We’re finally watching Severance.
We tried when it came out two years ago, mostly because – pound for pound – Apple produces the best TV going right now. But the first episode was so slow, we bailed.
Unable to withstand the deafening buzz, and otherwise in an entertainment desert since football season ended, we decided to give it another shot last weekend. Now, we’re completely hooked. Apple does it again.
If you haven’t seen Severance, the basic premise is that this dude voluntarily puts a chip in his head – “severing” his consciousness – so that when he’s at work, he has no recollection of his personal life. In his personal life, he has no recollection of what he does at work. If it sounds weird, trust me, it’s way weirder. Still, the concept is all sorts of thought-provoking.
Incidentally, I made something of a “New Administration’s Resolution” this year to consciously ingest a balanced diet of right and left news sources. It’s not for gathering information, per se – I go other places for that – but to see how information is being interpreted and communicated from opposing sides.
For every minute I watch or listen to CNN, I do the same with Fox. For every article I read from The Atlantic, I read another from the National Review. You get the idea. It’s not easy, given that half of what I consume is much more aligned with my sensibilities. The other half can be painful.
Bouncing from one end of the tribal media spectrum to the other is like living in separate realities. Everything – from the topics they cover to the numbers they cite to the conclusions they draw – differs, diametrically. There’s no connective tissue. Nothing transcends.
Consequently, our country is in the same severed state.
For the first time in 8 years, the number of Americans who say they read political content daily jumped significantly over the past month – a 22% increase in a matter of weeks. After peaking from late 2016 through late 2020, daily political news consumption has been much lower ever since. It’s climbing again. The common denominator is obvious.
Maybe this current surge of political obsession will quickly fade. Based on what we saw in 2017, however, I seriously doubt it. I’m afraid we’re more likely to fall even deeper into dual alternate universes this time, getting further and further from any sense of shared truth or empathy.
Welcome to the new season of severance.
Here’s what we’re seeing:
People are scared. We’ve largely bottled up our Well-Being Index lately. It’s simply too important to give away for free. But the latest one warrants something of a public service. Americans’ emotional state has reached its lowest point since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, almost exactly three years ago. If it continues on this trajectory for another week or two, we’ll be getting into COVID territory. Driving the freefall are rising fear, worry, and sadness among U.S. adults – particularly U.S. Hispanics. Again, as we saw in 2017, expect this anxiety to impact spending, hitting categories and retailers who over-index among Hispanic consumers especially hard.
Personal financial uneasiness is also contributing to our collective malaise. For old time’s sake, we also published our Consumer Financial Health Index this week. It shows the steepest drop we’ve seen in over three years, though it’s still sitting well above the depths we saw during the worst days of inflation in 2022. The most notable drops in recent weeks came among Americans’ income and savings outlooks. A tightening job market and rising credit card debt (eating into savings) are the most likely culprits behind the recent declines.
The way people pay for things changed over the past year. In our 3 Things to Know this week, we looked at long-term trends in the forms of payment Americans most often use for purchases. While debit cards are still king, a few shifts happened in 2024. Mobile payments surpassed checks for the first time, cash payments climbed slightly, and credit card usage declined – even as overall credit card debt balances rose. We also studied two angles on social media, examining the different reasons people choose social media platforms, cut by the most frequent and most casual users. And we found that in all spending categories, social media has the most influence over consumers’ spending on personal electronics.
More Americans are loading up on prescription drugs. The number of U.S. adults who report taking 4 or more prescription meds on a daily basis increased by nearly 20% between 2023 and today. At the same time, drug prices and other economic headwinds are making it difficult for patients to stick with their regimens. Over 1 in 4 Americans with prescribed medications say they’ve had to forego taking them due to cost – an issue that’s particularly prevalent among younger adults. Notably, per below, the most frequent prescription-takers seem to be going in the wrong direction when it comes to the healthiness of their other choices.
In case you haven’t heard, egg prices are high. While the issue has become quite a political hot-button over the past month, we’re now starting to see its real impact on consumer behavior. Over a third of U.S. adults say they’re buying fewer eggs as the result of the avian flu-borne price hikes and shortages. Few people are shifting to alternative products or egg substitutes, while the majority of Americans are buying as usual, simply taking the higher price tag on the chin. Those who are cutting back the most on egg-buying are most likely to do their grocery shopping at Sam’s Club and Walmart. Regional grocery chains aren’t getting hit as hard.
More awesomeness from the InsightStore:
- As well-being declines, practicing self-care continues to grow in filling the void;
- Prebiotic sodas are all the rage – here’s who’s drinking them.
The most popular questions this week:
What’s your favorite laptop brand?
Do you believe time travel is possible?
What do you think is key to a lasting marriage?
Answer Key: Mac, all day; Who the hell isn’t?; Lots; Probably; Having someone review this email every week before publishing it.
Hoping you’re well.
JD
