bits&pieces

Have you ever visited a large-scale music festival like Coachella, Rolling Loud, or Lollapalooza? Multiple stages, huge crowds, tonnes of food, and maybe even a few high-profile celebrities. The experience is certainly a hit or miss with people, but personally there's nothing better than a sunny day, glitter on your face, heeled boots, and a lineup of your favourite artists.  While you stand in long crowds and queues alongside a little frustration, you also experience the moment with fans just like you. You may even make some friends with the same music taste. Besides, there's nothing like bonding when it's 40°C and you're sitting on the floor holding your spot and your purse like it's the most valuable thing you own. Take it all in and always talk to the people around you. Who knows, maybe they'd let you borrow some lip gloss or water later on. Another amazing feature of music festivals is that you become privy to multiple new artists, genres, and songs. Perhap...

    Economists like Alfred Marshall and Adam Smith assume that consumers are rational and think ahead, carefully weighing the benefits and drawbacks of spending and saving. However, in reality, decisions are often emo tional, impulsive, and biased . Some people tend to consider immediate rewards valuable and repudiate the value of future benefits. This results in multiple people choosing to spend their money on goods or services instead of investing it or saving it for the future. This may be because individuals feel satisfaction of money well spent when they receive a tangible item to compare its value to. The risks associated with investments (losing money) or perhaps even saving (lowered interest rates) may outweigh the benefits resulting in consumers being inclined to spend.  Additionally when the perceived value of goods increases, so does the consumers inclination to spend. Promotions like discount offers can make goods seem like a better deal even if thei...

Academic pressure has become an almost invisible companion in students’ lives. From an early age, success is measured by grades, ranks, and exam results, turning learning into a constant race rather than a meaningful process. While a certain level of pressure can motivate students to work harder, excessive academic stress often does more harm than good. Many students feel trapped in a cycle of expectations from parents, teachers, peers, and even themselves. Fear of failure can lead to anxiety, burnout, and a loss of confidence. Instead of encouraging curiosity and creativity, education can begin to feel like a test of endurance. As a result, students may prioritise memorising over understanding and studying for marks rather than for knowledge. Moreover, academic pressure often ignores the fact that every student learns differently. Comparing abilities through a single standard can make capable students feel inadequate and discourage those who do not fit the traditional definition of su...

    Did you know the average person sees or hears about 200 commercials in a week?  In a world where even silence is interrupted by pop ups and promotions, advertisements have become impossible to escape. Everyday, in between our uses of social media, the television or even an old school device like the radio, we hear advertisements and infomercials about numerous new products, gadgets or services. At first glance, they seem harmless. But promotional campaigns can often be deceptive and persuasive. While advertisements are economically necessary, their data driven, manipulative and intrusive nature make it presence unwelcome in our lives. It is important to make decisions while purchasing items that are based on credible sources. The drawbacks of the product should be considered while still giving importance to benefits. It is essential to make use one's own judgement as ads may be tempting us into an undesirable purchase.   

Every new year, people all over the world make detailed resolutions which may tend to be on the optimistic side. While this positive thinking mindset is essential for the start of a new year, the resolutions made can often be unrealistic. This makes them difficult to follow regularly, hence defeating the purpose of the resolutions itself. A better way of making resolutions is to make goals which are SMART i.e.. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. Once you set resolutions on the basis of these parameters, they become easier to start and follow through with. Alongside this, you can also track your progress which acts as a measure of your own potential. So this year while making your resolutions, think simple, impactful and most importantly, real.

    We live in an age where we can chat with people anywhere in the world, but struggle to hold a conversation across the dinner table. However, technology, despite its drawbacks, has fostered global connectivity and improved human relationships. Technology has made communication much easier. This is because online chatting platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage, and video chatting platforms like Skype and Zoom, have made connectivity accessible to all of human society, from urban to rural areas. People are able to reach each other within seconds which not only protects people's safety, but also improves relations between people. For example, a student studying abroad will be able to contact her parents as she pleases, making her less homesick and her parents less anxious.   People argue that technology has made teens of today isolated from their surroundings. They often seem to be addicted to social media and distracted from day to day tasks. However, while this may be t...