‘The myth of a loneliness epidemic’
Faith Hill at The Atlantic
Nobody “would blame you for thinking that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented global loneliness emergency,” but “data indicates that loneliness may not be any worse now than it has been for much of history,” says Faith Hill. This isn’t “to say that our social lives are perfect; as patterns of socializing shift, something is almost always lost.” But “when it comes to identifying what’s ailing the nation, ‘loneliness’ may no longer be a sufficient answer.”
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‘Development done right: Why Africa needs more than good intentions’
Samuel Munzele Maimbo at Al Jazeera
When it “comes to Africa’s development, we too often mistake discussion for progress,” says Samuel Munzele Maimbo. Africa “hosts some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but average growth remains below global standards.” This “paradox demands more than analysis — it requires decisive action.” We “must streamline development processes. African nations need partners, not overseers,” and we “must trust local leadership to set priorities based on ground realities.” This is “not just aspirational thinking. They are realistic goals.”
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‘How Trump’s deportation plans could blow up the food system and increase migrant labor’
Teresa Cotsirilos and Ted Genoways at Politico
The “food industry’s immigrant workforce is massive,” say Teresa Cotsirilos and Ted Genoways. If the “Trump administration follows through on its most ambitious mass deportation plans, who exactly will replace these essential workers?” Rather “than improving the quality of food industry jobs to attract more American-born workers, employers will continue hiring low-wage immigrants.” Americans “will continue to be undercut by a captive, lower-wage workforce — and foreign-born workers will continue to be mistreated.”
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‘Gen Z Americans are leaving their European cousins in the dust’
John Burn-Murdoch at the Financial Times
A “lot of analysis and discourse treats millennials and Gen Z as close cousins, united in their struggle to achieve the prosperity of earlier generations,” but this “depends a lot on where you look,” says John Burn-Murdoch. On “both sides of the Atlantic, the narrative of millennial malaise is no myth.” But “for young adults in Britain and most of western Europe, conditions have only got worse,” while “in America, Gen Z are motoring ahead.”
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