phenomenon

Generation Z is uploading videos of their work routines to TikTok and Instagram, and it is already a phenomenon

by

If we have learned anything from social networks, it is that everything can be contained, including boring office work. After all there are people hooked on toilet cleaning videosso it’s not that strange. Worktok. It’s how these creators, most of them very young, tag the content they publish about their work. Browsing the hashtag we found mostly humorous gags about work life, but digging a little deeper we found all kinds of videos. There are those who tell their routine, those who use it as a space to vent to complain about their bosses and even those who broadcast his dismissal live. There is a subcategory within this trend and it is the ‘Quittok’, that is, young people who tell why they want to resign from their jobs. Some they even record themselves doing it. Viral. It is not an anecdotal phenomenon, the hashtag #worktok It has already accumulated almost 300,000 publications and the total views amount to 1.8 billion. What has led so many people to share details about their work life? The label began to become popular in 2020 during the pandemic. At a time when teleworking was imposed throughout the world, many people began to share their daily lives on TikTok and that also included work. Why is it important. In statements to the BBCAccording to Sara McCorquodale, head of an influencer firm in the United Kingdom, the fact that it has been maintained over time responds to a need to create a community and seek validation online. It’s like looking for that “coffee machine moment” that for many young people does not exist either because they work remotely or because they do not have that connection with their office colleagues. A space of identity. According to McCorquodale, sharing with the world the day-to-day life of work – with its achievements and its dramas – is also a way of reaffirming one’s identity and taking control of the narrative. It is a way of saying that my work life belongs to me and I am going to narrate it as I want, not as the company dictates. It is also a symptom of a broader trend, that of a generation that prioritizes their mental health and well-being over promotions or working hard. They are the opposite of workaholics. Yes, but. Sharing certain company details or recording videos during working hours can cause problems. It’s what It happened to a paint store worker who started recording videos of how he mixed different colors of paint. The company saw the videos and fired him for recording during work hours and using store materials. Primark also fired an employee in the United Kingdom for having recorded TikToks. It doesn’t seem like ‘worktok’ is going to disappear, so both companies and employees will have to adapt and navigate without crossing boundaries. In Xataka | A generation totally disconnected from their work: 80% of “genzers” want to change jobs Image | Vitaly Gariev in Unsplash

Cats always land on their feet. And science has been trying to understand an inexplicable phenomenon for centuries.

by

Cats are fascinating animals, also for science that, for centuries, has tried to answer the question: How do they always manage to land on their feet? Although studies have been done trying to solve itit is not known with certainty how they achieve it. A recent experiment by Japanese researchers has shed some light on this feline mystery. In a recent study published in The Anatomical Recordthe researchers took a different approach than had been followed until now. The experiment consisted of two parts, on the one hand to thoroughly analyze the flexibility of the cat’s spine and on the other to observe several cats performing this correction in the air. For the first part, they performed mechanical tests on the spinal columns of five cat corpses. In this way they measured the maximum resistance and range of motion of the spine before breaking. What they discovered was that the cats’ spine is very flexible in the upper area, where the thoracic vertebrae are, turning 360 degrees. The lumbar part is more rigid and robust. For the second part, they recorded two live cats being released at a distance of 90cm from the ground. The recordings were analyzed frame by frame and compared with the data obtained from their observations. The difference in spinal flexibility fits with what was observed in the videos: the cat turns its front paws first (your most flexible area), so first look at the ground and then adjust the rest of your body (the least flexible area). The experiment also observed an interesting detail and that is that in most tests the cats turned to the right. Specifically, the first cat turned this way every time, while the second turned to the right six of the eight times it was dropped. In case anyone is worried, the bodies were donated and to record the falls they put a cushion underneath so they wouldn’t get hurt. The falling cat problem It is a problem that arose in 1894, when French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey showed in a video that cats were able to right themselves in the air without external help. Since then there have been different hypotheses that have tried to explain the exact mechanics of this stunt. Falling cat, by Étienne-Jules Marey, 1984. Source: Wikipedia There are two main models to explain this spin in the air. The first is “tuck and turn” which proposes that cats rotate the upper and lower halves of their body executing movements at the same time and in opposite directions. The second is “legs in, legs out.” This model states that cats adjust their fall trajectory by first stretching their hind legs and then collecting them again, making a successive turn with the front and then with the back part of the trunk, so that They adopt the correct position while still in free fall. Another less supported hypothesis is the “tail-propeller” hypothesis, according to which the animal can reverse the direction of rotation of its body by moving its tail in the opposite direction, as if it worked as a propeller. However, tailless cats can also do this movement, so although it may help, it is not essential. The new study supports the “legs in, legs out” model hypothesis, but the researchers caution that the problem still cannot be considered solved and more research will be needed. The plan is to build mathematical and three-dimensional models with more data. In statements to New York TimesGreg Gbur, physicist who is an expert in falling cats (oh really), states that science has tried to simplify into “a single correct way that cats land on their feet, but nature is not concerned with simplicity.” In Xataka | Walking cats on a leash is fashionable. We have asked an expert in feline behavior and she is clear about what she thinks. Main image | Gemini, own edition

