Issuu

FLOWZINE CESAR MAJORANA about media production

How to learn a HABIT TIU SPOKESPERSON Tineke Bennema

Issue 23 June 2021

Dear Flowzine readers, The academic year has almost come to an end, and with that, another year at Flow has passed too. This year, we might not have seen each other as much, but we sure have seen the innovation and fighting spirit that emerges when circumstances try to break our association apart.

COLOPHON Flowzine is the official magazine of Study Association Flow. Issue no. 23 Contact: NL: inflowcommissie@svflow.nl EN: inflowcommittee@svflow.nl Commissioner: Rosa van der Vleuten

After the summer, this committee will return with one last edition. Around that time, I hope to see lots of you again, and if not, I wish you lots of luck and happiness in whatever your next endeavour might be.

Design: Rosa van der Vleuten, Désirée van den Berg, Sandra Pham, Ioana Pintilie

Lots of love, Rosa van der Vleuten InFlow commissioner ‘20-’21

In collaboration with: César Majorana, Renee Christ, Skye Smout & Tineke Bennema

Committee: Rosa van der Vleuten, William van Wijk, Désirée van den Berg, Isa Kraaijvanger, Ioana Pintilie, Sandra Pham

CONTENTS

Reader stories

Column By Skye Smout

How to adopt new habits By Sandra Pham & Isa Kraaijvanger

The Five: Nature Spots By WIlliam van Wijk

Sign language and parenting By Désirée van den Berg & Isa Kraaijvanger

TiU spokesperson Tineke Bennema By Rosa van der Vleuten & Ioana Pintilie

César Majorana on media production By Sandra Pham

Summer cocktails By Désirée van den Berg

How online life reduces attention span By Ioana Pintilie

Contact with companies By Rosa van der Vleuten & Désirée van den Berg

READER STORIES post-lockdown plans

Take a train to a random city Drinking beer

Travel!

Go to conc a ert

Go to the gym

Getting way too drunk at the Study Trip Announcement Drink

Become a m ember of a sports ass ociation

the couch in n o p e le s a ll Fa ice. the Flow off

Party with all in building E the boards

her with Get toget oups of larger gr nd have friends a ime! a great t

Going in to the wo rld without thinking or feeling gu ilty

Hu g frie my F low nd s

Go to a Flow drink

Flow drink :(

Having a big Flow Drink at VHZ

Drinking the bar dry at the first Flow Drink in VHZ

Thank you for your submissions!

Walking was something I never did voluntarily. I had never fathomed the idea of walking anywhere for fun. This stemmed partly from the fact that in the village I grew up in one would have to walk the equivalent of the Tour de France just to see friends. But here we are roughly 6 months in a nationwide lockdown and I can affirmatively say that walking has become a sort of solace for me. Walks to the supermarket, albeit very short walks, which I would normally think were tedious to do, became fun little adventures where even small talk with a cashier would lift my mood. The current lockdown and safety measures in place have severely limited all of our social contact. Where once we would come together on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or even the other four days to have fun and go out, we now spend our time video calling our neighbours and grandparents. Finding new hobbies is a great way to stay sane in these self-conscious times and I can safely say that walking has become a hobby I intend to execute even after these crazy times have subsided. Not only is walking healthy, walking with someone such as a roommate or friend can provide

the much needed social contact I severely lacked. On top of that, walking for me is a way to essentially experience life for what it’s worth. The fluttering of butterflies and the smell of grass, things one might not have scrutinized before, become wonderful observations to make. The smile of a friendly mailman while out on walks has oftentimes made me forget about the current pandemic, even for just a minute. These small things that occur while out on my (now daily) walks I would always take for granted, but not anymore. While the last year has been a rough time for many people, I have found pleasure in observing these small things that unequivocally brighten my day. My advice to all of you who are having a rough time at the moment: go on a walk if possible. It doesn’t have to be a marathon and it doesn’t have to be with anyone else. Go on a walk and observe the small things that make life joyous, jolly and jovial. Because what many have forgotten in the past year is that while we might feel stuck at home and in our rooms, listening to professors talk for hours on a computer, the world still spins and life goes on. Take a moment out of your day to enjoy the little things in life that make us happy or even sad, as these emotions tell us we are still alive and ready to go once our world recovers. Column by Skye Smout

How to Adopt New Habits As a student with a busy schedule, you might go on autopilot through your life. Your lazy days might all seem alike or you go through your days being exhausted. Sometimes the thoughts come to your mind that you want to read more books for fun, procrastinate study work less or have a healthier lifestyle. You want to make positive changes in your life, but do not know how to start. Fortunately for you, we have figured out how to adopt new habits!

