Weekly Top Five Articles

Zyn Nation, Why Nordic Men Are the Least Masculine, Men Are More Emotional Than Women In Relationships, and more. . .

(Photography by Bobby Doherty, GQ)

Here’s what stood out this week:

(1) “How Zyn Conquered the American Mouth”by Emily Sundberg,” GQ (January 30, 2025)

Why did Swedish nicotine pouches become a generation's go-to fix for blasting through long work days and longer nights out?

The rise of Zyn, the Swedish nicotine pouch, has taken America by storm, moving far beyond its origins as a niche product associated with frat culture and blue-collar workers. In her GQ article, Emily Sundberg explores how Zyn has become the go-to stimulant for a generation seeking focus, energy, and social bonding. Once stereotyped as a habit of cowboys, fishermen, and finance bros, Zyn is now everywhere, discreetly tucked under the lips of creatives, athletes, and professionals alike. The product’s appeal is rooted in its ability to deliver a nicotine buzz without smoke, smell, or the stigma of vaping, making it a quiet but powerful force in everyday life.

Zyn’s meteoric rise reflects a shift in American nicotine consumption, with sales skyrocketing 641% between 2019 and 2022. The brand now dominates the U.S. nicotine pouch market, accounting for over 65% of sales by volume in 2024. Its appeal spans across political, socioeconomic, and professional lines—used in equal measure on dance floors, trading floors, and sports sidelines. Athletes, traders, and students alike turn to Zyn to stay locked in, alert, and energized, while casual users appreciate the product’s clean and discreet experience.

The history of smokeless nicotine has roots in Sweden, where snus, a moist tobacco product, was popularized in the 1970s. Zyn’s modern, tobacco-free version emerged from Swedish pharmaceutical innovation in the early 2000s, offering a nicotine fix without the mess or health concerns associated with traditional chewing tobacco. By 2022, Philip Morris International acquired Swedish Match, Zyn’s parent company, for $16 billion, further cementing its place in the nicotine market. The timing was perfect, as concerns over vaping’s health risks and regulatory scrutiny pushed consumers toward alternatives.

Cultural icons and media figures have fueled Zyn’s mainstream explosion. Joe Rogan speculated on its cognitive benefits, Senator Chuck Schumer called for regulatory crackdowns, and Tucker Carlson embraced it before launching his own competitor, Alp. Social media influencers—dubbed "Zynfluencers"—have helped normalize and glamorize the product, even as health experts warn of nicotine addiction, gum irritation, and potential long-term risks.

Zyn’s growing dominance represents more than just a new nicotine trend—it reflects a broader societal shift toward efficiency, productivity, and subtle stimulation. Unlike the social rituals of smoking or vaping, Zyn fits seamlessly into an era of personal optimization, where users seek controlled doses of enhancement without disrupting their workflow. Sundberg’s piece captures the paradox at the heart of Generation Zyn: a health-conscious generation that swore off cigarettes, only to rediscover nicotine in a sleeker, cleaner, more addictive form.

(2) “Are Cell Phones Really Destroying Kids’ Mental Health?,” by Siva Vaidhyanathan, The New Republic (January 23, 2025)

Siva Vaidhyanathan (professor of media studies at UVA) critiques Jonathan Haidt’s latest book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, arguing that Haidt oversimplifies the causes of rising youth mental health issues. Haidt, once an advocate for social connectivity, now blames smartphones and social media as the primary drivers of adolescent distress. He contends that excessive screen time disrupts sleep, attention, and real-world socialization while overprotective parenting deprives children of resilience-building experiences. His claims have influenced policymakers, with figures like the U.S. Surgeon General advocating for warning labels on social media.

Vaidhyanathan, however, finds Haidt’s argument reductionist, pointing out that meta-analyses show only a weak correlation between digital media use and mental health declines. He argues that Haidt neglects broader societal factors, including economic instability, academic pressures, and the loss of community support structures. Additionally, for marginalized youth, smartphones can serve as crucial lifelines to supportive networks. While acknowledging that screen overuse may contribute to distress, Vaidhyanathan criticizes Haidt’s failure to consider more complex, systemic causes. A meaningful response to youth mental health, he suggests, requires addressing economic and social conditions, not just restricting technology use.

Vaidhyanathan concludes with this paragraph:

The book missed so many opportunities to explore with sincerity and respect how young people use the tools around them to cope with misery and to seek opportunity. That’s not the whole story of phones in our lives, any more than that of phones undermining mental health is. But if Haidt had sought to tell a more detailed and truthful story of our condition, he would have listened to the kids more.

