Britishcore, Contentment & Gen Z Whisperers

5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #216 ❤️

This week we're talking YouTube’s algorithm restrictions, the high street shop using AI to get ahead and why TikTok is obsessed with the UK right now.

Plus, do we really need consultants to tell us how to deal with Gen Z, and is contentment more important than happiness in the workplace?

Let’s get into it.

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#1 -YouTube Algorithm Restrictions

YouTube is following TikTok’s lead on video recommendations for teenagers, starting with body image.

YouTube will no longer be recommending videos to teenagers that idealise a certain kind of fitness level, body weight or physical features after expert advice warning that this kind of content is dangerous for young people when watched repeatedly.

The rules will apply to 13-17 year olds, who will be able to watch these videos but will no longer be subject to the algorithm that pushes you down a so-called “rabbit hole” recommending you content based on what you watch.

YouTube’s global head of health – who we didn’t even know existed – says that while these videos don’t go against their guidelines, they can be harmful to teens as they are developing their own standards for themselves, and content featuring “idealised standards” could give them “negative beliefs about themselves”. Duh.

This is in line with the new Online Safety Act which now requires tech companies to protect children from harmful content, and puts the onus on them to consider how their algorithms may expose under-18s to damaging material.

One small step for YouTube, one huge leap in algorithm regulation.

Don’t Worry Teens, YouTube Has Your Back



#2 - M&S Meets AI

Your grandma’s favourite place to buy slippers, M&S, is taking a leap into the future, or just the present, with the new AI feature on their website.

Marks & Spencers, which is literally 130 years old, is now using AI to advise shoppers on outfit choices based on body shape and style preferences, hoping to boost their online sales.

The AI will adapt the language it uses to address shoppers online, choosing from six different preferences like emotional, descriptive, or straightforward, and will personalise what shoppers are offered based on their profile.

Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to advise shoppers on their outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of efforts to increase online sales.

They’ve had a pretty hefty increase in online sales in the past year, apparently driven by an 80% rise in spending on social media mareting and increased spending on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – which now accounts for more of their ad spend than TV.

Almost a third of the revenue they generate from TikTok has come from completely new customers, so it seems to be working to get the brand out to a different, probably younger audience.

Will they want to fill in an online quiz and have an AI personal stylist tell them what to wear? Probably not, but their existing customers might.

Is M&S Cool Now?


#3 Introducing Britishcore

The next big global TikTok trend, well, for Americans at least, is pretty close to home this time…

Introducing Britishcore, a fascination with all things British on the most popular app in the world. So, obviously they’re talking about the Queen, rowing boats in Cambridge, afternoon tea and all that other Notting Hill style stuff, right?

Wrong. The top trending aspects of British culture include Greggs, “cheeky” Tesco meal deals and TikTok sounds of Gemma Collins or even Gary Barlow.

TikTok have reported a double-digit rise in posts using the hashtags #ukcomedy, #ukfashion and #uktravel in 2024, and #OasisReunion has had more than 100m video views since they announced their tour.

An expert in British popular culture says that a “sense of cheekines” is what links the most popular TikTok trends in Britcore, and Americans especially are loving it.

Let’s see how long this fame lasts, and what it does to our global reputation…

This Is My Idea Of A Very Nice Day Out



#4 - The Gen Z Whisperers

The latest type of consulting to hit the market is the “Gen Z Whisperer”, and as the title suggests, they’re acting as translators for boomer bosses to reach their Gen Z employees.

The question is, do we actually need them?

This article in the Guardian lays out this new consultancy niche, citing brands that use them such as Google and Coca Cola, you know, the big ones that make you sit up and listen, but don’t actually tell us much about what kind of differences they’re explaining.

Maybe there’s a paywall for that, or maybe there isn’t that much difference at all.

One consultant, who calls herself the Fairy Job Mother and started her business as an advisor to employees but has begun advising employers too, puts an emphasis on the challenges faced by Gen Z - the cost of living, Covid and mental health impacts.

On the other side of the coin however, critics of generational “myth” in the workplace argue that many of the preconceptions about Gen Z have “frustratingly little” proof.

There does, so far, seem to be at least anecdotal proof of the different way Gen Z approach work, but do we need to pay a consultant to explain it to us? Honestly, maybe.

Docter Z-Little


#5 - Contentment vs. Happiness

Should happiness be our goal at work, or should we actually be striving for contentment?

We saw a post on LinkedIn recently from a HR professional explaining how when doing the onboarding for new recruits from the west in Japan, he introduced them to the concept of being “content” at work, and that for Japanese workers contentment was the end goal, rather than happiness.

A new theory on how to approach wellness in the workplace is looking at how using the word content, rather than happy, to describe how we experience our working lives in a positive way may be a necessary shift.

While happiness is an emotion, and can be a reaction to events and occurrences in your working day, contentment is a state of being which means accepting what you can’t change, and being content with the way you’re dealing with what you can.

Sure, work isn’t a barrel of laughs every day, but being content is a calm place to be in comparison to the ups and downs of a toxic workplace, chasing highs and dealing with huge lows.

We’re not saying we shouldn’t be happy, but is being content perhaps even better?

Food For Thought


Brave & Heart over and out.

Bonus

Mark Zuckerberg’s New Style

While it may seem trivial, Mr Z’s new style change is anything but.

From the Steve Jobs school of wearing the same outfit every day, dressing as a teenager hacker, to a brand new “stylish” look that we THINK involved a stylist, his style change is nothing if not an appeal to the newest generation he’s trying to get into his Meta products.

We See You Mark


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