Motivation leads to action and vice versa Firstly, it is important to make sure you are motivated. It takes a lot of time and effort to change and build habits, so you have to make sure you are fully dedicated. Building and integrating new habits can take anywhere from 21 days to 3 full months, so motivation is a must. It is important to remember that motivation does not only come from within yourself but can also be derived from completing tasks.  Motivation itself can lead to action, but action in turn can also lead to motivation. When you do not feel like it, you could just begin with a task and get motivation through the action itself.  For example, try taking a book and reading in bed before going to sleep, instead of taking your phone.

In this way you directly override your old habit with a new one. Once you are content after reading the book, it will lead to more motivation to stick to this new habit.  Mindfulness: Why is it so easy to watch another episode on Netflix?  Another way to be motivated is by being mindful of your actions. Think about why you are inclined to carry out certain actions over others. Why is it that you eat a cookie instead of going for a walk after dinner, whilst you want to take care of your health? Once you think about the reasoning behind your actions and their consequences it might be easier to change them and create room for better options.

Make sure your goals are clear and concrete

Another aspect that is important for changing and building habits, is to be precise in the way you formulate your goals. It might sound easy to say ‘I want to read more’ or ‘I should stop procrastinating all the time’, but in reality these abstract goals are more difficult to achieve. Having clear and concrete goals makes it easier to make actions become internalized behaviour. So instead of saying you want to read more, say ‘I will read five pages a day’, or if you want to stop procrastinating, set the goal to work 10 minutes on your big project each day.

In this way, it is completely clear what you need to do, and therefore easier to start and complete tasks, which will lead to habits eventually.

Link new habits to already existing ones It might sound intimidating to start changing your habits from one day to the next. To make it easier for yourself you could choose to link your new habits to already existing ones. These existing habits are those you have fully internalized and do without thinking too much. Think about brushing your teeth or eating breakfast in the morning. If you link new habits to these actions, it will be easier to integrate the new ones into your daily routine. Say you want to read more, then you could link this to your already existing habit of eating breakfast and read whilst eating. By including reading into your daily habit of eating breakfast it will become part of the internalized habit and will be easier to keep up.

Gateway habits  A small tool for making behavioural changes is to have a gateway habit linked to your target behaviour. For example, you want to play guitar every day and practice a song. In your head it is a barrier to really sit down for it and practice. A gateway habit for this is to grasp the guitar and just strum five times on the strings. This is a simple task which you can easily achieve within 2 minutes

every day. And while you are at it, you might as well start practising for the song.

Have reminders  Put in your agenda when you want to practice your new habit. Put a reminder on your mirror: today I am going to walk outside for half an hour. What also might help is to put a list with a mapped-out routine on your wall, so you don’t have to think about your new habits but put them in practice. Ask the surrounding people to remind you, so you will not have to change your behaviour on your own.

Keep track of your progress Once you start changing your habits, it is important to keep track of your progress. If you find it difficult to keep up a certain habit, you could adjust your goal and try again. Changing habits is a personal process and different for everybody, so it is important to find the right methods for you. It also helps to motivate yourself by seeing how far you have come. A free app that might help you keep track of your habits is Fabulous. This app is completely dedicated to building and keeping up daily routines. It introduces new habits by giving advice and explaining why certain habits are important to have. So, if you think you might need a little push to start changing your habits, have a look at Fabulous.

The Five Nature Spots

The Drunense Dunes It seems far, but from Central station you are within 15 minutes at Loon op Zand bus station. It consists of a higher, somewhat rough and sandy middle area with a slightly more fertile but still barren edge around it. There are many hiking trails. For example, there is a 30 minutes’ walk from Loon op Zand a route (Roestelberg) where many remains of the Second World War can be seen.