China has turned OpenClaw into a viral phenomenon. And then it has prohibited its officials from using it

by

The appearance of the AI ​​agent OpenClaw has meant that we are living in a kind of second “DeepSeek moment“They know it well in China, where its use has exploded in such a way that the Government has had to act. And it has probably done well. An absolutely viral AI. The OpenClaw project has caused a real earthquake in China. In cities like Shenzhen there are queues to physically install it and people paying for others to install it remotely or in person. The AI ​​agent is breaking all popularity records for programming projects, and for example has already surpassed two legends such as React or Linux in terms of stars awarded on GitHub, a measure of the popularity of open source projects. In just three months, OpenClaw has managed to surpass the legendary leaders of this ranking in GitHub stars: react and linux. Source: Star-History.com Solution to Chinese fragmentation. The secret of this success in the Asian giant is not based only on the curiosity of users, but also on the fact that OpenClaw provides a striking solution to an endemic problem in the country: the fragmentation of business software. With an average of 150 independent IT systems per company and 60% of them without APIs or documentation, AI integration seemed to be an insurmountable wall. OpenClaw solves the problem because you can take control of the machine, “see” buttons and text boxes, click and type in browsers, and operate as if you were a human. Tokens everywhere. That ability has turned this project into an absolute “token hole.” Unlike a conventional chatbot like ChatGPT, OpenClaw works continuously and autonomously, and it is not uncommon to see an advanced user consume 50 million tokens daily. The impact has been massive: at the end of February, Chinese models such as Kimi 2.5 or DeepSeek were already devouring 61% of the global OpenRouter tokens, a platform that allows you to easily use APIs from dozens of AI models. The fever has been such that Kimi has generated in 20 days more income than all expected by its creator, Moonshot IA, by 2025. Alarm. The problem is precisely that: when software has the ability to “see” everything that happens on a screen and execute commands by itself, the security risks are enormous. This has made the Beijing government go from enthusiasm—cities like Shenzhen offer million-dollar subsidies for their development—to a policy that is now totally restrictive. Government agencies, state-owned companies and large national banks have received urgent notices prohibiting the installation of OpenClaw in office devices and even in mobile phones that are used in this type of segments. Be careful with your data. Practically since it went viral, many have warned of the cybersecurity risks involved in using OpenClaw. An initial audit of the skills available on ClawdHub detected hundreds of them as malicious. That was the germ of the OpenClaw alliance with the Spanish cybersecurity firm VirusTotalpart of Google. The risk with this project is threefold: You have access to private data Can communicate with the outside You are exposed to untrustworthy content and attacks from prompt injection One of lime and one of sand. For large Chinese technology companies, the government’s measures are bittersweet. On the one hand, they have rushed to offer one-click OpenClaw deployments in their clouds for interested users. On the other hand, state restriction has meant that some of the AI ​​startups such as Zhipu (Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd.) or MiniMax Group have quickly fallen on the stock market for the news. China and control. There is another key element in that political movement: the loss of control. The Beijing government has already fought a battle in the past to curb the power of giants like Alibaba, and that caused the “Asian Jeff Bezos”, Jack Ma, came out very badly. An autonomous AI agent that operates outside of that government control represents a challenge to the mechanisms that China has been perfecting, especially with its Great Firewall. An uncertain future. These new restrictions pose a complex future for the project in China. The Asian giant has embraced AI more than anyone else, but the security risks in this case are so clear that limits had to be set before things got out of control. Even so, the project is Open Source, which will make it difficult for its deployment to be halted by end users and enthusiasts, no matter how much the Chinese Government wants it. Image | OpenClaw | Paul Kagame In Xataka | Every time Facebook had a competitor, it bought it: it is exactly the same thing that OpenAI is doing