Wait, what? "Listen to the kids more"—is he serious? Vaidhyanathan's bias as a media advocate couldn't be more obvious. Why should we prioritize what kids think? They're kids! Would we apply his logic to something like diet choices?

(3) “What Do We Owe the Dead?” by Tyler McBrien, The Dial (January 28, 2025)

McBrien examines the gaps in international law regarding the dignity of the deceased. When Tishiko King returned to Masig Island, she found rising sea levels had unearthed her ancestors’ remains, raising profound legal and ethical questions: Do the dead have rights, and who ensures their protection?

Despite a universal instinct to honor the dead, international law offers little protection outside wartime. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies only to the living, and while international humanitarian law ensures certain rights for the dead in conflicts—such as identification and repatriation—there is no global framework for peacetime protections. Legal scholars argue this disproportionately harms marginalized groups whose remains are often discarded or left unclaimed.

McBrien highlights efforts to address this gap. Forensic anthropologists like Luis Fondebrider stress the need for proper burial and identification, while legal experts like Anjli Parrin advocate for recognizing rights for the dead, not just their families. UN Special Rapporteur Morris Tidball-Binz has called for new guidelines—potentially a Universal Declaration on the Dignity of the Dead—to set global standards.

The lack of protections has led to dire consequences. In Mexico, 39,000 unidentified bodies have accumulated due to cartel violence, while in Tunisia, migrant corpses have been dumped in unmarked graves. Without explicit international protections, these injustices persist, mirroring the neglect these individuals faced in life.

McBrien argues that protecting the dead is a moral imperative. Just as international law evolved to prevent human rights abuses among the living, it must now address its failure to safeguard those who can no longer speak for themselves.

(4) “Study finds strong link between cultural femininity and electric vehicle market share,” by Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost, January 30, 2025

A new study published in Travel Behaviour and Society explores how cultural perceptions of gender influence electric vehicle adoption. Researchers found that countries with a more feminine cultural orientation—emphasizing cooperation, quality of life, and environmental care—tend to have higher rates of electric vehicle adoption. In contrast, nations with stronger masculine values, which prioritize competition and material success, show lower adoption rates. Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, which rank low in masculinity, lead in electric vehicle market share.

Beyond national trends, a psychological study in Germany revealed that men reluctant to buy electric vehicles unconsciously associate them with femininity. Using an implicit association test, researchers found that traditional masculine identity may act as a barrier to electric vehicle adoption, reinforcing the idea that cars symbolize more than just transportation—they carry deep cultural meaning.

While the study primarily focuses on Europe, its findings raise important questions about consumer behavior worldwide. As governments and automakers push for wider electric vehicle adoption, understanding and addressing these cultural biases could be key to accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation.

(5) “Men value romantic relationships more and suffer greater consequences from breakups than women,” by Mane Kara-Yakoubian, PsyPost, January 27, 2025

A new study challenges long-standing cultural narratives about romance, showing that men value romantic relationships more than women and suffer greater consequences from breakups. According to research forthcoming in Behavioral & Brain Sciences, men rely more on their partners for emotional support and intimacy, largely because they tend to have fewer alternative sources of connection. Unlike women, who are socialized to build strong friendships and family ties, men often depend on their romantic partners as their primary source of emotional fulfillment.

The study identifies four key findings. First, men have stronger motivations to form romantic relationships, believing they offer greater well-being benefits. They are also more likely to idealize love and fall for their partners quickly. Second, men derive more mental and physical health benefits from being in relationships. Single men experience higher rates of depression, stress, and loneliness than single women, and they face more severe health risks if they lack a partner. Third, men are significantly less likely to initiate breakups—around 70% of divorces are initiated by women—because the emotional cost of leaving is too high. Finally, men suffer more severe emotional and physical distress after a breakup, reporting greater loneliness, sadness, and even increased risks of suicide and mortality.

These findings highlight the deep impact of socialization on male emotional dependence, showing how gender norms discourage men from seeking support outside of romantic relationships. The authors argue for a cultural shift in how we understand men’s emotional vulnerabilities and their need for broader social support systems.

The paper, Romantic Relationships Matter More to Men than to Women, was authored by Iris V. Wahring, Jeffry A. Simpson, and Paul A. M. Van Lange.