Huis ter Heide Close to the Drunense Dunes, you can find the nature area Huis ter Heide. You can enjoy walking, cycling or horseback riding in this watery bird paradise. With trails, watchtowers and a boardwalk you can walk your heart out! You may come face to face with Scottish Highlanders, who continue to eat imperturbably.

Moerenburg Moerenburg is a hamlet and nature reserve located in the Oost district of Tilburg, east of the Wilhelmina Canal. New paths have been laid out and the Voorste Stroom river meanders through the landscape. In the area you can also find house Moerenburg, this estate was one of the first three stone houses in Tilburg. A very photogenic location!

Galgeven A beautiful walking tour near Tilburg can be made around the Galgeven. The Galgeven is one of the largest fens near Oisterwijk. And from Tilburg it is also one of the closest fens. The dead tree on the bank of the lake is particularly photogenic!

Wandelbos Really close to Tilburg University, you can find the Wandelbos. This forest is full of striking trees and plants that originally grew only in North America. The layout of the forest can safely be called romantic. Especially the bridge over the large pond is a beautiful spot. If you want to walk a little further, you can combine this with a walk through the adjacent Oude Warande.

You can find all the hiking trails for the nature reserves at www.natuurmonumenten.nl.

SIGN LANGUAGE

More like spoken language than you’d expect

In Dutch we have got the NGT which stands for ‘Nederlandse Gebarentaal’. Renee Christ told us about this sign language. Her daughter, Nica (3), was born with the CHARGE syndrome, which is a combination of different medical conditions, including not being able to hear. That is why she and her husband Mollo began with learning sign language. In this interview Renee tells us some interesting facts about sign language.

How did you learn sign language? “It has been a very long process and we are still learning. We knew from very early on that Nica was deaf. Through courses, we started with sign language. In the beginning, it was easy, there was lots of material, but as soon as you want to expand your knowledge further, you have fewer options. Now, our learning equipment consists of predetermined lessons as well as customized modules which tie in with what Nica is learning at school.” Is it easy to learn sign language? “Well, a lot of signs are similar. Just like in spoken language, you sometimes have multiple meanings for

the same word. Some signs are the same, but because you portray a different word with your mouth, you change its meaning. Details are very important, because tapping your finger slightly different, repeatedly or slowly, can change the meaning of the gesture.” What was the most difficult to learn? “In my opinion, grammar is most difficult in sign language. The sentence structure is different and therefore you have to think very carefully about how to gesture it. For example, ‘I’m going to work tomorrow’ becomes ‘Tomorrow I work’. This different sentence structure makes it easier for deaf people to follow.”

How do you portray sound in sign language? “You imitate it. For example, when music or sound comes from a speaker, you point to the speaker and your ear and say and gesture that what you hear, in combination with your facial expressions, which are very important. You show ‘oh, something is happening over there’ or you mimic the sound by tapping rhythms on the table with your fingers. People who can’t hear do feel those vibrations, so there are different ways to make them aware of sound.” How did you teach sign language to Nica? “When we were told that Nica had bad hearing, we started a hearing aid process. A family counsellor gave us tips on how to communicate with Nica and indicated that sign language would always be beneficial. So, we got in touch with sign language. It starts with a few gestures and expands. If you look at how many gestures she already knows, it’s incredible. How does Nica communicate with her family and friends? “Well, she communicates in sign language, but also realizes that not everyone knows sign language. She realizes very quickly what someone has to offer. For example, Nica has a cousin who is a year younger and cannot sign language yet, but because they are both children, they will understand each other anyway. Nica is just trying to make

things clear, also to her younger sister Estee of 10 months old, which is very nice to see. Fortunately, Estee’s hearing works very well, so naturally, we also encourage spoken language, but there is a combination: one moment we use sign language and the next moment spoken language.”

“You want your child to be able to learn something from you and not the other way around.” Were you interested in sign language before Nica was born? And when did you start learning sign language? “Our interest came when Nica was born. Of course, you cannot know in advance whether someone can hear, so it was quite a blow for us when we were told that her hearing was impaired. Then, you think ‘okay, let’s put in a hearing aid and we are good to go,’ and we tried hearing implants, but we didn’t get any response either. Finally, when we were told that she wasn’t going to hear, we started to study sign language more intensely and requested new courses. We put a lot of time into learning as much sign language as possible because you want your child to be able to learn something from you and not the other way around.”