With the “late” eating into the Christmas holidays, a new phenomenon gains weight in Spain: the Australian New Year’s Eve

by

The year changes with the twelve bells midnight on December 31st. That has no discussion. What is questionable is that the New Year has to be celebrated at night. If you are more of a daytime person than a night person, if you don’t want to go to bed in the wee hours of the morning, hungover and resigned to spending the first morning of 2026 tossing and turning in bed… Why not bring the party forward a few hours? What if instead of gathering our family and friends for dinner we meet at noon? What if we ring in 2026 (or any other New Year) when they do it in Sydney, where the 12 bells ring when we are having lunch? What has happened? Bells, grapes, firecrackers, the first advertisement of the year, the trappings of the star presenter on duty, whether the layer of Ramonchu either the dress of the Pedroche… In Spain, New Year’s Eve has its traditions (apparently immutable), but that does not mean that more and more people choose to rethink how and especially when they celebrate the change of year. In fact, for a long time there has been a way to celebrate it that has gained followers: “Australian New Year’s Eve”. And what does it mean? It sounds exotic, but it’s actually very simple. The “Australian New Year’s Eve” consists of nothing more nor less than bringing forward the celebration of the New Year by a few hours. There is a 10-hour lag between Madrid and Sydney, which means that while in mainland Spain we sit at the table to eat in the most populated city in Oceania, there are in full transition of year. It is a simple geographical curiosity, but there are those who have seen in it a perfect hook to rethink when we celebrate the New Year in this corner of the planet. Instead of doing it at midnight, after an extensive dinner, they join the “Australian New Year’s Eve” and uncork the cava when the residents of Sydney or other regions of Australia, where they govern, do so. multiple time zones. One celebration does not have to exclude the other (a Spaniard can celebrate the New Year at 2:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.), but it does help to shift the focus away from the night. It is similar to the “pre-grapes” that have been celebrated for years, but in a somewhat different way: with food, parties and using Australian time as a pretext. But… Is it successful? Yes. At least in certain regions of Spain, where the concept of “Australian New Year’s Eve” seems to have caught on. A quick search shows chronicles about early celebrations in Teruel, Castellon, Valencia, The Palm…but if there is a place where the ‘Australian-style’ party has found fertile ground, it is Alicante. It has been organized there for a long time a few years and has expanded to several municipalities. The celebration has become so profound, in fact, that it moves so many people in restaurants and at night parties. So many people? The newspaper recently Information asked that same question to hoteliers and found a surprising response. According to the president of the Alicante Restaurant Association (ARA) reservations for lunch and dinner on December 31 are already practically equal in number, which shows that more and more people are bringing forward the celebration of the New Year. What’s more, part of the nighttime demand appears to be shifting to midday, when customers find more diversity in exchange for cheaper rates. “In the evening pack, the normal thing is set menus, which are somewhat more expensive,” says the hotelier. Prices are around 100 or 110 euros, practically double that of lunch, which is also usually served without a set menu and includes a drink. At first glance it may seem that restaurants are losing, but the reality is that if the daily clientele and the dinner clientele are added, businesses gain demand. Furthermore, New Year’s Eve menus may be more expensive, but they also entail more expenses for the establishments, which reduces their final profitability. From another association of hoteliers in the province of Alicante, Apeha, confirm There are starting to be more reservations at midday than at night. Is it just business? No. The phenomenon is not only seen in bars and restaurants. Daytime celebrations, including symbolic grapes, music and “chimes” are also celebrated with institutional support of the town councils. In Senija they present them for example as “Bells in the Sun” and in Crevillent the City Council advertises both the “Australian Chimes” as the “New Year’s Eve Party”. They are not unique or isolated cases. In Alicante you can find other towns that have taken their festivals beyond nighttime hours. Why this success? The big question. Costs aside, Apeha provides a key piece of information: the regular customer who books a restaurant on the 31st at noon is usually, clarifypeople of a certain age or with small children. “It’s not so much young people who go to clubs as people who prefer to go out at noon to get home at a productive time.” The truth is that the “Australian New Year’s Eve” is not an isolated phenomenon. It coincides with two others that are going in the same direction. The first is the afternoon boom. As the supply (and demand) of leisure diversifies and is no longer monopolized at night, more and more people choose to visit bars and clubs earlier. Instead of going out at night he does it in the afternoon, which is felt at Christmas itself. “Australian New Year’s Eve” may be expanding, but so is the “Good Afternoon” and “New Year’s Afternoon”advanced versions of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. More partying, less cooking. The other trend has to do with how we organize our Christmases and our habits in the kitchen. We start enjoying before December 24 or 31 because we are less willing to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare … Read more

