In 2020, Sarah O’Neill found herself scrolling through TikTok one night and came across multiple videos of people “manifesting.” Users on TikTok were sharing tips on how people can fall into alignment—create a meaningful life based on their unique purpose, attract personal desires and live abundantly. Creators were claiming that people could manifest pretty much anything they could dream of—a relationship, good grades, financial and career success.  Curious and intrigued, O’Neill decided to do some of her own research on manifesting and began to incorporate some of the practices that were being promoted on social media into her daily life. She bought a journal and started to write down all…

In August 2021, Sabrina Fontaine,  a 25-year-old artist from London, Ont., opened her online store Miskomin Manidoomin. Fontaine, who is currently residing on the COM: Chippewa of the Thames, Oneida Nation of the Thames and Munsee-Delaware Nation, says that her store name roughly translates to Raspberry Spirit Beads.  While art has always been a part of her life, she has not been very public with it until recently. “I’ve always been kind of shy and private about it,” says Fontaine. “This year with COVID-19 I kind of just decided, you know what, I’ve been doing art my whole life, so let’s put it out there.”  Fontaine says that when she…

Natalie Evans, a media and communications professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, still remembers using a typewriter to complete her assignments when she started university in the mid-90s.  Connecting with peers and professors used to be an in-person ordeal during Evans’ undergraduate degree, but it changed quickly. “Even within that three to four years, I went from having a typewriter to having internet and computer at home,” she says.  Today, the internet is a large part of society and has shifted the way that people communicate with one another. An academic study found that the iGeneration—those born between 1995 and 2012—spend less time interacting in-person and more time on digital…

Music is present in every known culture on earth and has ancient roots that extend as far back as 40,000 to 80,000 years ago.  It is integral to the culture and development of societies, and the individual people that live in them. Music is so important that it comes as no surprise that many people have an especially strong connection to the songs they heard during important developmental periods of their life. Research shows that music has several psychological functions and can help people cope with their emotions. Because there is such a strong tie between music and emotions, particular songs can “transport” people back to the past and bring…

“It is a time where everybody started questioning the validity of everything,” says Sahar Roy* about the outbreak of COVID-19. Roy is a fourth-year visual arts student at York University who grew up in Southern India, where she currently resides.  Roy is Muslim, but has a mixed race background as her father is British Indian. “My faith gives me a sense of direction, especially in a time of such unpredictability.”  In order to contain the virus last year, churches, temples, mosques and other places of worship were forced to close and transition to online platforms. Some virtual faith groups have had massive success amidst the pandemic. Alpha, a Christianity course…

A selfie with a cute baby tiger is sure to get lots of likes on Instagram, and so is a picture of an elephant ride in Thailand. Wildlife tourism is not a new phenomenon, but the rise of social media platforms and the powerful influence of Instagram have given the industry some major visibility in the past decade. On the surface, it may seem like everything is fine, but animals are often trained to behave a certain way for human gratification. Beneath the perfectly timed animal selfie lies a mountain of unfair practices and conditions. Many tourists who post pictures with exotic animals are unaware of the cruelty that occurs…