Would you recommend sign language to others who don’t have contacts to share it with? “I would always recommend it, with the sidenote that you must learn it properly. The signs must be performed correctly. It is quite time-consuming and of course, the first gestures are very easy, because they are very logical. You don’t need a lot of effort to remember them, but once you start expanding your vocabulary, it is important that you continue to do everything correctly.” In addition to the communication with Nica, do you experience other benefits from using sign language? “I notice that when I am on the road with Mollo [her husband] and we are at a distance where we cannot talk easily, we sometimes gesture to each other. Or if we discuss something others don’t need to hear, we sometimes gesture. And with Nica’s teacher at school, who is completely deaf, I sign. This way, I can have a chat with her too.”

“How cool is it for such a person to experience that, but also for you to see that you can do it?” In the Dutch COVID press conferences in the last year, the sign language is very quick, can you follow that? “Yes, but it’s a level you will not use at home. The use of words from Prime Minister Rutte is very different from the conversations you have at

home. You need proper education to be able to use sign language like that on national television. Everyone gestures in their own way. That is why it is often the same person on television. As with speaking, everyone has their own way of speaking, with an accent for instance. The same goes for sign language. It’s easier to see the same person signing because it makes it easier to follow.” Sign language has received a lot of public attention after the many press conferences on COVID-19. It appears that more people are interested in the subject. What do you think of this? “Great! Sign language is more acknowledged and recognized. It becomes more normal for people and that acceptance is certainly nice. People no longer think it is a bit crazy.” What would you like to tell others about sign language? “Anyone who’s interested in sign language should try to get information on it and if you want to learn it, get started! It won’t be easy, but everything you learn is great! And perhaps you will meet someone who you can sign with. How cool is it for such a person to experience that, but also for you to see that you can do it? Just start with simple things, that is enough. I think all the effort you put into sign language is amazing!”

Behind the scenes of Tilburg University Insights in crisis communication with TiU spokesperson Tineke Bennema What do you like about it? That’s a good question. Originally, I am a historian and a journalist - and I really liked my job as a journalist. I was working for the national radio and after that, several newspapers. I’m really curious about things. And as a journalist, you go after stuff, you want to find out the facts. You have a lot of power as a journalist: there’s a free press and you can write anything you want. But I don’t think all journalists take their responsibility towards the people they write about or the institution that they write about.

Could you introduce yourself briefly? What exactly do you do? My name is Tineke Bennema and I’m the spokesperson of the university - also, I work in the Department of Communication. What I am doing is protecting the reputation and the good name of the university; making sure that things that are being said about us or being externally presented are correct. Together with my colleagues in the Department of Communication, we check the news every day: newspapers, radio, and television, but also blogs, social media, etc. to see what has been published about us.

What I really like about my current job is that you have the right to look around behind the scenes (you meet the board, the staff), But, on the other hand, I like the responsibility to make sure that what is being said about us is correct. We are an institute of knowledge and we have a big responsibility to help society find answers to difficult questions and complex problems. I find that a very noble aim - to make sure that we really do our utmost for everybody. How did your work change when the pandemic hit? That was really a complete change, I would say. We’ve had several exercises to practice crisis manage-

ment, but this was for real and it was special and intense. It meant that we, as the staff, came together every day and investigated what the main problem was and tried to solve that problem. There were so many things that we would never have thought about that really needed immediate solutions. That was an incredible challenge.

you feel prepared when an actual crisis hit? We have a crisis exercise yearly and I remember the first one - a total disaster. We were not prepared at all. We didn’t have computers with us, although we had to write press releases and be connected. We were really stressed out, it was horrible. But then year by year, we learned how to deal with it.

“We are an institute of knowledge and we have a big responsibility to help society find answers.”