stand up to Google’s Nano Banana Pro phenomenon

by

You may remember when, a few months ago, half the internet started creating Studio Ghibli-style images with ChatGPT to upload them to social networks. The “magic” behind that fever was OpenAI’s new image generation model. But everything moves so fast that the conversation lasted just long enough. Some time later, our attention was already elsewhere: on how difficult it was to distinguish some images created with Nano Banana Pro. In a very short time, half the world began to talk about the benefits of Google’s new generative model, and there were many who placed it ahead of that of OpenAI. But this is an open race, with technology giants fighting for AI leadership. And, as expected, the company led by Sam Altman has responded. This Tuesday it launched ChatGPT Images, which comes boasting several improvements for users. Editing as a key element. One of the great historical challenges of image generation tools has been the specific editing of specific elements. ChatGPT Images directly aims to solve this limitation, allowing us to modify only what interests us, from a specific object to lighting, composition or even the appearance of people. This opens the door to combining elements or introducing very specific changes without having to remake the entire image, something that until now used to be a weak point in this type of model. See yourself in an ad or “travel” to your favorite place. Another section where ChatGPT Images makes a leap is in creative transformations. Simply upload your own photo and accompany it with a simple prompt to obtain, in a matter of seconds, surprisingly convincing results. It is worth clarifying that this idea is not completely new. In fact, it is one of the most outstanding virtues of Nano Banana Pro, a model that our colleague Javier Lacort was able to test thoroughly and was already pointing in this direction. Let’s look at some examples with ChatGPT Images. Original image: “Create an image of this man, but in Time Square, New York, with clothes, looks, surroundings, etc., that are believable for winter 2025” “It places this person in full body in a Japanese city during a rainy night, with neon, reflections on the ground and cyberpunk aesthetics” Precision as a flag and improvements in the text. OpenAI also places emphasis on improving accuracy. How many of us have had to ask for something specific and receive just the opposite, or find that the model has not understood the instruction correctly? Part of that problem, according to the company, should be left behind. If we provide detailed instructions, the system should be able to honor them more faithfully. In addition, the generation of text within images is reinforced, a key aspect for creating posters, promotional ads and other content where typography and the message are as important as the image itself. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | We believed that Microsoft had already put Copilot everywhere. LG shows us that we were very wrong

Mercadona has grown so much in Spain that for the US it is no longer just a supermarket chain: it is a “cultural phenomenon”

