The Youth Lab

‘MUNDANE’ MOMENTS CAN CREATE JOY

In our most recent Youth Culture Uncovered (YCU), young people from The Love Network shared some of the (seemingly mundane) small things that make them feel good everyday. It’s important to recognise young people’s need to find some sense of self-control in this environment of flux, considering that how much joy you can create in your daily life is intrinsically linked to your own situation and systemic access you have.

By taking time to appreciate these small moments in the everyday, it’s possible to create a real and tangible sense of joy and purpose. We learned from our YCU research that 75% of young Irish people have “focused in on the little things that give you personal joy”. While not always as ‘exciting’ as the more typically conventional moments of joy we might think of (i.e. life’s big highpoints) these little moments are creating important and much needed goodwill for young people in the everyday. There’s joy to be found everywhere, even taking out the bins!

• “A text from my mum.” Audrey, 25, Seattle
• “The first few seconds of lying down for a nap.” Eoin, 26, Cork
• “Taking the garbage out - it feels cleansing.” Megan, 28, Manchester
• “Making memories and talking about them later.” Dash, 22, Leicester
• “F*ck self improvement, I just want a good coffee in the morning.” Vicente, 29, Barcelona
• “The next thing to look forward to all the time…having something exciting makes the day much more worth it.” Max, 24, Berlin
• “Learning a new scooter trick.” Kevin, 19, Bristol
• “Seeing the flowers come up in Spring.” Amy, 25, Manchester

DIGITAL JOY SNACKS

We asked team THINKHOUSE to share what has been making them smile online of late. Enjoy our selection of internet treasures:

• Niall Breen Comics sharing delightful comics that are just so wholesome.
• Speaking of wholesome - a Twitter dedicated to wholesome memes.
• Liberty Ewan shares relatable moments we all know and understand so well.
• Chrissy on TikTok celebrates femininity in all shapes and forms.
• Joe Cappa tells great stories that are the right side of weird.
• Bjenny Montero shares watercolour comics of a cute illustrated frog and friends.
• There’s a theme here - more cute frog illustrations from Sarah Nilsen.
• Favetiktoks420 is great for a curated Insta account full of cringe TikToks, so you don’t have to find it.
• Comedy queen Atsuko will make you laugh out loud.
• Disappointing Affirmations pokes fun at inspirational quote content guaranteed to make you chuckle.

BRAND TAKEOUTS

Recognising that small things can have big meaning - Micro moments or ‘joysnacks’ are highly personal. For brands and businesses seeking to connect with young people, it’s important to understand the significance of these small things. There is an opportunity to get closer to your audience and understand what actually matters to them now (and see where you can fit into those unexpected moments). Think about it as ‘small keys that open big doors’...