For instance, you have to make sure that you take a question that concerns your role and you should not feel responsible for others. I work with the press, for example. But you have to make sure that you take a question that concerns your role and you do not feel responsible for another person. So in my case, there were people who got telephone calls from the press and were starting to answer them, even though they don’t know the ways of journalism. And for me, I should not take the role of, for instance, a legal advisor - I don’t have a clue about that. If it concerns somebody else, you just have to write it down or give it to that person. It’s about order: when there’s a crisis, at least you have your order and your structure correct. That really helps a lot.

There were also some small things. For example, if you close your buildings, do you have to keep the heaters running? How do you continue to distribute the mail? How do you make sure information gets in the right place? What do you do with the restaurants? We had daily two-hour meetings with the staff, then we had to quickly decide what was to be done about all these issues. Every day there were new issues. It was really something. Looking back now, it was quite intense, but I’m really proud of how it went! Of course, there was a lot of criticism and I think in many ways they were right - but we did whatever we could. You had you been training with the crisis team before it actually became active. So to what extent did

I’d like to talk a bit about the role of students in your work and how that has changed from before the whole pandemic to now. We miss the students; we don’t see them anymore. We also miss the bustling of the university, of course. We were always hesitant…we’re not

sure if we have the right contacts with the students, if we get how they are feeling. It was tough, and we have a lot of pity for the students, especially the ones from abroad. We have tried to do as much as possible to help them out and we felt that the distance very difficult. But the whole focus of the university has been on the students, and research has become less important. All our teachers had to put aside their research for quite some time because they knew that the students and their education are the most important. I remember that when the discussions on exams was very fresh, the Rector said his nightmare was that students would not be able to have exams and register for a new year, thus ending up with a delay. That really was the aim of the university: to avoid delays. To help achieve that all the teachers could do their work online and reach all their students. Then, there was the organization of the exams with Proctorio and everything…it was really hard. We really tried to reach out to students and to make sure that we supported them as much as possible - I’m not sure we have succeeded, but at least we tried. How do you get input from the students, how could you know if you’re doing well, if you’re reaching them? Well, when we were in the crisis management team, we had different working groups after the first acute

situation had passed. We worked in three groups: the student group, the group for the staff, and one for the campus. One of the main ones was the student group. In this group, we have people connected to all the students and to the student organizations, and we have our student pools who represent different students at the campus. There has been a lot of input and like this, we have at least heard how things were going in general and what things we had to adapt towards, things we had to do for new and so on, so we really tried to make sure that we keep in touch.

“We were astonished to see that there has been hardly any delay in [the students’] results compared to last year. ” Is there anything you’d like to tell the students? Of course I would like to know how they are feeling and how they are managing. In the beginning I think everybody was in shock, missing the campus, missing out, and feeling depressed. But the minute that the campus was slowly opening we felt that there are students that feel like maybe it is better to be at home sometimes. In the future, they would prefer to have a hybrid situation. And this brings to my question: How would the students see their future

with Tilburg University? Would they prefer going full-time back to campus or would they also like to have a hybrid situation? And, I am very curious to know how this year has been for everybody and how they have managed to keep their work going. Because we were astonished to see that there has been hardly any delay in their results compared to last year. This means that everybody has been succeeding, but I really would like to know if that is the case. If there are things that students find we are not doing well, then please let us know because we are willing to adapt ourselves to them – they are our main concern.

Where could they go if they have any concerns they’d like to take up with you? The deans, their counsellors, the communication department, and the student pools. They can even come to us – there are many ways to reach out, so feel free.

Please always check the TIlburg University website on who to contact in a certain situation and how to correctly contact the person of your choice. For study-related special circumstances you can contact the Student Deans: studentendecaan@tilburguniversity.edu For questions about courses and their content and other general questions regarding your study or studying in general you can contact the Student Advisor. Make sure to contact the correct Student Advisor. For the CIS Bachelor: C.A.G.M.Donders@tilburguniversity.edu For the CSAI Bachelor and the CIS (Pre-)Master: M.M.M.vanHeijningen@tilburguniversity.edu For the CSAI (Pre-)Master: S.Warmerdam@tilburguniversity.edu For the DSS (Pre-)Master: N.F.J.vanderWielen@tilburguniversity.edu If you are or might be dealing with mental health issues, please check the Tilburg University website for the contact form for an appointment with the Student Psychologist.