by

The US Government has noticed a growing “cultural phenomenon” in Spain, one especially interesting for its exporting companies and which comes accompanied by millionaire turnover figures. What phenomenon is that? Mercadona. Literally. In your report Retail Foods Annualthe US Department of Agriculture dedicates special attention to Juan Roig’s company and slips that its weight in the retail It already transcends the limits of the retail sector. He even theorizes about the formula for his success. Under the spotlight of Donald Trump. It is not strange that Mercadona makes headlines. After all, it has become a crucial piece of the retail Spanish. Your market share in the sector around 30% (in some regions already exceeds that percentage), far above other competitors such as Carrefour, IFA or Lidl, and has been expanding for the country. What is much less common is for the Valencian retail chain to make headlines because it has caught the attention of US officials, which is exactly what has just happened. Table extracted from the report of the US Department of Agriculture. Attention, USA exporters. Mercadona is cited at least seven times in a report 10 pages published a few days ago by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a document designed primarily for exporters from the country interested in the Spanish market. In it, the Washington technicians review the billing figures of Juan Roig’s firm, highlight its high weight in the sector (well above competitors such as Carrefour, Lidl, DIA or Eroski) and reflect on the keys to its commercial success. To be more precise, USDA recalls that last year Mercadona recorded sales worth an estimated $34.5 billion. The figure does not exactly match the disclosed by the company, but it is more than double that of Grupo Carrefour (12,000) and well above other well-established chains in the country, such as Lidl (7,500), DIA (6,150), Eroski (5,800) or Alcampo (5,500). “Mercadona occupies first place in the food retail sector in Spain, with sales almost three times higher than those of its second closest competitor,” check the reportwhich theorizes about the bet that has given the chain a market share of almost 30%. The formula for success. USDA highlights two features of the Valencian company. First, its Spanish food offering. Second, its strategic commitment to retail brands, especially Hacendado. “Private labels are very popular in Spain, driven by consumer attention to prices and quality. According to a study by the Aldi chain, Spanish households allocate 44% of their purchasing budget to private label products,” collect the reportwhich goes so far as to refer to the company as a “cultural phenomenon.” Is it something new? No. Washington is not the first to focus on the Valencian chain’s commitment to its own brands. A report from Kandar presented in 2024 by Promarca already pointed out the clear increase in distributor brands in Spanish supermarkets, a general trend that was accentuated in the case of Mercadona. Its external brand offering was cut by 45% between 2018 and 2023, while the value share of white label products reached 74.5%. Other sector reports have highlighted the same idea in recent months: Mercadona’s growing commitment to its brands. Added to this strategy are others deployed by the firm, such as the interest for foods already cooked and ready to eat. Roig himself has recognized openly that he is convinced that mid century Kitchens will disappear from Spanish homes, so people will eat prepared dishes. It is so sure of this that Mercadona has been betting on its section for years. “Ready to eat”. X-raying the sector. Beyond Mercadona, the report from USDA reveals some reflections on the food distribution sector in Spain. Its technicians are struck by, for example, the pace of opening of new stores (244 only between January and April of this year), the promotion of self-service stores and regional super chains (key piece of the national sector) or “the growing popularity” of healthy and convenience products. “Consumers are combining physical and online channels, favoring digital platforms for larger purchases and in-person purchases of fresh products. Retail strategies focus on efficiency, AI technologies, personalization and healthy products,” he comments. the USDA studywhich draws attention to the high “fragmentation” of retail trade and the concentration of the food sector, with Mercadona leading the way. Images | Mercadona, Gage Skidmore (Flickr) and USDA In Xataka | The shadow companies that are making gold with Mercadona: the silent success of Familia Martínez or Profand

With half of Europe debating recovering the military, in Spain there is a phenomenon that is gaining strength: military camps for young people

