Episode Description:

In this episode of The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Round-up, Arielle and Karissa explore two uplifting solutions that challenge overconsumption and digital overwhelm. First, they dive into the growing trend of screen-free living among younger generations, highlighting how a quiet rebellion is reshaping our relationship with technology. Then they spotlight Poppins, a joyful French app inspired by Mary Poppins’ magical carpet bag, designed to help neighbors borrow instead of buy everyday items. From raclette machines to baby cots, this circular sharing model is saving money, reducing waste, and sparking real-life community connections. Tune in to discover how technology can help us simplify, reconnect, and live more sustainably.

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Transcript:

Theme music

Arielle

Hello and welcome to The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup. I’m Arielle.

Karissa

And I’m Karissa, and we’re working hard to put solutions in view and optimism in motion. Happy Friday, Arielle! It’s been a good week for me, I would say, and I hope you and our listeners have had a great week as well. I’m feeling pretty optimistic from all the solutions you shared, and I can’t wait to dive deeper into some more today.

Arielle

Yeah! Speaking of reading all the solutions—if listeners are not yet subscribed to our free daily newsletter, then you should definitely consider doing that, because you’ll get all of the solutions we don’t have time to cover on the pod delivered straight to your inbox.

Karissa

Yeah! And if you don’t want another email in your inbox, you can also follow us on socials. We post all of our solutions and more from the archive there. We’re @optimistdaily on just about everything—except X, where we are @OdeToOptimism.

Arielle

For all of you who are already sharing solutions and just even listening to our podcast—thank you so much. That means a lot to us, and it really helps get our message out there. But if you want to get even more involved in the Optimist community, you can become an Emissary and help us financially, because we really do need the support. You can find out exactly how to do that by visiting our website—and there will also be a link in the show notes.

Karissa

Now that that’s out of the way—Arielle, how are you doing?

Arielle

I’m doing really well. It’s been a little bit rainy in Amsterdam this week and I’m actually enjoying it—it’s kind of a vibe. And yeah, I’ve just been really enjoying spending time with friends who are traveling through for the summer. So yeah, not much to complain about. How about you?

Karissa

Yeah, I mean, I’m just kind of enjoying the summer days as well. Things are slowing down a little bit more, because the past couple weekends have been filled with camping, outdoor adventures… and yeah, summer is just flying by. I can’t believe it’s basically August now.

Arielle

Yeah, already end of July—it’s crazy. Well, it’s nice that you’re in a good mood, but do you have an I’m an Optimist, But…?

Karissa

Well, I’m an optimist, but my lack of attention span is kind of bringing me down a bit, because the world is just so fast-paced, and I am definitely a victim of being on my phone too much. I’m sure many of us can relate. My attention span has definitely decreased—I feel like—because of that. And summer is really when I try to hit hard in my reading goals, but whenever I read, it just feels like it’s so hard for me to actually lock in and be focused on a book for a long amount of time. And I hate that I feel that way.

I’m going to try to wean off my phone a little bit more too. I think that’s something that many of us can relate to.

Arielle

It’s funny you say that, because I’m an optimist, but this week I found myself feeling kind of unexpectedly emotional over an old video that resurfaced from 2003. It shows MGMT—you know, the band—playing an early extended version of their song Kids, before it was officially released in 2007.

Karissa

Oh, yeah.

Arielle

And that clip has been gaining a little bit of traction on the internet. It was uploaded by someone who goes by Rad Scientist on YouTube—I think he was a classmate of the band members—and it captures just this really low-key outdoor concert. Just a bunch of young people dancing and having fun.

What really struck me wasn’t just the music—which I haven’t heard in a while, so it was also kind of like taking a trip down memory lane—but the crowd. No one had a phone out. No one was recording or live-streaming or watching through a screen. The only footage we have is from this one person with an actual camcorder. I guess, Rad Scientist.

Karissa

Mm-hmm.

Arielle

And back then, that was a whole production—to carry around this clunky camcorder, so it felt, I guess, more intentional.

Karissa

Yeah.

Arielle

It felt like just this one moment in time was captured because someone really wanted to remember it—not because it needed to go online. So… maybe you get where I’m going with this, but watching it made me—and apparently a whole lot of other people in the comments—feel really nostalgic. It reminded everyone of life before smartphones took over. Before we started feeling pressured to document everything… people were just there.

Karissa

Totally.

Arielle

Like, really there. Full in the moment.

Karissa

Definitely.

Arielle

And it did make me smile. It also—yeah—made me sad. (Laughs) Because I don’t think we even realized what we were losing as phones became ever-present. And now, you know, we have all this research showing how constant connectivity can mess with our focus—like you were saying—or our sleep, or our self-esteem. And I feel that sometimes.

Karissa

Right. Hmm.

Arielle

And you know, you just said that you feel that.

