Quarterlife

A beginner’s guide to the taxes you’ll hear about this election season

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

If you’ve recently entered the workforce or the housing market, you may still be wrapping your mind around all of these terms.

Key Points: 
  • If you’ve recently entered the workforce or the housing market, you may still be wrapping your mind around all of these terms.
  • Here is what you need to know about the different types of taxes and how they affect you.
  • When you earn money If you are an employee or own a business, taxes are deducted from your salary or profits you make.
  • If you are self-employed, you will have to pay your taxes via an annual tax return assessment.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • The government collects taxes from all sources and sets its spending plans accordingly, borrowing to make up any difference between the two.

Income tax

  • The amount of income tax you pay is determined by where your income sits in a series of “bands” set by the government.
  • Almost everyone is entitled to a “personal allowance”, currently £12,570, which you can earn without needing to pay any income tax.
  • You then pay 20% in tax on each pound of income you earn (across all sources) from £12,570-£50,270.

National insurance

  • National insurance contributions (NICs) are a second “tax” you pay on your income – or to be precise, on your earned income (your salary).
  • While Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor of the exchequer, didn’t adjust income tax meaningfully in this year’s budget, he did announce a cut to NICs.
  • This was a surprise to many, as we had already seen rates fall from 12% to 10% on incomes higher than £242/week in January.

Other taxes

  • Wealth taxes may be in line for a change.
  • In the budget, the chancellor reduced capital gains taxes on sales of assets such as second properties (from 28% to 24%).
  • There are calls from many quarters though to look again at these types of taxes.


Andy Lymer and his colleagues at the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University currently or have recently received funding for their research work from a variety of funding bodies including the UK's Money and Pension Service, the Aviva Foundation, Fair4All Finance, NEST Insight, the Gambling Commission, Vivid Housing and the ESRC, amongst others.

I’ve researched Clara Bow – it’s no wonder the actress inspired Taylor Swift’s new album

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Moments later, Swift uploaded full details of her new record to Instagram, including the album artwork and track list.

Key Points: 
  • Moments later, Swift uploaded full details of her new record to Instagram, including the album artwork and track list.
  • One of the 17 newly revealed tracks is titled Clara Bow.
  • Actress Clara Bow (1905-1965) was the original “It girl”.
  • This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • Twitter users called her “disgusting” for bringing her friend and collaborator Lana Del Rey on stage, after she’d lost out on her own award.

Who was Clara Bow?

  • Clara Bow was an American silent and early sound film actress, whose tumultuous career spanned from 1922 to 1933.
  • Bow’s best-known film, the 1926 silent romantic comedy It, secured her status as a cultural icon who embodied the youth and liberation of the 1920s’ flapper.
  • This sequence of events, which kick-started the ongoing mythicisation of Bow’s star image, skips over the work Bow herself put in.

How Clara Bow inspired Taylor Swift


During the height of her career, Bow’s love life was a point of constant ridicule in popular film fan magazines. Headlines branding her “empty hearted” and asking “why can’t the It Girl keep her men?” sought to psychoanalyse her broken engagements. The press labelled Bow an “idiot”, and wondered why “no man [had] led her to the altar”.

  • Bow’s assistant and best friend, Daisy DeVoe, was accused of trying to embezzle money from her.
  • During my research trip, I was able to access the papers of Clara Bow, as well as those who knew her: including notable gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.
  • Perhaps Swift’s ode to Bow will offer some artistic justice for the often-misrepresented starlet.
  • But it’s not hard to see why Taylor Swift, a modern starlet whose every move is scrutinised and criticised, would find a rich seam of inspiration in the life of Clara Bow.


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Jennifer Voss receives funding from the AHRC-funded Midlands 4 Cities Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme.

The problems with dating apps and how they could be fixed – two relationship ethicists

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Dating sites and apps have made it easier to find sexual and romantic partners, expanding the pool of potential mates to include the entire internet.

