Gru and the Minions are back for more insanity, Dave & Busters continues the cultural normalization of gambling, and the rise and fall of BeReal. But first:
“What the sigma?”
To understand the term “what the sigma,” you actually don’t need to know what a “sigma” is. (Here’s a definition, if you’re curious.) As the language of Gen Z and Gen Alpha continues to evolve, words that were first used sarcastically often just become filler words, used for their sound or their comedic or ironic value. The phrase “what the sigma” disconnects the original meaning of the slang term “sigma” and uses it instead to express disbelief or surprise (like a dismissive form of “what the heck” or its more explicit cousins [language]). Still, even if the meaning is simple, to use the phrase correctly requires the speaker to be literate in Gen Alpha culture and internet meme-ry. Good luck!
Three Big Conversations
1. Of Minions and Men
What it is: Despicable Me 4 earned $122 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Why they keep making these movies: Simply put, the Minion money train rolls on. Unlike the Minions release in 2022, which was powered by the viral “Gentleminions” trend of teens showing up to the movies in a suit, Despicable Me 4 does not have any sort of TikTok trend backing its success. However, the Minions, and the movie’s main hero, Gru, have become a touchpoint of nostalgia for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, most of whom first encountered these characters during early childhood. The film is rated PG for some rude humor. Parents should know that content-wise, it’s loud, energetic, and pretty much benign—but it does feature a heavy dose of cartoonish, skin-crawly cockroaches.
Continue the conversation: Why are the Despicable Me movies so popular?
2. Risky Business
What it is: Dave & Buster’s now offers “social wagering,” a way for customers to bet on the outcomes of arcade games like Hot Shot and Skee Ball.
Why it’s part of an ongoing trend: This innovation is the latest example of the blurring lines between gaming and gambling. Writer Christine Emba argues in The Atlantic this week that smartphone use has uniquely primed our society to expect every experience to be gamified and transactional, essentially grooming a generation uniquely vulnerable to gambling addiction. A gambling-studies professor at UCLA told Emba, “There’s this idea that we have to have excessive dopamine with every experience in our life,” noting that a potential dopamine hit lingers in our pockets every second of the day.
Continue the conversation: Why do you think people get addicted to gambling?
3. Nobody Wants to Be Real
What it is: An article in The Free Press documents the rise and fall of the social media app BeReal, examining why it never took off the way it could have.
Why it’s unfortunate: The stated intention of BeReal was to inject social media with a dose of reality. At random times each day the app’s notification would go off, and users would (theoretically) take a picture of whatever they were doing at that moment, showcasing what their actual lives were like in-between the “highlight reels” often posted on other social media platforms. But because this still so easily felt like a competition, many users started waiting to post their BeReal until they were doing something more interesting—which defeated the app’s entire purpose. “BeReal… overestimated users’ interest in reality,” Jonas Du writes. “For a brief moment, we experienced sobriety with BeReal, before falling back into the comfort of endless scrolling on the sparklier apps.”
Let’s go deeper on this one…
The Really Real
BeReal was a creative attempt to help us remember that we are all more than the roles we play on social media platforms. But it turns out that humanity’s appetite for comparison is so great that many users found a way to turn an app designed to reduce comparison into… another occasion for comparison.
But what if it turned out that all of this comparison was based on an illusion?
In his book Works of Love, philosopher Søren Kierkegaard compares humanity to actors on a stage, enchanted by an evil spirit to believe that they really are the characters they play. Onstage, some of us might appear to be more beautiful, some of us might appear to be more talented, and some of us might appear to be more popular—but on a spiritual level, he argues, it’s all an illusion. As Kierkegaard points out, at the foot of the cross, everyone is equal; we are all God’s image-bearers, and sinners in need of redemption.
What’s more, the Apostle Paul argues that who we really are as Christians is not something anyone can see until after the final judgment. “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God,” he writes. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
The implications of this are massive. If, as a Christian, I fail the Earthly popularity contest, it’s not really me who failed. My true self is hidden with Christ. Because of this, to be (really) real ultimately means to “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3:1)
For a full “translation” of everything in this issue, check out our Monday Roundtable podcast. In the meantime, here are three questions to spark conversation with your teens:
- Why do you think BeReal is becoming less popular?
- Why do you think humans are so tempted to compare ourselves with each other?
- What do you think about the idea that everyone is equal at the foot of the cross?
Parenting together,
The Axis Team
PS: This week we (re)posted an interview with Dr. Dan Allender about shame-free parenting. Check it out here!