Weekly Top Five Articles

Daughters Feel Attractive When Close To Fathers, How Faith Lowers Anxiety, Get Zers Love for Dostoyevsky, and more. . .

Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash

Here’s what stood out this week. . .

(1) Algorithm On Fleek: How TikTok is Transforming the English Language, By Adam Aleksic, Literary Hub (July 15, 2025)

Aleksic traces the evolution of the English language from the fractured dialects of medieval England to the breakneck-speed slang churned out by TikTok’s algorithm. Language, he argues, is no longer shaped slowly by local communities but rapidly transformed by social media trends, especially those born in short-form video content.

Historically, linguistic change was glacial. Regional dialects dominated, and standardized English only emerged after the centralization of power in London. Slang was once the creative domain of the working class—dismissed by elites until slowly absorbed into the mainstream. But now, TikTok has flipped the script. Through hyper-personalized feeds and algorithmically driven trend cycles, today’s slang spreads globally in hours, not years.

Aleksic pinpoints the turning point with Vine and its cultural successor, TikTok. Slang like “on fleek,” “yeet,” and “side-eye” exploded through dance clips, memes, and lip-syncs, becoming part of everyday speech not through formal education or print but via meme participation and viral audio. These platforms make linguistic adoption almost effortless: if it’s trending in your feed, you’re likely to start saying it.

But what’s truly transformative is the TikTok algorithm itself. This machine-learning marvel doesn’t just respond to what you like—it predicts what you will like, creating feedback loops that drive certain words, dances, and sounds to viral status. It’s not just entertainment; it’s cultural formation on a global scale.

Aleksic’s insight is clear: we are witnessing the most accelerated, democratized shift in the history of language. TikTok has dethroned traditional gatekeepers—academia, media, even regional identity—as the primary driver of vernacular. If you want to understand how culture and communication are being reshaped in real-time, don’t look to newspapers or universities. Look to your For You Page.

Language is no longer local. It’s algorithmic. And it’s on fleek.

(2) “Why Gen Z goes mad for Dostoyevsky Young people crave an anti-capitalist prophet by Christopher Akers,” UnHerd (July 15, 2025)

Why is Gen Z obsessed with Fyodor Dostoyevsky? According to Christopher Akers, it’s because the 19th-century Russian novelist offers something the modern world can’t: a brutal, beautiful confrontation with doubt, despair, and the failure of materialism. In an era of collapsing institutions, rising nihilism, and postmodern exhaustion, Dostoyevsky emerges not just as a literary genius, but as a prophetic voice.

Dostoyevsky understood a culture gripped by disbelief and spiritual decay because he lived it—first as a utopian socialist sentenced to Siberia, and later as a Christian mystic haunted by suffering, freedom, and the problem of evil. Today’s young readers find themselves drawn to his stories of inner torment, fractured families, madness, and spiritual longing. Sales of The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, and especially White Nights have surged, driven by viral moments on BookTok and Reddit threads recounting conversions to Christianity sparked by his novels.

What Gen Z seems to be searching for in Dostoyevsky is an alternative to the sterile comforts of modern liberalism—a deeper realism that refuses easy answers. His scathing critiques of nihilism (Devils), his anguished wrestling with faith (The Brothers Karamazov), and his suspicion of progress as salvation speak directly to a generation disillusioned with capitalism, politics, and shallow secularism.

Yes, Dostoyevsky was flawed—his antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, and nationalist impulses are deeply troubling. But Akers argues that the enduring pull of his work lies in its raw confrontation with the soul’s darkest questions. He does not resolve the tensions—he inhabits them, faithfully.

In a world that promises freedom without meaning and pleasure without purpose, Dostoyevsky offers something scandalous: the possibility that only through suffering, sacrifice, and faith can we be truly free. No wonder Gen Z, raised in the ruins of the Enlightenment, sees in him a kindred spirit—and maybe even a way out.

(3) Daughters who feel more attractive report stronger, more protective bonds with their fathers, by Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost (July 13, 2025)

A fascinating new study in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology explores the nuanced bonds between fathers and daughters, offering rich insight into how paternal behavior is shaped by education, income, and even a daughter’s self-perceived attractiveness. Psychologist Ray Garza and colleagues examined these relationships through the lens of life history theory and the daughter-guarding hypothesis, two evolutionary frameworks that help explain why some dads are more supportive and protective than others.

