How old were you when you made your first solo shopping trip?  If you’re a Boomer, Gen X, or Gen Z, your answer might be 8, 12, or even 18.  Japanese youth apparently run errands much earlier—as in age two—to the amazement of many Americans who are now streaming the cultural curiosity.  Whether toddlers should be by themselves on road-trips is a worthy question, as is why people a half-world away are watching a decade-old television show.

I still don’t get it. College professors are supposed to be insightful, but I’m baffled by reactions to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap.

What worried you as a child? Maybe it was not having friends at your lunch table or embarrassing yourself in PE class?  For kids, those are real concerns.  Of course, they pale in comparison to adult anxieties, like deciding who to marry or how to make the next mortgage payment.

A guy chows down on kitty litter, a celebrity bedazzles a convict’s ankle monitor with diamond studs, a groom marries a demon ghost bride.  These aren’t outtakes from B movies; they’re scenes from the year’s most highly anticipated commercial content—Super Bowl ads.

A name change is seldom a small thing.  It’s especially significant when one of the world’s most valuable companies decides to rebrand.  Facebook’s move to “Meta” offers an important signal about the firm’s future focus, which promises to impact billions of people who regularly sign onto its social media platforms.  The idea of a ‘metaverse’ sounds exciting, but will it really be a better place?

In one of my favorite commercials, Liberty Mutual spotlighted acts of kindness that inspired others topay the good deeds forward.  Most people want a kinder, gentler world, but in a society awash in antagonism, how many of us think seriously about whether our daily actions encourage peace?

Remember the excitement of your first time wearing a new jacket or pair of shoes?  Did you wonder how the original owner felt when they wore them?  You probably didn’t unless you’ve been part of one of the hottest consumer trends--thrifting.  For a variety of reasons, it’s now fashionable, especially among Generation Z, to shop secondhand, but this Gen X marketing professor wonders if it’s smart for the apparel industry to embrace a fad that may dissuade people from purchasing its new products.