‘Do everything until life forces you to choose.’ Advice from content creator César Majorana

César Majorana (1996) is a presenter who has presented for Dutch programs such as the online talk show CLUBHUB, LIT (NPO 3), 3LAB (NPO 3) and Vuilnis TV (VPRO). He is also a writer, and has written for the &C Magazine and the VPRO Gids. Powerful to Cesar’s life story is that he left his disadvantaged neighborhood for a successful career in media. Sandra had the opportunity to spend a day with César during his video recordings for Art Rocks, a music competition in museums. Read on to find out more about him, the art of making a story and useful tips that apply to a career in the media as well as life in general. What was it like growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood? At home, there was always something happening on the street. I don’t know if that is typical for a disadvantaged neighborhood. It is also a place where there is quite a lot of nihilism. Where families are cynical at a young age, lots of kids who grow up in problem neighborhoods might come from families where there is more often conflict. The effect of this is that the children grow up much faster. I remember as young children we were too preoccupied with things that were too grown up. You have to become street smart at a very young age and that requires lots of maturity and responsibility.

It was also a place that seemed very far from the world where I am now allowed to roam in. I have such a great job and I get to do such special things. When I lived there, I did not know that people were working behind the television. That was not an option. Sometimes I have an intern who is from Hilversum, and whose parents are working in the media and are very creatively stimulating. We can talk a lot about social mobility in the Netherlands, but a lot comes down to what your home situation looks like. And when you at home don’t get the idea that an art education, a photography education or a job like coach or something is possible [you won’t come to the idea to do that]. If your pa-

rents tell you to become a lawyer or a doctor out of fear that otherwise you will not be successful, then you have no real perspective on what you can become or be in your life. It took a long time before I realized I wanted to be a journalist; it was my real passion actually. When I told that to friends, sometimes from abroad, they had very negative connotations about it. In Turkey or Morocco being a journalist isn’t a noble thing at all.

conversations like this at the time. You just have to put your shoulders to the wheel to go your own way, you are on your own. At the beginning that felt very harsh, like they gave me job and now I just had to figure it all out on my own to make the program, but that’s the way on which you can prove yourself and that’s everything you need. I am glad that I got that opportunity and took it with both hands, I think it would take me more effort to make it if it didn’t happen that way.

‘Dream more specifically, dream more tangible.’

What did you study? I have finished the VMBO T-L and the Havo. Nothing else after that, but now I am studying the Master At the age of 17, you were chosen in Moving Image at the Sandberg out of the 20.000 registrations to go Institute. I never studied and always to work as a presenter and program felt robbed of the experience of maker at BNN VARA. How did BNN how that could be. At some point VARA change your life? I decided to apply to the Master, I can’t say anything other than that and I could say it is really interesting. BNN VARA has really changed my It is very special to be able to plunlife. I learned so much about how ge into it in this way, and I couldn’t you have to behave and your relati- appreciate it like that if I started this onship with yourself and what you’re after the Havo. making in the media world. I got the chance to get started via BNN UniWhat do you want to say to the versity. From day one it was: here is people who dream of becoming a your desk, good luck. When you are media maker? in school there are always instructiDreaming of becoming a media ons from above that you can follow. maker is not enough. Dream more For me quitting school and working specifically, dream more tangiat BNN Vara was different from ble. Wonder: which stories have I this plan. Everyone had decided not yet told and do I want to tell? on what follow-up study they were And then dream of telling it in the going to do, and I told my dean best possible way. And when you “Listen, I am offered a job, I won’t are done dreaming, write it down follow a study.” I have had lots of in a plan, try to make it yourself

