The writer says her radio is her constant companion during the day and especially when she is driving solo to some event.
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MY radio is my constant companion during the day and especially when I am driving solo to some event or the other.
I enjoy listening to the easy banter from the presenters, and often wonder how they manage to keep the flow of conversation entertaining and interesting.
Behind the scenes involves a lot of planning and research to ensure that they present a good show. It’s a time consuming and demanding profession.
Anyway, the other day, a radio presenter introduced a topic for discussion on her show which she called Hustle Culture.
Immediately she got my full attention. I had not heard this term before. So I was all ears.
I know of a side hustle which is where people do a side job in addition to their main job. The idea is to make a little cash on the side to make ends meet.
Apparently we all practice hustle culture every day. It refers to the non-stop daily activities from the time we wake up until we lay down to sleep.
Rushing to get to work, to the gym, to do the daily grocery shop, prepare dinner, working tirelessly, quickly and often with high energy.
Most working people are on a hamster wheel for the better part of their day.
Sometimes words are coined in an off-the-cuff manner and then because it makes sense, more people use it and it becomes “word of the year”.
This topic got me thinking about other words which by virtue of its popularity make it to the dictionary.
I always thought that a highly-literate group of people, like lexicographers and language lovers, analyse meanings and intentions of new words; and only after careful consideration, suggest that it be included in dictionaries.
How wrong I am. Nowadays, any new word which is constantly used, makes it into literature by reason of its popularity.
The popular word of the year which boomed in 2023 was "rizz", which means style or charm.
Then in 2024, came a new term – brain rot. This is supposedly the deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state as a result of the over consumption of online content which is trivial or unchallenging.
Let’s take TikTok as an example. Some, if not all of it, is poor and silly. Yet it is devoured so excitedly by many.
Talking of rot, bed rotting is becoming a new, often used word. What is bed rotting? It is when people spend the day in bed intentionally, not necessarily sleeping, but lying awake, reading or watching content on their devices.
The concept behind bed rotting is to rest intentionally, and is a possible way to recover from hustle culture.
Usually, people surround themselves with comfort snacks and drinks, and may only leave their beds to use the bathroom.
This was an unheard of practice in my day. My mom would have probably physically dragged me out of bed with a good "sapat" smack had I dared to try it. And yet, I encourage my daughter to practice bed rotting once in a while if she has had a tough work week. How times have changed.
In 2025, the word of the year was "67". It is a meaningless number, that went viral on the internet. Used as a lyric or chant on social media, more like a young generational inside joke, shouted in classrooms.
There has been much speculation as to how the word of the year became a number. It has no real meaning, but was popularised probably as it is part of a rap song. It gained more than two million posts on TikTok in October and November last year.
It is supposedly a “secret code” among the Gen Alpha and has been used to distract teachers, A pupil may shout 6 in the classroom and then a chorus will say 7, and so it goes on in a kind of rhythm. Like a Mexican wave of sorts. Just random energy and action. Which got me thinking: is 67 an example of brain rot?
I love learning new words. Often when I’m reading, and I come across a word I have not heard before, I jot it down and look up its meaning.
When my kids were young, I used to play a game called “word of the day” with them.
Everyone had a turn to pick a word for the day, give its meaning and try to use the word in as many conversations during the day.
Nowadays, roles are reversed and they are teaching me new words. And with emojis now being used in place of words, as the digital age evolves, we are not using words to communicate any more.
Hearts, fruit and vegetable emojis communicate feelings, thoughts and expressions. Who would have ever thought that a brinjal emoji was anything other than a simple vegetable?
It’s just so wild. And this makes me sad. Words are such powerful tools of expression. The digital age has made our brains lazy because we just choose an emoji as a reply to a message as opposed to actually typing out a full reply in words.
But I guess hustle culture makes us tend to use shortcuts. There is even a condition now called “email apnea”. It’s when people literally hold their breath while reading a text or email. Not breathing until they have processed the information. And apparently it happens several times a day, stealing your attention.
I was watching the ad hoc committee on the SAPS interview a witness the other day.
She was asked if she was in a relationship with a top cop. She said she was not in a romantic relationship, but there was a relationship of sorts.
Everyone was puzzled and the chairperson in his wisdom asked her if it was a friend with benefits type of relationship. She said not. After some discussion, it was mutually agreed that she was in a “situationship relationship”.
Who knows whether that might be the South African version of the word of the year for 2026?
I love the English language and the power of words. I’m bemused by new terms like Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day as substitutes for Valentines Day.
And still highly confused as to whether "LOL" means laugh out loud or lots of love or something completely different, and whether opening a window to let in fresh air is really house burping.
So until then, I will use my words and send messages using the Queen’s English in longhand.
Until next time.
Dr Sandy Kalyan
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Dr Kalyan is a psychologist, life coach and reiki practitioner. Write to her at [email protected]
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media