LSN : News : Need to Know 07 : 11 : 17

1. Manifest 1.0 offers multisensory music experience

Manifest 1.0, Brooklyn. Photography by Julie Molloy

Manifest 1.0, Brooklyn. Photography by Steve Dabal

Brooklyn – Manifest 1.0, a collaboration between Jordan Caldwell, musician Sunni Colón and multimedia collective The Family, is an immersive art and music experience designed to encourage people to engage with their surroundings and free themselves from the distracting effect of technology.

In line with The E-motional Economy, participants surrender their phones on arrival and are asked to tell a story of solitude, which is analysed for emotional tone by artificial intelligence (AI) system IBM Watson. Each visitor receives a card with a unique colour and is assigned a sound related to their experience.

Manifest 1.0 reflects consumers’ desire to disconnect from an always-on digital world of constant marketing messages and re-engage with the physical world through immersive experiences. For more, see our macrotrend The Focus Filter.

2. Anxy magazine explores mental health at work

Workaholism by Anxy magazine, London

London – Anxy magazine has launched its second issue, Workaholism, which focuses on mental health in the workplace. The visually led magazine explores themes including overworking, burnout, ambition and desperation through photography and editorial content.

A feature by Zoneil Maharaj explores symptoms of burnout caused by factors beyond the workplace. Journalist Darlena Cunha examines the conflict people face when attempting to balance their career and their wellbeing. See our Mental Health Market for more on how brands are creating physical, digital and printed spaces in which people can share their stories.

3. Klue app encourages better consumption habits

California – The Klue app tracks users’ consumption habits and alerts them when they are in need of a drink or snack.

The AI-enabled app, which is compatible with a variety of wearable devices, monitors users’ hand movements to offer accurate insights into their dietary habits.

‘Klue cultivates awareness of behaviour and reinforces behaviour change in real time,’ explains Dr Sarah Adler, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University Medical School, and Klue adviser.

As consumers become increasingly interested in maintaining their wellbeing, a range of new food-tracking apps that offer actionable, real-time data such as Klue and AI nutritionist service Lysa are emerging.

As explored in our Upstream Eating microtrend, consumers are using technology to help them make more educated food choices.

Klue, California

4. WeWork expands into health and wellness with gym offer

Rise by We, New York. Photography by Kris Tamburello

New York – Co-working space WeWork is opening a gym at 85 Broad Street in New York to help its members ‘feel uplifted, energised, and relaxed’. Rise by We features three workout areas, each of which is named after the type of exercises it will host. Fight caters for boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts classes, while Flight provides space for cardiovascular activities. The relaxing Flow space is designed to host yoga and meditation classes.

The space also features a Roman-inspired spa with a sauna, steam room, shower area and mineral pool to aid muscle recovery. In our Boutique Gyms listicle, LS:N Global explores gyms that are going beyond fitness classes to offer innovative holistic experiences.

5. Survey shows dining alone is no longer considered taboo

A survey by British supermarket chain Waitrose shows that attitudes towards solo dining are changing, with 78% of respondents agreeing that dining alone is more socially acceptable than it was five years ago. This shift in attitude is partly driven by the growing acceptance of mobile phones as a source of meal-time entertainment. For more on how technology is shaping consumer behaviour, see our Neo-kinship macrotrend.

6. Thought-starter: Can safe space apps support mental health?

The darker side of anonymous apps has been widely reported, but senior writer Kathryn Bishop explores whether anonymity can be harnessed to improve consumers’ mental health.

Apps and virtual networks have become the normalised medium through which we scroll, watch, like, desire, assume, compare, mock and shame. The rise of anonymous comment platforms such as ASKfm and Sarahah has added another layer of drama that is not always positive. The result? Our behaviour is having a negative impact on our mental health and that of our online friends.

But anonymous apps can have a positive impact on users’ mental health. Anonymous compliment app tbh, which enables users to post kind words about their peers through a gamified experience, has become a hit among US high-school students, and reportedly has a positive effect on users’ self-esteem. Will the success of platforms such as tbh drive brands to offer more anonymous apps designed to improve users’ mental health?

Read the full Opinion here.