Key Points: 
  • Dating sites and apps have made it easier to find sexual and romantic partners, expanding the pool of potential mates to include the entire internet.
  • Before dating apps, many people met partners through family, friends or work, which meant that potential partners were often “vetted” by people we trusted.
  • There are even dating apps exclusive to people with certain political views.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • Apps are designed carefully to hold your attention using elements and rewards that make using them feel like playing a game.
  • Finally, dating apps encourage users to objectify each other through rapid judgment based on appearance.
  • From rapid swiping with little information beyond a picture on apps like Tinder, to Grindr’s grid of torsos, dating apps make it easy to dismiss with a glance.

Can dating apps be better?

  • Our continuing exploration of these topics has convinced us that the people who design dating apps could do more to improve the experience for users.
  • This is why, at the Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships at the University of Leeds, we are also launching a new research project on ethical dating online to explore how apps can become a better experience for everyone.
  • Dating apps could give users more information about their preferences and behaviour.
  • Finally, apps can “nudge” users towards more ethical behaviour, encouraging them not to ghost someone, for example, or enforcing a cooling-off period for serial swipers.
  • While this might feel intrusive, remember that dating apps are already doing this – for example, sending notifications encouraging you to check the app regularly.

Be a better dating app user

  • There are also steps you can take to interact more ethically on dating apps.
  • In short, remember that online dating is not just a game, even if it feels like one, and that the images on your phone are – usually – of real people.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

How to write a love song – three tips for beginners from a songwriting expert

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

In fact, research in 2017 found that “love” has been the most common theme for pop song lyrics in every decade since the 1960s.

Key Points: 
  • In fact, research in 2017 found that “love” has been the most common theme for pop song lyrics in every decade since the 1960s.
  • If you’re trying to write a love song for the first time, you might not know where to begin, or cringe at the thought of being schmaltzy.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • The likes of Billie Eilish, Avril Lavigne, Mike Love, Lou Reed, Chuck Berry, The Ramones, and dozens of others all releasing songs simply titled: I Love You.
  • Here are my top tips for making your own love song special.

1. Ensure it’s accessible

  • As it is, most successful love songs draw on the same tropes over and over.
  • If a listener doesn’t have to work too hard, you could be on to a winner.

2. Keep it simple and familiar

  • This suggests that when it comes to love songs, we’re drawn to something we’re already familiar with.
  • Most popular love songs have discernible introductions, verses, choruses and bridge sections.

3. Make your lyrics relatable

  • As such, it is important that we can relate love songs we listen to our own experiences.
  • But if you want to write a song for that special someone, try to add a smattering of personal details.


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Glenn Fosbraey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Why you might start to hate the influencers you once loved

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

People are increasingly turning to gossip forums like Tattle Life, Guru Gossip, GOMI (“Get Off My Internets”) and the Blogsnark subreddit to critique the influencers they follow.

Key Points: 
  • People are increasingly turning to gossip forums like Tattle Life, Guru Gossip, GOMI (“Get Off My Internets”) and the Blogsnark subreddit to critique the influencers they follow.
  • Many forum users are former fans of the influencers they now publicly and enthusiastically criticise.
  • So why might you start to hate the influencers you once loved?
  • This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • Favourite influencers can often feel like friends, even though they are likely unaware of their followers’ existence.

Feeling excluded

  • This can shatter the illusion of intimacy, prompting anger from followers who feel entitled to omitted information.
  • When we feel excluded by an influencer, our feelings can become increasingly hostile.
  • Our findings indicate that gossip forums enable users to overcome feelings of exclusion by recreating the illusion that they know the influencer intimately.

Feeling ignored

  • Many influencers also delete comments and block comments containing certain keywords.
  • This leads some followers to feel ignored.
  • She never replies, says thank you or even just acknowledges them with the little heart/thumbs up button.
  • Our data indicates that posting on gossip forums can help followers feel seen and acknowledged by influencers in a way that they don’t outside of the forums.

Feeling exploited

  • Followers can feel exploited when influencers only post content with a direct commercial gain.
  • Retaliating in this way enabled forum members to alleviate feelings of being exploited.
  • Gossip forum users are often dismissed as trolls and bullies, but this doesn’t paint a complete picture.


Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
Rebecca Mardon receives funding from the Academy of Marketing Hayley Cocker and Kate Daunt do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

‘Digitising’ your wardrobe can help you save money and make sustainable fashion choices

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Taking stock and having a bit of a declutter can freshen things up domestically.

Key Points: 
  • Taking stock and having a bit of a declutter can freshen things up domestically.
  • One popular new way of doing this involves targeting your wardrobe by making digital inventories of your clothes – and then tracking what you wear.
  • The idea is that having this information can then lead to better choices in the future, whether that’s saving money or having a more sustainable approach to fashion.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • For our research, we worked with Save Your Wardrobe, an app designed to help people organise and categorise their clothes.
  • From the start, we found consumers feeling anxious and dissatisfied with their clothing behaviours and wardrobe management.

Make do and mend


For many, the initial process of organisation required to upload photos of garments to the app became a moment of reflection and an opportunity to challenge and change existing patterns of behaviour. The effort involved also resulted in a sense of appreciation of the clothing which was already owned.

  • One said: “I realised that 50% of my wardrobe is from Primark.
  • Items were rediscovered and brought back into use in a way that made owners feel they were “shopping from their own wardrobes”.
  • Tracking data about their behaviour gave consumers a sense of being more in control of their actions and where they could make changes.
  • Being more aware of the clothes they already owned made a difference to people’s appetites for owning more.


Deirdre Shaw receives funding from ESRC. She is affiliated with Textiles 2030. Katherine Duffy receives funding from ESRC. She is affiliated with Textiles 2030.

Spotify daylist: algorithms don’t just react to your music taste, they shape it

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Today’s selection has the slightly strange – and yet very specific – title “lo-fi anti-folk wednesday early morning”.

Key Points: 
  • Today’s selection has the slightly strange – and yet very specific – title “lo-fi anti-folk wednesday early morning”.
  • We are familiar with algorithms on tech platforms choosing music, TV, products or even travel destinations for us.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • For many people, our music choices have gone from being informed by radio, music press, magazines and TV shows, to a fine-grained level of personalisation.

Predicting – and changing – tastes

  • Streaming platforms in general have the data about us, but they also have the data about everyone streaming on that platform.
  • Research has shown that the focus isn’t necessarily upon accurately predicting taste, but on trying to predict things like attention or engagment in its place.
  • When we imagine our tastes, we assume there is a starting point.
  • We imagine that our tastes exist and that these algorithmic systems are learning to respond to them.

A recursive society

  • It is through constant exposure to these personalised predictions that our taste itself mutates in response to what we are exposed to.
  • In a recursive society we are surrounded by repeated analytic and algorithmic processes that have continued over a significant period.
  • The result is that society and our individual experiences are a product of recursive processes in which the automated analysis of data shapes and impacts the choices we make and the choices made about us.
  • We can’t separate music taste from the algorithms.
  • Even if you stopped using streaming platforms and their recommendations today, they have influenced you.
  • You may not remember a time before you consumed music and other culture through streaming platforms.

Daylists and our identities

  • If algorithmic systems are shaping our tastes, they are also shaping how we understand ourselves.
  • Spotify daylists tell us something about how our tastes are being anticipated in ways that keep us using these systems.


David Beer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Selling on Vinted, Etsy or eBay? Here's what you need to know about paying tax

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

But it does mean that HMRC will have more information on cases when people selling online should pay tax and don’t.

Key Points: 
  • But it does mean that HMRC will have more information on cases when people selling online should pay tax and don’t.
  • And because this information will also be passed to the person selling, it will be useful information if you need to fill out a self-assessment tax return.
  • This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • These apply no matter your age – under 18s can be required to pay tax too.

1: Am I making or buying the things that I am selling specifically to make a profit?

  • This is not carrying out a trade.
  • You may need to pay income tax.

2: How much income did I generate in total during the year?

  • This applies if you’re carrying out a trade – selling items to make a profit.
  • There is a trade allowance of £1,000, meaning that you can earn up to £1,000 without any tax implications.

3: Did I sell any item for more than £6,000?

  • Even if you’re not carrying out a trade and so don’t have to pay income tax, you might still need to consider capital gains tax.
  • In the UK, in addition to tax on our income, we are also required to pay tax when we sell a significant item for more than we paid for it.