first in the simplest possible version and then try to find people who want to help you to make it. During the video recording for Art Rocks, César interviewed musicians to talk about themselves and their songs. After that, he shared his tips about interviewing and life with me. Tip #1: Some people who are interviewed find it hard to talk in front of the camera. Consciously talk more vaguely, about how an artwork sounds for example. By consciously putting it vaguely, people pick this up and make it clear on their own accord. Tip #2: You’re constantly looking to find what makes something a unique story. It is best to do this by focusing on details. An example with food: when you ask people what’s inside a biscuit tin, they will say biscuits. When you ask them what their favorite cookie is, you will get a story. Tip #3: Try to incorporate the person’s background. Ask if their parents make music, what kind of music they hear at home, look for a clue to help formulate your follow-up question. Tip #4: Sometimes it is helpful to respond to what people are saying. Repeat a word they said, and they come naturally with a whole story. Tip #5: It is also useful to think in advance which answers you want

to hear. Think about yourself: which questions do you need? What should you pay attention to? Tip #6: The painful questions: ask the questions you don’t want to ask at the end of the interview. Then you have already the information you want, and you finish with the painful questions. People have already an answer ready for the things they rather not talk about, so they will response with that. Tip #7: Sometimes the questions you ask help to break the ice. Ask people to dream big. This way, you lift people up and they actually start dreaming big. Tip #8: This applies specifically to television, but ask questions you won’t use. In this way, you loosen people up for the real interview. Just talk for ten minutes, and eventually a small piece will be shown on television. Tip #9: There is collaboration behind everything, growing together. On your own you will encounter your own limits. Connect: I see what you are doing, shall we work together? Tip #10: When you are creative in multiple areas, do everything until life forces you to choose. I was afraid when I got into making television, I wouldn’t be able to write, but now I am making television programs and I am writing for the VPRO gids.

Summer Cocktails Rainbow Paradise 40 ml grenadine Ice cubes 160 ml pineapple juice 80 ml Malibu 40 ml water 20 ml Blue Curaçao Spice up your summer with this Flow-themed cocktail! Pour the grenadine in a longdrink glass and fill your whole glass with ice. Mix the pineapple juice with the malibu and add it to the glass. Mix the water with the blue curaçao and add it carefully (with a teaspoon) to your glass. You will see that the yellow and blue mix will perfectly mix with a green layer. Serve with a lemon slice or an orange slice. Cheers! Non-alcoholic Piña Colada 60 ml coconut cream 125 ml pineapple juice 1 teaspoon of coconut flakes Crushed ice Extra: maraschino cherries or a slice of pineapple on top Did the sun give you enough of a headache to keep you off of the alcohol for a bit? Blend the pineapple juice with the coconut cream and crushed ice until smooth. Mix it with the coconut flakes and garnish with maraschino cherries or a slice of pineapple on top! Ready to serve!

Youth’s Attention Span in a Pandemic Accustomed to short content and weirdly relating to goldfish

“We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year...”. Pink Floyd have always enchanted us with their meaningful and poetic lyrics, but this verse can somehow be literally interpreted now. Apparently, goldfish have the capacity to focus on a task or on a specific object for about 9 seconds. In a Microsoft study done in 2015, it was found that humans have a shorter attention span than their underwater friends. Even though the outcomes of this research are being debated all over the internet, are we lost souls that swim like fish around a digitalized world, forgetting our tasks?

The pandemic has made an impact on how we handle our attention. During quarantine, most people have spent their time online trying to (re)connect with others, working, finding new hobbies and/or distracting themselves. Of course, many have it pretty tough right now, but not all understand the struggle of students. Watching a university lecture comes along with trying to pay attention to the professor, taking notes, and reading a live chat. All of this is done while also typing in some questions yourself (if there is any mental space left for that). But the problem does not necessarily lie in caring for these tasks, as students had been doing

quite the same thing before the pandemic. The oddity that sparks an uncanny feeling is that now we are alone in our rooms, with no real eyes on us. Motivation was given by people being present. Because of the lack of human glances and missing a real acknowledgment of being “there”, we have an independence that stresses and distracts us.