by

Moncloa has said it clearly: (at least today) there is no question of following in the footsteps of other neighboring nations, like germanyand recover military service. Not even on a voluntary basis. That does not mean that in Spain there is a type of initiative that is gaining strength: youth camps that emulate (in part) the old ‘military’ and promise a cocktail based on military discipline, sport, nature and survival lessons worthy of the preppers. And that tells us a lot about Spanish society. A percentage: 42% a few months ago a YouGov study generated debate with a percentage: 42%. According to their calculations, that is the proportion of Spaniards who welcome young people having to undergo compulsory military service, the old ‘mili’a benefit that disappeared in our country almost 24 years ago. The percentage is lower that of other neighboring nations, such as France (68%), Germany (58%) or Italy (49%) and also reveals that there are 58% of Spaniards who either oppose the return of the ‘military’ or do not have a firm opinion on the matter; but it yields another reading that is equally unquestionable: there is a considerable number of Spaniards (especially among the conservative party voters and older citizens) who are recognized in favor of compulsory military training. Don’t say military, say camp. Today the Government he doesn’t seem very willing to recover the military (Pedro Sánchez came to admit which for him was “a waste of time”), but that does not mean that there are initiatives and businesses that are prospering in the heat of this renewed military push. I confirmed it a few days ago The Confidential in a report in which he puts the thermometer to the interest that camps with military echoes are awakening in our country. There are two pieces of information that corroborate this. According to the newspaperright now these courses mobilize more than 2,000 young people each summer and account for around 5% of the turnover of the summer camp sector, a wide range that includes urban camps and those oriented to languages ​​and sciences. It may not seem like much, but a decade ago they barely existed. “Detect weak points”. A quick Google search is enough to find military camps in Madrid, Castile-La Mancha wave Valencian Community. Its activities focus on summer, they give a key role to young people and, although there may be differences Among them, they share a series of ingredients: uniforms, nature, sport, a discourse very focused on discipline and training in basic notions aimed at survival, which includes everything from lessons to orient yourself with the help of a compass to how to stop bleeding. In some the equation even adds weapons airsoft. “Our camp is military, not military. We are not the entrance hall to the army nor do we prepare young people to enter any other body such as the National Police or the Civil Guard,” explains José Gómeza 54-year-old former military man who has promoted a summer camp in Sigüenza aimed at young people. “It seeks to detect each person’s weak points and help them improve.” The bet doesn’t go badly at all. It started four years ago with just 14 children and in the last edition it exceeded 200. “In a week the kids leave here hardened.” “15 days do not change life”. The camps stand out for their discipline and “values ​​such as loyalty, sacrifice and teamwork”, such as stands out the person responsible for one of these facilities. Not everyone shares his optimism, however. In 2024 elDiario.es echoed from the opinion of some experts who questioned its effectiveness for parents seeking to instill discipline in their children. “You shouldn’t think that taking (a child) to a camp that works at the drop of a hat is going to give him back changed. 15 days doesn’t change anyone’s life,” reflected Mónica Nadal, from the Bofill Foundation. The Youth Institute (Injuve) also has shown his suspicion before this type of camps. Does it only happen in Spain? No. In fact there are other countries in which military camps for youth have been established for some time, such as USA, Russia either China. Again the details may vary, but there are certain elements in common, such as discipline, paramilitary echoes and patriotic discourse. The phenomenon is not foreign to Europe either and goes beyond young people. In the midst of the debate on the increase of defense spendingwith the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, an emboldened Putin and Trump sowing doubts about the future of the US in NATO, in the EU there are countries that have reopened the debate about the military or they have directly begun to recover it. One of the last has been Germany, which has reinforced its Armed Forces with a voluntary military service. The example of Denmark. Denmark leaves another interesting example. There the National Guard (Hjemmeværnet or HJV) is experiencing a real boom, with recruitment data that has not been seen since the 80s, in the middle of the Cold War. During the first trimester something more than 1,700 Danes They filled out and confirmed the form to register in this body made up of volunteers trained to intervene in an emergency and provide support to the country’s army. As a reference, during the first quarter of 2024, just over 1,000 had registered and in 2023 the figure did not even reach 700. The members of the HJV are volunteers, people who in their daily lives work in offices, stores, factories, schools… but receive training to, for example, collaborate during surveillance work, searches or in weather emergencies. With the focus on Gen Z. The phenomenon does not only coincide with a turbulent geopolitical scenario. As pointed out recently Elisabeth Braw in a column of Financial Timesalso connects with some obsessions of the youngest cohort, precisely the one that is now reaching recruitment age. “An epidemic of loneliness and Generation Z’s obsession with physical exercise could help Western countries strengthen civil defense,” … Read more

The chaos of streaming is causing a phenomenon that we thought was in recession: downloads are increasing