Paying tax

  • If you made money through trade or by selling something of high value in the financial year which ran from April 2022 to April 2023, you will need to fill out your tax return and pay any outstanding tax by January 31 2024.
  • If you think you might have to pay tax, or you are worried or unsure, the HMRC guidelines may help you.
  • Paying tax can feel like losing money, but that money goes towards supporting our society.


Richard Tyler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Flashy isn't always fabulous: why luxury brands should reconsider displaying their logos too prominently

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

This is even more true for luxury brands as their logos are some of the most recognised symbols globally.

Key Points: 
  • This is even more true for luxury brands as their logos are some of the most recognised symbols globally.
  • So, luxury brands should prominently display their logo, shouldn’t they?
  • This trend refers to a more low-key approach to luxury where people favour subtlety and quality over prominent brand display.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
  • But the luxury market has been undergoing change for some years, partly as millennials and gen-Z become the main customers of luxury brands.
  • These consumers demand that luxury brands are more sustainable and inclusive, contributing to the resurgence of quiet luxury.
  • But what is the right strategy for luxury brands when it comes to displaying their logos?

Prominent brand display

  • We found that prominent logo display discourages consumers both from buying items from luxury brands and from sharing images of these luxury items on social media.
  • They also thought that prominent logo display reduced exclusivity, glamour and the brand’s sophistication.
  • Our results show that UK customers’ perceptions of authenticity and coolness reduced by more than 10% when a luxury brand decided to use prominent logos.

The quiet luxury revolution

  • Experts suggest that the quiet luxury trend is almost always connected with financial crises.
  • The global financial crisis of 2007/2008, for example, led to a shift towards understated luxury in the fashion industry.
  • As people struggle to make ends meet during the current cost-of-living crisis, quiet luxury is re-emerging on the scene.

The brand prominence dilemma

  • Greater brand prominence is preferred by wealthy newcomers to the upper class, who are known as “parvenus”.
  • People who are not rich but want to climb the social ladder (“poseurs”) also opt for more prominent brand displays.
  • Their carefully crafted image of a luxury brand may otherwise suffer.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Expert advice to help young people keep their new year resolutions

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 3, 2024

If you’re in need of some extra motivation to stick to your new year resolutions, there’s no better place to look than The Conversation’s archives. Our Quarter Life series is full of expert advice to help readers in their 20s and 30s navigate life’s transitions. Read on for some pieces to help you reach your goals this year.Take care of your mental health If you have resolved to take better care of your mental health this year, you might as well start first thing in the morning.

Key Points: 


If you’re in need of some extra motivation to stick to your new year resolutions, there’s no better place to look than The Conversation’s archives. Our Quarter Life series is full of expert advice to help readers in their 20s and 30s navigate life’s transitions. Read on for some pieces to help you reach your goals this year.

Take care of your mental health

  • If you have resolved to take better care of your mental health this year, you might as well start first thing in the morning.
  • If it’s available to you, you could also consider taking a mental health day – here’s how to make the most of one.
  • From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult.
  • The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.

Live a healthier lifestyle

  • If you are someone who deals with a period regularly, you may have heard of “cycle syncing”.
  • Here’s what the evidence says about some popular diets that are said to help manage symptoms of long COVID.
  • And trying to get more sleep is always a good goal – but if you don’t manage one night, don’t panic.

Be more eco-friendly

  • Veganuary (going vegan just for the month of January) is a popular way to start the year with a smaller carbon footprint.
  • Here’s a guide to decoding all those little symbols on clothing tags that will help you take better care of your clothes.

Scroll less, read more

  • But new research shows that quitting social media cold turkey may not be as good for you as you think.
  • With this in mind, there are steps you can take to improve your relationship with the apps.
  • BookTok trends are having a powerful impact on the publishing industry, and may be influencing what you read.

Be a better friend

  • If your 2024 goal is to make new friends, try looking outside your age group.
  • To nurture the friendships you have already, this excellent read can help you develop empathy and sharpen your listening skills.