The study found that daughters who considered themselves more physically attractive reported stronger emotional bonds with their fathers, experiencing more support and protection—and notably, less controlling behavior. This aligns with the daughter-guarding hypothesis: fathers may subconsciously invest more in daughters they perceive to have higher “mate value,” out of a protective instinct. But what really stood out was the role of a father’s education and income. Dads with more financial and educational resources were consistently more attached, emotionally available, and less controlling—according to both daughters (in Study 1) and the fathers themselves (in Study 2).

This suggests a deeper truth: stable fathers—those who plan long-term, have greater emotional bandwidth, and can invest time—raise more securely attached daughters. And attachment matters. The data showed that emotionally connected fathers didn’t feel the need to control their daughters’ lives; they were present enough to offer guidance without domination.

Interestingly, political orientation and religiosity showed inconsistent or weak associations. Conservative fathers were sometimes less emotionally close, while more religious fathers surprisingly offered less protection, defying expectations.

As our culture confronts the costs of fatherlessness, this study adds to a growing body of evidence: a dad’s presence, stability, and emotional engagement—especially in today’s uncertain world—are powerful predictors of a daughter’s relational health and resilience. The data is clear: strong fathers make strong daughters.

(4) Liberals and conservatives live differently — but people think the divide is even bigger than it is, by Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost (July 12, 2025)

Do liberals and conservatives really live in different worlds? A new study says yes—and no. Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, this research from the University of Texas at Austin reveals that while political identity does influence some aspects of daily life, most people grossly exaggerate the divide.

Using smartphone tracking and daily surveys, the researchers analyzed 61 everyday behaviors among over 1,200 college students. Conservatives were slightly more likely to show up at religious events, fraternities, or group settings. Liberals, by contrast, spent more time online, at home, or in transit. While the differences were subtle, they were real—similar in scale to those between men and women or rich and poor students.

But here’s the twist: when a second group of students was asked to guess how liberals and conservatives behaved, they got it wrong about 75% of the time. Most students believed the lifestyle divide was far wider than it actually is. This distorted perception, the researchers argue, may be fueling unnecessary tribalism on campus and beyond.

The study, led by Sanaz Talaifar, points to what she calls “lifestyle polarization”—the idea that political identity shapes not just what we believe, but how we live, socialize, and even relax. But perception is everything. If we think the divide is massive, we’re less likely to connect, empathize, or collaborate across political lines—even when we actually have more in common than we realize.

In a nation starving for civic unity, this research serves as a wake-up call: our political differences may be real, but they are not destiny. The deeper problem is our unwillingness to see the common humanity in those we disagree with. As always, reality is more complicated—and hopeful—than the narrative we’re fed.

(5) “Religious belief linked to lower anxiety and better sleep in Israeli Druze study, by Vladimir Hedrih,” PsyPost, July 11, 2025

A new study out of Israel adds to the growing body of evidence linking religious faith with better mental health—and even better sleep. Published in the Journal of Sleep Research, this research focused on members of the Druze community, a unique religious minority in Israel, and found that religiosity is significantly associated with lower anxiety and improved sleep quality.

The researchers surveyed 233 individuals from two Druze villages on Mount Carmel. Participants were classified as either religious (Uqqal) or non-religious (Juhal) and completed assessments of their spiritual habits, anxiety and depression levels, and sleep patterns. What stood out was the clear difference between religious and non-religious participants: religious individuals reported significantly less anxiety and, as a result, slept better. Notably, anxiety—not depression—seemed to be the crucial link in this chain.

The study used the Social-Ecological Model of Sleep Health to analyze how cultural and psychological factors interact to influence sleep. The takeaway? It appears that religious belief can serve as a protective factor, lowering stress and anxiety, which then allows for healthier, more restorative sleep. In a culture saturated with talk of mindfulness apps and sleep hygiene hacks, this research quietly reminds us that an anchored sense of spiritual meaning might be just as important—if not more so.

While these findings are specific to the Druze community, they echo a wider trend in psychological research: belief in God—or at least involvement in a religious tradition—often buffers people against the stressors of modern life. Faith can calm the mind, quiet anxieties, and restore rhythms of rest.

In an anxious, sleepless world, this study offers a profound insight: maybe the best sleep aid isn’t found in your medicine cabinet—but in your theology. For some, a good night’s sleep might begin with a deeper sense of divine security.