From hustle culture to bed rotting: navigating modern life

HAMSTER WHEEL

- KALYAN

MY RADIO is my constant companion during the day and especially when I am driving solo to some event or the other.

I enjoy listening to the easy banter from the presenters, and often wonder how they manage to keep the flow of conversation entertaining and interesting.

Behind the scenes involves a lot of planning and research to ensure that they present a good show. It’s a time consuming and demanding profession.

Anyway, the other day, a radio presenter introduced a topic for discussion on her show which she called “hustle culture”.

Immediately she got my full attention. I had not heard this term before. So I was all ears.

I know of a side hustle which is where people do a side job in addition to their main job. The idea is to make a little cash on the side to make ends meet.

Apparently we all practice hustle culture every day. It refers to the nonstop daily activities from the time we wake up until we lay down to sleep.

Rushing to get to work, to the gym, to do the daily grocery shop, prepare dinner, working tirelessly, quickly and often with high energy.

Most working people are on a hamster wheel for the better part of their day.

Sometimes words are coined in an off-the-cuff manner and then because it makes sense, more people use it and it becomes “word of the year”.

This topic got me thinking about other words which by virtue of its popularity make it to the dictionary.

I always thought that a highly-literate group of people, like lexicographers and language lovers, analyse meanings and intentions of new words; and only after careful consideration, suggest that it be included in dictionaries.

How wrong I am. Nowadays, any new word which is constantly used, makes it into literature by reason of its popularity.