by

The market fragmentationhe price increase of subscriptions and a user experience increasingly less friendly are the main factors pointing to an uptick in unauthorized downloads. Since Netflix began raising rates and banning shared accounts, customers have raised the threat of a return to downloading. Now, for the first time in years, the numbers seem to back them up. Temporary drop. The emergence of services streaming like Netflix devoured unauthorized downloads. With the promise of a wide and accessible catalog for a fixed rate, the platforms significantly reduced the consumption of movies and series outside of conventional channels. However, the utopia of that completely legal market subject to companies has faded. Recent reports show an uptick in access to this type of content, reversing the trend of the previous decade. The data. According to the Observatory of Piracy and Consumer Habits of Digital Content of 2024, digital piracy in Spain increased by 9% last year, reaching a record figure of 42,782 million euros in value of content defrauded through 7,330 million illegal accesses. In addition, the study indicates that for the first time access to platforms has been recorded through apps, social networks and decoders, growing the aggregate figure even more (an additional 14% compared to the previous year).​ Because? As we pointed out, this rebound is due to a series of circumstances that have changed the outlook for the streaming: Streaming is no longer convenient. Although perhaps the main reason for the public’s disenchantment with the streaming is that the supply is increasingly dispersed– To access all relevant content, the user must subscribe to multiple services. The exclusivity strategy that studios use to attract and retain subscribers has broken that ideal convenience of accessing content legally thanks to the streaming. To watch a series with multiple seasons, the user may need to subscribe to different platforms or wait months for the service to change. This dynamic clashes head-on with the immediacy that consumers expect from digital content. All of this is made worse by the licensing war: each studio wants its own titles on its platform exclusively, and leads to the need to subscribe to very specific platforms to access such popular franchises as Marvel, Star Wars or Stranger Things, for example. Technically poorer service. In addition to price and fragmentation, the service offered by some platforms has also worsened, further eroding user loyalty. Many services They have reduced the bitrate in their transmissions to save costs, leading to worse image quality. This loss of quality is often a trigger for users to search for an illegal version that offers a better viewing experience, which makes no theoretical sense: an unauthorized copy of a film often looks and sounds much better than the one available online. streaming. lUnauthorized downloads have evolved. But in addition, traditional downloads by torrent consumption on websites is now added streaming built outside of unofficial platforms, unauthorized IPTV services and the distribution of content through social networks like Telegram and WhatsApp. 96% of movie and series consumption in 2023 was done through streaming Unauthorized: you no longer have to download anything, which reduces the risks. It is a very tempting panorama. Gabe already said it. Specifically in 2011, Gabe Newell said that “Piracy is not a price problem, it is a service problem“. Faced with a legal market that is expensive, fragmented and inconvenient, users see unauthorized downloads as a kind of alternative “service” that offers all the content with better quality and for free. It can be said that it is a problem that the industry itself has partly created. In Xataka | Spaniards “torrenteros” around the world: when you go to live in Germany and discover that you can’t download anything

The strangest phenomenon of every summer is also an industry of 500 million euros: the “Mermaiding”

by

The fever for ‘La Sernita’ that you lived in your childhood is nothing compared to the movement known as Mermaiding: a swimming style inspired by sirens and tritones and that is already trend, and it could almost be said that Lifestyle. Conventions, courses, exhibitions … There are people who live very happy without the lower extremities to replace them with a fish tail, even temporarily. And they have very convincing reasons. To move the tail. He Mermaiding It consists of swimming using a siren or triton tail, usually manufactured in silicone or synthetic fibers (and that can cost $ 5,000 in the most sophisticated cases), simulating the undulating movements characteristic of these creatures. It can be done in swimming pools or open waters, and its practice combines Swimming, apnea and some synchronized. In the last decade, the Mermaiding It has become In official sports Since 2019 in countries such as China and the United States, but we talk about it every summer for its quirky visual characteristics, which obviously include a fish tail. Mermaiding: A typology. There is Many variants and forms of practicing diminishing. Perhaps the most popular is the one oriented to the entertainment of profane in Sirenism. It provides the possibility of swimming experience with a siren or triton tail, and there are academies that are responsible for organizing Events to learn to do it. On the other side of the spectrum is the Mermaiding Deportivo: To officially practice it, specific courses are required with certifications such as SSI Mermaid either Padi Mermaidin which techniques such as the kick of dolphin, undulation and aquatic coordination are perfected. In a middle ground between them there is a variant of Mermaiding For shows, aquatic and thematic parks, hotels, as well as participations in spots, video clips and varied performances. It’s a use of Mermaiding More artistic and not oriented to competition. Mermaiding No: Sirenism. In Spain, mass conventions of sirens such as the Mermagic with that takes place every year in the United States, but for example, the Sirenas Mediterranean Academy It has been standing since 2014, giving courses and organizing private parties with sirens included. And there are organizations like Sirénida, a Professional Sirens and Triton Catalog Contractable for shows of all kinds. At the moment it is becoming, cursillo and of Cuqui Experiencein a more leisure option. Professional sirens. The Netflix documentary of 2023 ‘Sirena people’ details what the day -to -day life of these Sirenism professionals is. Because yes, it is not a handful of eccentric with silicone tail: in the United States it is a business with abundant ramifications in the entertainment world, with interventions in aquariums, musicals underwater and a long etcetera. The documentary shows parts of the job of mermaid as little glamorous as castings to work as a siren in a show, and you can see that it is completely legalized and normalized. According to the program, the Sireno world already moves 500 million dollars in the United States. Not so secret origins. From professional mermaid associations They certify that they have experienced an explosion of interest and an increase in applications in recent times, which link to the premiere of the Netflix documentary series. In it you can see those who were sirens in the park of Sirens Weeki Wachee, a theme park created by a royal sailor, Newton Perry, in 1947. In it there was a tiny scenario and a spring where the sirens made a show: the venerable precedents of the current sirens in aquariums and thematic shows. Illustrious predecessors for a business that comes out again. Header | Photo of Michael Hystead in Unspash In Xataka | 24 board games and agile and fun hobbies to play in summer anywhere

