24 Comments
User's avatar
Jody's avatar

Everyone wants fast results these days.. I appreciate your explanations and having taught critical care paediatric nursing for many years… I find your talking just right!!!

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Glad you agree!

Paola Fucilieri's avatar

From a crime journalist (very fond of make up!) to a beauty journalist: you a re SOOOO right

annoe's avatar

Agree completely! I felt emotional as well and also ran to substack to write about it haha. Enjoyed your take :)

Colette's avatar

I’ve not seen any TDWP films yet but reading this resonates with everything about life in general IMO. Everyone wants ‘quick fixes’ ‘immediate’. Even messaging on phones rather than phoning someone. The world changed with Covid & AI is continuing that change in everything!

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Very true Colette! Some people actually hate phone calls now!

Rhonda Addington's avatar

So true! My son was a journalism major only 6 years ago and he can’t believe how much content is now AI generated.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

It's actually mind blowing!

Kelli J.'s avatar

I was in the grocery line checkout and saw the new Harper's Bazaar with Anne Hathaway on the cover. It was so beautiful that I bought it. But, it's one offs, very rare occurrence for me now; whereas, in the late 90s or early 2000s, I would buy HB, Vogue, etc. monthly.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Same here! It's very rare now...

Diane Cochran's avatar

I hear your voice in all your writings. You truly are a beauty expert and teacher, both in the written word and the tutorials. Thank you for all you give us.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Thank you Diane!

Gail's avatar

It’s interesting that you mention how AI has changed writing. I recently read an article about how oral communication has changed in the young because they no longer do much face to face communication. I can’t remember where I saw this to retrieve it, but they have difficulty expressing themselves emotionally as we do, and sound more like online texting than speaking from the heart. It’s as if humanity is becoming “roboticized!” Is that even a word? That’s why they perceive our communications as talking too much! They communicate in soundbites—-short canned & measured unemotional communications. It’s like we’re losing our soul.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

I completely agree. It really does feel like we’re losing depth in communication. Everything now is fast, shortened, filtered, and stripped down to quick reactions instead of real conversation. And yes, I think that’s partly why younger generations sometimes see detailed communication as ‘too much’ because they’ve grown up in a world of soundbites and scrolling.

Sherryll Tolhurst's avatar

Absolutely brilliant, Nina, - no one could have described your perception better - a real wake up call. I always loved flipping pages in magazines and reading the great articles but somewhere along the way I have stopped buying them. One of my most favourite things to do was reading magazines while I was at the hairdressers - I have only just realised my hairdresser doesn’t have magazines on hand anymore - other than really old ones - most likely for the reasons you have outlined. I am definitely going to buy my favourite magazine - Marie Claire - today. Thank you.♥️

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Thank you so much. And honestly, I miss that too, sitting and flipping through magazines used to feel like such an experience. Everything now is so fast and disposable. I love that this made you want to go and buy a print mag again!

Ana G.'s avatar

This struck a chord with me. I started my career as a magazine editor, became a social media manager, and now am a copywriter. Thinking in hooks and potential virality of content vs. whether something actually has substance is indeed depressing. Another reason why everyone feels nostalgic for the '90s these days.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

I completely agree. We’ve gone from creating things with depth and personality to constantly thinking about attention spans and algorithms. I think that’s a huge part of why people miss the ‘90s, things felt more real and less optimized!

CB Proctor's avatar

What an EXCELLENT perception Nina! I couldn’t agree more! Most people want a “summary” wrapped up in a tight little package without any depth. It truly makes me sad. Nothing is “personal” anymore; things are summarized without any actual feeling attached.

Nina Ubhi's avatar

Exactly. Everything feels so rushed now and people are losing the value of depth, conversation, and real thought. I think that’s why long-form content and genuine connection still matter so much.

Cecilia Riggs's avatar

This! You put into words what I've been feeling for several years now regarding content. I have old issues of HGTV and Self magazines that I go back and read every now and then. I was trying to find the most recent magazine in the grocery store and it's never there. I can look at it on my Kindle or phone, but it's not the same. I have a 16 year old son and I'm proud that he picks up an actual book once in awhile. The library and smell of books has always been one of my favorite places in the world. It's really hard to get this generation to care about physical content, much less content with actual substance. The schools don't even use actual text books anymore.