher than it was before.

An interesting point was brought up in the documentary that the last time we so actively and supportively advertised and consumed a product that was so unhealthy was with cigarettes. It took over 50 years after the first research showed cigarettes to be unhealthy for the public to become aware of the dangers. How long will it take for people to realize how damaging the ridiculous number of sugars we consume is to our health?

A study was performed in Harvard that proved sugar was more addictive than cocaine. So with all these products being marketed to children that contain high amounts of sugar these companies are acquiring customers for life because they hook these kids at a young age and they will most likely continue to buy these products for the rest of their lives.

The documentary ends without giving a definitive solutions to this problem to me it seems that every time the government tries to step in and make a change the huge companies That are making their profits off of sugar step in and create a new way to ether distract or deter the government from actually fixing the real problem. So one answer I came up with is that somehow these scientists that know sugar is such a big problem need to find ways just like this documentary to educate the public and especially the parents of our society and from there hopefully they can lead their kids in the right direction.

If you found what I was talking about interesting I highly recommend watching the documentary Fed Up on Netflix it does a much better job than I of explaining this problem.