Karissa

Absolutely. Yeah.

Arielle

Maybe we lost a bit of our humanity in exchange for always being online. Yeah. So that can be overwhelming.

Karissa

Yeah.

Arielle

I will say that working at The Optimist Daily honestly keeps me so grounded, because we see so many stories and studies about how people are reclaiming their attention, setting boundaries, and choosing healthier digital habits. And I’ve started doing that more consciously myself.

Karissa

Yes. Mhm.

Arielle

Like I’ve gotten rid of my social media, and even if I’m really bored and I’m waiting in line at a grocery store, it’s getting easier to not pull out my phone. I just watch people and daydream or whatever, because that’s what people used to do.

Karissa

Yeah. Mhm.

Arielle

It helps me feel more connected to the kind of human experience our ancestors probably had—well, definitely had—for like generations on generations. But yeah, I think more of us are starting to realize we want that kind of presence back, and it’s totally possible to choose that again.

So that brings me to my solution of the week.

Karissa

Totally, yeah. I’m excited to hear what kind of solution you have.

Arielle

It’s all about this growing trend among young people in the UK who are choosing to unplug—not because an adult told them to, not because they’re grounded or something—but because they want to protect their mental health and focus. The article title is Why more kids are choosing to unplug: the quiet rebellion against screen overload.

Karissa

Whoa, okay. That’s crazy—like kids are choosing to unplug? You know, given how much tech is baked into everything we do now—even just at school—and then your social life and even your hobbies are all online.

Arielle

Yeah, exactly. But this new research from GWI—the Global Web Index—shows that since 2022, the number of 12- to 15-year-olds taking regular breaks from their devices has gone up by 18 percent. That means about 40 percent of kids in that age group are now consciously stepping back from screen time.

Karissa

Whoa. That’s a pretty major shift. So are they doing this on their own, I guess?

Arielle

Yeah—and that’s what’s so interesting. Professor Sonia Livingstone at the London School of Economics says this is partly because kids are becoming more aware of how social media affects them. Some of it comes from parents or the media, but a lot of it is their own experience. They’re paying attention to how they feel after being online and adjusting accordingly.

Karissa

Yeah, it’s not about deleting all of their apps and going offline forever. It’s just more nuanced.

Arielle

And a lot of them are simply experimenting. Maybe it means muting notifications or using Do Not Disturb during homework—or even deleting an app that drains their energy or self-esteem. It’s a way of setting boundaries with tech, not necessarily rejecting it completely.

They’re even sharing tips with each other. The article mentions that peer-to-peer conversations are shaping a lot of these choices. So just as Livingstone points out, it’s very much about community. Kids are comparing notes, asking what’s worked for others, and figuring out how to create healthier habits together.

Karissa

I love that. That’s pretty inspiring—especially considering how many adults, including myself, still struggle with this exact thing. So it’s so great that this new generation is taking hold of this problem and doing something about it. (Laughs)

Arielle

Totally. Ofcom’s 2024 report backs this up—one-third of 8- to 17-year-olds say their screen time feels too high, and nearly half of people aged 16 to 24 are actively using tools to limit it. So that’s up significantly from last year.

Karissa

Yeah, that’s crazy. Young people are just more likely than adults to take these proactive steps, it looks like.

Arielle

Yeah, right. David Ellis, a behavioral scientist at the University of Bath, noted that kids might actually be quicker than their parents to explore tech tools that support better habits. And while we don’t have long-term data yet, he says swapping even a little screen time for physical activity, or rest, or reading—it’s probably a good trade-off.

Karissa

Yes! This is great. And it sounds kind of like the beginning of a culture shift—and even maybe just a quiet form of resistance.

Arielle

That’s exactly how Daisy Greenwell has described it. She’s the cofounder of Smartphone Free Childhood, and she said for many teens, taking a break has become a kind of rebellion. Not in like the loud, cliché, dramatic teenage sense—but in a really thoughtful way.

Karissa

I mean, “rebellion as mindfulness” is a frame I wasn’t really expecting—but I love it.

Arielle

It’s powerful—especially when you consider that these platforms are designed to keep us scrolling.

Karissa

Yeah.

Arielle

It’s so addictive sometimes! But kids are starting to realize that. And they’re saying, “No, I’m not giving my time and energy away so easily.” And they’re not just doing this for themselves. Some are already thinking about how they’ll raise their own kids differently.

The 18- to 25-year-olds were frustrated by the lack of guidance from their parents and even went as far as to say they’d actually delay giving their kids smartphones.

Karissa

That’s the level of awareness you don’t really hear from this age group. I fall just outside the age group—I’m 26—so a little bit older, but I mean, I agree with that sentiment so much. I grew up in a time where we didn’t have smartphones all the time until I was about in high school. Things were just so weird, having that come up, and everybody in this major cultural shift.

Arielle

Yeah, you had to adapt to it.

