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Emotional Labor

If you’re caring and emotionally tuned in, you may adapt better to the evolving demands of the job market, a study finds.

Researchers from the University of Maryland and National Taiwan University found that between 2006 and 2016, day-to-day tasks for US workers trended from “analytical and think- ing”—increasingly handled by artificial intelligence—towards “interpersonal and empathetic”: Think a financial analyst who’s reassuring clients through stockmarket dips, says lead author

Roland Rust. In the shift to a “feeling economy,” says Rust, emotional intelligence will gain respect.

WAVE BETTER

Surf therapy has emerged as a recent alternative to traditional therapies for a number of groups, including children with autism, survivors of cancer, and veterans and emergency workers with PTSD. Hosted by organizations around the

Helping Teens Love Themselves

In summer 2020, iBme (Inward Bound Mindfulness Education) will host two Teens of Color Retreats. jylani ma’at brown, a meditation teacher and activist, wanted to give youth facing marginalization a chance to be in nature, cultivate friendship, and absorb mindful skills in a safe environment. The inaugural retreat was in Big Bear City, CA, in August 2019; it allowed the teens “to go somewhere where they can be themselves…a time to feel into inner freedom,” brown says. iBme is holding two Teens of Color retreats in 2020: July 1-6 in Badger, CA, and August 4-9 in Madison, VA.

When Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

A tub of ice cream has long been regarded as the best way to mend a broken heart, but those looking for a more holistic approach can now attend a breakup retreat. These events, which are popping up from Nevada to New York to British Columbia, aim to help participants find closure by participating in digital detoxes, relationship coaching, and meditation sessions in order to reconnect with the body and quiet negative thoughts.

Kind School

Researchers at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a 12-week Kindness

Curriculum for pre-kindergarten children. Initial studies suggest it benefits the kids’ learning and social skills—plus, as study authors Lisa Flook and Laura Pinger write, teaching kindness encourages

“widespread transformation” that “doesn’t require big policy changes.” The curriculum is free for educators to use. In related news: A $20 million grant from the Bedari Foundation to the University of California–Los Angeles will establish a Kindness Institute at UCLA, for interdisciplinary research on “actions, thoughts, feelings, and social institutions” that promote being kind.

PICTURE THIS?

Too many of us know that sinking feeling when we realize an Instagram photo we thought was awesome gets only a handful of likes. With a twinge of disappointment, even embarrassment, we might wonder, Was that even Instagram worthy? There’s growing public concern about how social media can damage our mental health and self-esteem through constant cravings for likes. In an effort to “depressurize” the platform, Instagram added a new feature that makes a user’s number of likes invisible to other users (and to the user themselves, unless they click to see it). It was first trialed in several other countries before this latest expansion to US-based Instagrammers. Sharing and communication are meant to be the point of the app, say execs, not competing to win likes. Via Twitter, another Likebased platform, many approve: “Instagram will be content focused, rather than fostering what addicts us.”