Sounds of silence

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today: Have we forgotten about the American Dream; What’s spaving and how you can avoid it; Personality traits may have an indirect influence on longevity; and the landline makes a big comeback…☎️

Let’s get into it!

Increased longevity remains an elusive but highly sought after goal for many, though the irony is those who tend to reach the centenarian milestone often aren’t what you might think of as the stereotype.

A study published in the International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology looked beyond the typical indicators when assessing the likelihood of greater longevity.

While many say Blue Zone residents have a higher chance of living to 100 because of diet, exercise, and socializing, the new study looked into personality traits as underlying factors.

A team led by psychologist Maria Chiara Fastame of the University of Cagliari in Italy tracked 125 adults living in or around Sardinia, Italy—55 inside the Blue Zone, and 70 just outside of it.

Looking into the Big Five personality traits of each (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), the researchers found those with high openness and conscientiousness were more likely to practise lifestyles that support longevity.

In other words, those in Blue Zones don’t live longer as a direct result of their personality types; rather, there seems to be a concentration of advantageous personality traits among those living in Blue Zones. These folks are more likely to be resilient, optimistic, adaptive, and curious, which in turn, supports a long and healthy life.

Nostalgia may have played a role in the resurgence of vinyl records, but it’s worth noting music lovers who weren’t alive when vinyl was at its peak popularity have also grown fond of it—not to mention cassette tapes, CDs, and even DVDs.

People of all age groups are growing more fond of “physical ownership” of things. Part of that allure is the simplicity of earlier tech and the ability to be in control of it. That may explain the small but growing trend of consumers reinstalling landlines in their homes.

According to to Richard Lachman, a digital media professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s RTA School of Media and author of Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI, that’s exactly what’s behind the landline renaissance.

“There are features of things that we gave up in the name of progress that ended up not being how we want to live our life just because it felt like it was the latest technology,” he said. Lachman added “it only does one thing. It’s a single purpose device…you aren’t doing 5 different things at the same time.”

“It’s a gateway to think about what you want for your kids too, what you want for yourself, which is control of how you spend your time, with intentionality,” he said.

Over the last year, various platforms and organizations within the music industry have announced plans to make the use of artificial intelligence in song more transparent.

The other day, major groups jointly announced that a global labeling system is coming that will specify the extent to which AI was used in any song that’s available digitally.

The groups—including the Recording Industry Association of America, The Grammys, SAG-AFTRA and the Human Artistry Campaign—said the system will be voluntary, and will evolve as the technology and its prevalence grow as well.

The “AI generated” label will be used when a major aspect of the song was generated with AI, such as the drum line, the singer’s voice, the lyrics, or the guitar line, etc. It will of course be used when the entirety of the song was made through prompting an AI engine.

The “AI assisted” label will be used when the song was written and recorded by a human or humans, but with certain accompanying sections “assisted” by the use of AI, such as fine-tuning the singer’s voice, or for “additional expressive elements.”

“This initiative ensures that creativity, authorship, and artistic intent remain at the center of every song,” said Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. “Giving artists the ability to tell that story strengthens trust and supports a more sustainable future for music."

‘84 galore

When it comes to pop culture, it doesn’t get much better than 1984. We’ll be quizzing you on major headlines, and what was at the top of the box office and charts from this week in ’84, with today’s trivia! 😎