Surely you don’t know who Sofia Surfers, Fabiana, Álvaro Suárez and Pablo Vera are. But they are the viral summer phenomenon

by

The summer of 2025 is marked by a New type of gossip that is born, grows and expands mainly in Tiktok. Unlike traditional gossip in magazines, television or pink press, this time the epicenter is in networks, created, disseminated and amplified by the users who use the social network: generation Z and millennials. Sofía Surfers, Fabiana, Álvaro Suárez and Pablo Vera do not belong to the world of the show or the traditional show, not even to areas where the celebrities normally arise. But there is no talk of other people in Tiktok. The protagonists. The least interesting of this story is possibly the story itself, But summarizing: Sofia Surfers She is the sister of Lola Lolita, one of the most segated Spanish influencers. It did not belong to the world of traditional fame until shortly before the event, but that has changed: its profile is now full of publications loaded with indirects and key messages. Fabiana Sevillano It is an Andalusian influencer with more than one million followers and is part of the social circle of Sofia and Álvaro. He has publicly confirmed to have a casual and recent sentimental relationship with Álvaro, with an open and direct posture before the drama. Álvaro Suárez He is former partner of Sofia Surfers and a new partner, apparently, from Fabiana. He has tried to maintain a clear attitude and put limits to the spread of gossip. Pablo Vera He is a couple of Fabiana, his name has been mentioned frequently in videos and reactions, and has tried to clarify his version of the facts. Sofia stopped following Fabiana on social networks, what many people interpreted as the confirmation of a betrayal, which Fabiana later confirmed. All this framework has since generated thousands of memes, videos, indirect and debates among their followers, amplifying the viral phenomenon. 11 tricks to dominate Tik tok The impact. Thousands of users have generated a high level of interaction with these profiles. The gossip -related videos They accumulate million visualizations and hundreds of thousands of likescomments and shared: there are explanatory and reagent videos, memes, Duos and Reenactments that They comment or amplify the facts and rumors in ironic or dramatic key. Hashtags like #fabianasevillano, #Pablovera and #Sofiastasurfers are among the most used. The never seen. It is a level of engagement Unusual for previously unknown characters, and that is also organic, decentralized and collaborative, which generates a feeling of community and participation that does not occur in other formats of the pink press. This also generates further propagation speed and more viral strength, which has made the phenomenon born in Tiktok, its impact has spread to other social networks. @javihoyosmartinez Fabiana Sevillano confirms that he looked with Álvaro Suárez: “I like it.” Tell how he told Pablo Vera and responds to Sofía Surferss #Fabianasevillano #Pablovera #Alvarosuarez #SOFIASURFERSS #Lolaloliitaaa ♬ Original sound – Javihoyos Beyond the gossip. In this case the narrative about the protagonists It is not controlled by specialized journalistsbut for the uncontrolled sum of thousands of videos, memes, debates and reactions. This democratizes the birth and evolution of these charactersand makes the target audience of this type of narrative develop A feeling of belonging to all this. Of course, now There are rumors that traditional pink media are beginning to be interested in exploiting this story born in networks. The renewal of the Star System. As the already historical one left us well ‘Save me‘, The renewal of the distributions of these dramas is essential when giving them continuity. In this case, the refreshing circumstance that most of these actors were not previously known (even one of them sister of Lola Lolita) gives them a renewed vitality. And so the idea that there are no modern or ancient issues (a story of infidelities, in fact, is one of the oldest in the world), but forms and spaces to tell them. In Xataka | There is a fever to see the weddings of others in social networks. And that is causing them to throw rice shovels to the bride and groom

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.