Bye bye Boomer habits, TRON meets Playboy and why our brains love TV reruns

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Boomers think these 7 habits make them polite but younger generations are begging them to stop

"They're not trying to be rude, but are they?"

There is nothing wrong with politeness and a particular point of view, unless, of course, your interpretation of kindness is different from everyone else's. Case in point? Boomers and every other generation.

What is it about Boomer energy that can just rub people the wrong way sometimes? It's quite common for different age groups to have different needs and habits, and perhaps the Boomers you know may find 20% tips an absolute must, yet the concept of a service fee infuriating. Maybe they feel there is only one perfect way to load a dishwasher. Maybe job loyalty does have value. Whatever the topic, Boomers are likely to have a certain opinion about it that they feel is the best.le 1

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Disney and Playboy once collaborated on a photoshoot. The results were electrifying.

“All that is visible must grow beyond itself, and extend into the realm of the invisible.”

Maybe you wouldn’t imagine a collaboration between Playboy and Disney would ever exist, but you’d be on the wrong side of history. This pairing actually took place in 2010, on the occasion of Tron: Legacy’s release. In a pictorial, the two legendary universes blended together for a dance between the futuristic light suits of Tron and the sexy babes of Playboy. What’s interesting, though, is that this idea had actually been on the table nearly 30 years before, upon the release of the original Tron in 1982.

The original Tron, released 43 years ago this week, took place in a digital universe never before seen on the silver screen. It was so foreign, however, that Disney’s marketing and public relations teams actually didn’t know how to market it yet. According to Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation by animator and animation historian Tom Sito, Playboy came along and presented the potential partnership first. The pitch included a “photo spread called ‘The Girls of Tron,’ featuring nude Playboy models with their naughty parts discreetly covered by circuit boards,” Sito wrote. But Disney was by no means at a place where they would accept such an offer from the magazine, whose reputation at the time even barred it from being sold at 7-Eleven convenience stores (Did Playboy do a “Women of 7-Eleven” spread in response? Yes. Yes, they did.) A few years earlier, the magazine had also encountered obscenity charges. The offer was rejected. 

Psychologists reveal why your brain likes watching the same TV show again and again

Why is your comfort show so comforting?

Picture this scenario: You’ve had “a day.” Maybe work was extra stressful. You could have experienced a break-up. Perhaps you took a certification exam and are anxious about the results. Or you caught a bug and feel sick. In any case, you sit down to relax and watch some TV. There are plenty of new shows you want to see, yet instead you put on Friends again for the 80th time. Sure, it’s a show you like, but why does your brain tell you to watch the same TV show over and over again? Well, there are several psychological reasons behind it.

One of the main reasons you may be rewatching the same shows consistently is due to your cognitive load. When you work throughout the day, you could be bombarded with new things to remember, new tasks ahead of you, and need to think critically throughout it all. Our attention and working memory are finite resources, and watching a new show requires you to pay close attention to learn the characters, follow the plot, and wonder where the story will go next. This is why so many people chose to binge-watch a familiar show during the height of COVID-19 when there was so much change in the usual day-to-day routine. When you've already seen a show or film, there’s no anxiety, stressful anticipation, or suspense during the watch experience because you already know what’s coming next. A familiar show lets your brain relax so you can enjoy watching it and take a mental break.

Until tomorrow, enjoy your fifth run through Breaking Bad and we’ll keep looking for the GOOD.