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Wendy Syfret

Wendy Syfret

Wendy Syfret is the author of The Sunny Nihilist and a freelance writer based in Melbourne.

Where we once used online culture to share our lives, it’s clear that we are increasingly withdrawing.

I confess, I’m a lurker: How the utopia of my youth went horribly wrong

When I was compulsively sharing and being shared with, I was expressing the person I wanted to be. Now, I just silently observe the lives of others.

  • Wendy Syfret

Latest

Married at First Sight

If you laugh, you can’t be offended and other essential truths I’ve learnt

We once sought advice from philosophers and academics, today it’s best provided by people who understand the basic rules of life and live them in front of the cameras.

  • Wendy Syfret
Boomers are at risk of being captured by an internet fast becoming ruled by bots and AI slop.

Even more than kids, it’s our Boomer parents who need protecting from AI slop

Older adults are uniquely at risk from bot-designed, addictive online content. Cognitive decline can affect self-control and compulsive behaviour – a perfect recipe for endless scrolling.

  • Wendy Syfret
More and more Australians are opting for de-facto relationships or “forever engagements” instead of weddings.

I’ve been engaged for 10 years. Here’s why I never plan on getting married

When my partner got down on one knee, it didn’t mark my trail to the altar. Instead, it was an entry into the “forever engaged” club.

  • Wendy Syfret
Childcare centre.

Forget knee-jerk measures – parents know the change needed for safer childcare

As long as childcare centres are places for profit, patch-up solutions like those offered by my centre are all that parents will be offered.

  • Wendy Syfret
Does using adult skincare too early come with risks?

Why selling tweens self-care is the worst viral trend yet

While my generation was taught that no one would love you with pimples, today kids are learning that to love yourself is an unavoidably expensive exercise.

  • Wendy Syfret
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Paul Rudd stars in Living With Yourself on Netflix.

Why watching male celebrities struggle has become my new online obsession

Upon first glance, I have nothing in common with Paul Rudd, Jake Gyllenhaal or Glen Powell. Yet despite our many differences, in one respect, we’re the same.

  • Wendy Syfret
The weekly protest in Melbourne’s CBD in support of Palestine.

Pro-Palestine rallies are accused of sowing hate. This is the weekly reality

I’ve joined this Melbourne crowd many times. Whenever I am standing on the steps of the State Library I find myself asking the same question: Why am I here?

  • Wendy Syfret
Women’s birth plans have become increasingly elaborate in recent years.

Looking back, my birth plan was delusional. I wouldn’t change a thing

When I went into labour, I wasn’t cracking jokes in the delivery suite. But now, I recognise absurd mirth in the day, and in the expectations I held for how it would go.

  • Wendy Syfret
Christmas present requests are becoming increasingly expensive.

935 reasons why Christmas gift guides need to be chucked down the chimney

In theory, I don’t hate gift guides. But tensions arise when it becomes clear that the marketing teams sending these emails don’t exist in the same universe as I do.

  • Wendy Syfret