Karissa

Right, exactly. So we didn’t really have the guidance. No one really knew what we were getting into—so a bit of the blind leading the blind, in that sense.

Arielle

Yeah, I totally agree with you. But it is so encouraging that now that we are more conscious of the effects of constant connectivity, young people are stepping up and thinking proactively about how they can protect the generations that come after them.

Yeah—one poll even showed that nearly half of young people would prefer a world without the internet. That’s not a fantasy about going off the grid—I think it’s a desire for balance. Or something slower. And as we keep saying, something more intentional.

Karissa

Yeah, it’s kind of a quiet message—but a powerful one. That tech can be part of our daily lives without taking over completely.

Arielle

Yeah, these young people are showing us what that looks like—not with grand declarations, but with small, consistent choices to pause, unplug, and tune into what’s going on around them and what really matters.

Karissa

Well, I really like this, and I guess I choose to identify with the younger generation. I mean, it is hard, and I do feel like I’m trying to make a conscious decision to limit as well. So I do resonate with the solution a lot.

Arielle

Yeah. But of course, the internet and all of these cool innovations in tech have brought a lot of good. So it’s all about balance, I suppose… because I think you’re going to share a solution about an app that’s actually really, really cool.

Karissa

Totally, yeah. So the solution title is called French app Poppins makes borrowing better than buying, and I really liked seeing this solution because I definitely feel like I own way too many things that I don’t use often enough—so I didn’t really need to buy them in the first place.

For instance, for some reason I’ve become the owner of a lot of ice chests over the past couple of years, but I rarely use them. I…

Arielle

Wait, what’s an ice chest?

Karissa

Oh, I guess it’s more of an American thing, but it’s just like the coolers—the boxes for putting…

Arielle

Ohh! Yeah, we just call them coolers.

Karissa

Oh! (Laughs)

Arielle

“Ice chest” sounds fancier, so I’m going to start using that.

Karissa

I mean, people say both—cooler or ice chest. But yeah, I own many ice chests. They’re kind of expensive, but they do work really well on trips if you’re going camping or something. So that’s why I have them. But before I had them, I just borrowed some from family members and that worked perfectly fine. So that’s my little kind of…

Arielle

Indulgence? (Laughs)

Karissa

Indulgence, I guess—one of many. But I guess, Arielle, is there anything taking up space in your home that you rarely, if ever, use?

Arielle

I’m… I’m looking around. I’m recording this in my living room right now, and my partner and I are just huge fans of trinkets. We just have a bunch of random things, so I can see a lot of clutter. I can’t really tell you exactly one thing that we have too much of—maybe clothes? I’ve been really trying to get rid of my clothes that I don’t need. You know, like another pair of jeans.

Karissa

Well, yeah, many of us own things that we barely use. So French entrepreneur Lucie Basch has a joyful solution, which is this new app called Poppins that makes it easy to borrow or rent underused household items from neighbors.

The idea is simple: you can own less and have more. Basch previously launched the successful food waste app Too Good To Go, and she’s now turning her attention to our cluttered closets and overstuffed cupboards.

According to research cited by Basch, the average French person owns approximately 2.5 tons of objects—and a third of them are never used. So it really doesn’t make sense, either ecologically or economically.

Arielle

That is a striking statistic. And I didn’t know that she was also behind Too Good To Go! I actually use that all the time.

Karissa

Ohh, that’s awesome!

Yeah, I mean it’s not here in the United States, but I’m glad you use that, Arielle. And maybe once this app rolls out to the Netherlands, you’ll be able to use it as well.

Arielle

Yeah, exciting!

Karissa

I also did a little research into what Americans have sitting around too, because I think it’s a pretty common stereotype that Americans have a lot of stuff.

And according to the LA Times, the average American household contains over 300,000 items, which is a crazy number. Many of those items have to go unused or rarely used as well.

So that’s why I feel hopeful about this solution—and I hope it makes its way around the world. Because with Poppins, users can list items they really need or borrow what they don’t want to buy.

You can think about things like drills, kitchen mixers, baby cots, or that party-perfect chocolate fountain that you really don’t need taking up space in your house—because you probably use it maybe once in a blue moon.

It’s really cool because the name is inspired by Mary Poppins and her magic carpet bag, and the app aims to make neighborhood sharing just as wondrous as Mary Poppins and her awesome bag of stuff.

Arielle

This sounds like a great business approach. How does their model work? And are people liking it so far?

Karissa

Yeah! So their model goes like this: listings include both free loans and rentals, with the app taking a small commission.

Notably, around 65 percent of the offers so far have been free—which is really cool. Rental shops and local libraries are also included on the platform to widen access.

And the platform was launched this April, but it’s already attracted 40,000 users across France.

Arielle

That’s great! It sounds like they’re off to a wonderful start, and I’m sure users and lenders alike are benefitting.

