How An Ancient Fear Of Lions Is Inspiring Gen Z’s Latest Social Habits

Ever heard of the Negativity Bias?

Basically, it’s a psychological phenomenon, which means our brains focus on the gloomy more than the good.

Why? Well, probably because our ancestors stayed alive by paying particular attention to threats.

If an otherwise nice walk included meeting a lion, it made sense to dwell on the meeting, tell others about it and — fingers crossed — avoid a similar encounter tomorrow. 

Today, this evolutionary hangover isn’t always helpful, especially in a world where we’re often bombarded with negativity.  

So, how can we counteract the bias? 

Enter “glimmers”. 

First coined by Dr Deb Dana in 2018, glimmers are the micro-moments of happiness that come from everyday things like the sun warming your face, a friendly face on the street, or listening to your favourite song.

And, much like #hopecore videos, Gen Zers are sharing their personal glimmers on TikTok — using joy to balance out life’s lion encounters (figuratively speaking, of course).