Doing everything from the comfort of a home feels both like freedom and limitation. A lot of time is spent online, multitasking. But how will this be translated in our future work as we are locked within the same spaces? Now it is too early to see clear effects, but we are information-overloaded and the pace of what is happening around us has increased. If pre-pandemic studies in the US found that people pick up their phones around 58 times a day, how many times do we do that now? There are many apps to check, numerous messages to respond to, and there is daily news to read. One of the main examples that “matches’’ and might influence the brains of the youth is TikTok. The videos on the app are 15 to 60 seconds long and they all appear on a hyper-personalized For You page, designed in a way that one can

endlessly scroll on. Apps like this are based on the same principles that make gambling addictive. In an interview published on Forbes in January 2020, Dr. Julie Albright said that random reinforcement is used to make users spend more time on the app. This means that not knowing if one “wins” or “loses” gets him/ her to want to see more content. Furthermore, a crucial matter is how different these videos are and the emotions that they might induce. From people happily dancing, breath-taking sceneries, and pets, one could get to see videos that expose dangerous behaviors or that show people exposing their struggles. The app comes as a mirror of our current mental states - disrupted, unfocused, looking for dopamine and it carries around the potential of changing the way video content will be perceived.

the online content consumed and its immediacy, or if there are other factors that play a role here. Being in a lockdown accelerated some feelings, while at the same time it slowed down the pace of taking action. I guess we will find out if we are fully functional when the world opens up again. Until then, have a great swim in that fishbowl!

Most of the lectures are still online, as well as most of the work. We are trying to stay focused for a long time, while children and teenagers are getting accustomed to seeing this type of TikTok-alike content that gets to the point very quickly. If a 16-year-old watches a movie from the 50s, the question “When will something happen?” will surely pop up within the first minutes. What was interesting some decades ago does not interest the modern generation anymore. However, we have to think critically if this is because of

Approaching companies Advice from the Career Committee Would you like to incorporate an internship in your Bachelor’s degree or gather relevant work experience another way? Approaching companies can be scary, especially if you’re being brave and taking a leap towards bigger businesses. In collaboration with our very own Career Committee, here’s some tips to become a wanted candidate!

NETWORKING Use networking possibilities, such as career events or networking events Knowing someone on the inside, or even knowing someone that knows someone on the inside gives you a huge advantage! Even contacts that might not seem directly useful at first might come in handy, sometimes it turns out it’s a small world after all. Add people you have met on LinkedIn and be active on LinkedIn This gives you two advantages: the first is again, networking! Adding someone on LinkedIn gives more of a feeling of connectedness than just haven spoken once. This also gives you an easy way to message any of your carefully networked contacts. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is always up-to-date Your LinkedIn doesn’t only show your past work experience, but also gives an impression of how engaged you are with certain topics and what you value. Next to what is actually on the page, just the degree to which your LinkedIn is up-to-date and orderly already gives away quite a bit about you. Be proactive—are you interested in a company, get in touch This shows your genuine motivation and interest and establishes you as someone who takes initiative. Regularly, a company might not have information on open positions on their website or they might not be hiring. But they might want to make a spot for an indispensable asset such as yourself. Do your research about the company: do their values and goals match with yours? You don’t want to find out after getting hired or at the job interview that you want to go a completely different way as the company wants you to. In order to feel at home in a company, it has to feel like you’re working

towards the same thing together. Be critical, and if you sense a disconnect in values and goals between you and the company, you might want to reconsider.

CONTACT Use your network if you can, since it provides an easier entry Remember all that networking you just did? Here’s where it becomes useful! Ask questions to your contact person about the company and position you are interested in This is an easy way to get information about your potential new job, and the info will above all be more nuanced and true to life than the job application or company website will be able to provide. Remain professional in all communication (email, phone, face-to-face) This might seem obvious, but it’s extremely important. The way you interact with your chosen company already gives away bits of information about you as a person. Especially if you’re doing an open application, the first interactions will determine if you’re worth making time for. Show your motivation always This goes for all the advice above, but don’t focus only on the interview or on polishing your resumé: every interaction with your chosen company gives them information to work with. This is why you should always try your best to come across as a motivated person. Even if you don’t actually feel motivated, you might trick yourself into it! Make sure to keep frequent contact This not only shows your engagement, but also ensures you don’t get drowned out and forgotten. Good luck, and we’re rooting for you! The Career Committee is responsible for many formal activities and assisting with the acquisition. As a member of the Career Committee you organize formal activities such as company visits and a wide range of workshops focused on teaching and developing soft and hard skills. If you have any questions, ideas, comments, or tips for the Career Committee in general, please send an email to career@svflow.nl