Karissa

Yeah, so actually Basch, the founder, says that the benefits of the model are threefold. She says if we make sharing normal, less is produced—which is ecological—we will spend less because it’s cheaper to rent or borrow, and we will be more social, as we’re talking to each other again.

Arielle

Wins all around! Less consumption and less clutter. And I didn’t even think about the social aspect of it all. It’s a great way to connect with your community.

Karissa

I really love that part of it too, because I feel like it’s well known that society as a whole is just so much less social now. So many factors have driven us to be more isolated—I mean, we know, and we love to talk about this all the time—community is totally key. And this is a great way to help promote being more active in your community.

Arielle

Mm-hmm, totally. And of course, I love the circularity of this model as well. Listeners will know that we are huge fans of circularity here at The Optimist Daily.

Karissa

Yeah, exactly. As Basch says, this is definitely a shift from linear to circular consumption, which is great. She says the linear model doesn’t work anymore and destroys the planet. And big companies are beginning to take notice, with some even reaching out to explore rental-based models for white goods.

Arielle

That makes sense. So what are people borrowing through Poppins the most? I’m curious.

Karissa

Yeah, so because the app is in France—and we know the French love their cheese—raclette machines, which are those cool cheese-melting machines…

Arielle

Oh my god, I love raclette!

Karissa

Well, they topped the list. So that’s something people are looking to borrow or lend out the most. Other items include tents, camping gear—which makes sense—baby beds, party supplies, barbecues, and outdoor games. And with summer holidays approaching and going on right now, demand for travel and event gear is also rising.

Arielle

Is there anything prohibited from being listed on the app?

Karissa

Yeah. Well, weapons and sex toys are strictly off limits for obvious reasons. So yeah, that’s a great start, but the app is moderated for safety and comfort, so I’m assuming that if anything questionable was listed, they’d be able to take it down immediately.

Arielle

Oh yeah. It’s cool. It’s good to know there’s a moderation team. And I really just love this idea in general—it seems that reaching out to the community for your needs is a trend that’s making its way back with these new models.

It definitely fits along the lines of Buy Nothing groups on Facebook or even the rise of bartering again, which I think we recently had a solution on.

Karissa

Yeah, we did! I really liked that one as well. And I’m loving this shift. I mean, I like how this approach is kind of different from Buy Nothing groups because you can just borrow or rent things rather than taking something in permanently.

And like you said—bartering is so back too. We wrote about it at The Optimist Daily, and we’ve been highlighting a couple of different apps over the years that have similar premises.

So I think it’s great that people are exchanging or just lending out things for free, or even just exchanging services or things they already have with each other. It’s great to see this circular model that’s really being more environmentally friendly and, of course, promoting interaction with the community.

Arielle

And wallet-friendly as well.

Karissa

Exactly.

Arielle

This is like a three-pronged solution for addressing overconsumption. But what’s in the future for Poppins? Can we expect to see a bigger rollout soon? I hope so, because I would like to see it in the Netherlands.

Karissa

Well, the app is set to launch in Belgium in 2026, with the UK debut planned shortly after—so pretty close to you, Arielle.

And I can definitely foresee Poppins rolling out in your country very soon. I just hope the momentum keeps up so we can see a global release soon too, because I would love to use this over in the United States as well.

Arielle

Mhmm.

Karissa

I mean, I really like that it’s focusing on simplicity, community, and fun. Poppins is just really showing that a more circular way of living isn’t just possible—it might also be the most joyful too.

Arielle

Yeah, I love this. This is a way that technology is actually helping us communicate in person, because you have to switch off or hand off the item that’s being lent out. And yeah, it’s just creating more chances for interaction—which I love. So yeah, very uplifting episode today!

Karissa

Yeah, I loved these solutions. But we also had some other solutions on The Optimist Daily this week that you can go check out, and they include…

Arielle

Mushroom caskets offer an earth-friendly goodbye in North America’s first burial of its kind, A major first in malaria care: newborn treatment approved for use in Africa, New Jersey takes bold step toward universal free preschool and kindergarten, and How to protect your body from summer travel aches, according to a physical therapist.

What else do we have, Karissa?

Karissa

Well, we have Love bees but need to relocate a hive? Here’s how to do it sustainably, How Hope Hydration turns advertising dollars into free, clean drinking water, 6 sneaky everyday habits that are secretly hurting your back (and how to fix them), and UK moves to ban NDAs that silence workplace harassment victims.

Arielle

Quite a variety! Hopefully that gets everyone through the weekend if you haven’t read them already. And Karissa, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Karissa

Thanks, Arielle, and I hope you have a great weekend as well. And to our listeners, we’ll be back with more solutions…

Arielle

Next week!

Karissa

Next week!

Arielle

OK. Until then.

Karissa

Bye!

Arielle

Bye!