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Instagram is inescapable, whether it be for work or leisure. The social media platform is such a versatile space for people of all ages and for all purposes. There’s fashion, religion, architecture inspiration and everything else that matters. You are bound to find plenty of content on whatever it is that you are in need of. One of our favorite ways to use Instagram is to browse through some lighthearted content to get our daily dose of fun. Here we recommend three of our go-to accounts.

Sheena Interrupted 

This is available as a podcast on Spotify but snippets of the episodes are on Instagram too for bite-sized content consumption. It’s essentially just fun banter between Sheena Melwani and her husband, Dinesh Melwani. They talk about their life and discuss common issues without things getting too heavy. It will make you laugh and help you get your mind off things that are weighing you down.

The Language Nerds

If you only have a couple of minutes and need something to freshen you up, let this page be it. It’s content that makes you laugh while stimulating your language curiosities. It’s basically quotes and jokes on languages and their many errors and complexities. Some will make you laugh, others will make you think but no matter what you will have learnt something fun and useful.

Shanta Guni

She is a mom of three daughters who lives in Texas, USA. Though she is an electrical engineer by profession, content creation seems to be her passion. Her Instagram account is filled with posts of daily life in Texas that make you laugh and teach you a thing or two as well. From funny things her children say to what she makes for dinner, Guni shares much of her life in an interesting way.

While overpopulation is often linked to resource scarcity, unemployment, and inequality, real solutions lie beyond memorizing statistics. Meaningful progress comes from engaging youth through practical, creative education—like gamified learning and field-based experiences. ApEx spoke to three people to understand Nepal’s demographic changes, innovation, and responsibility.

Soniya Bhetuwal, 19

Population growth impacts social, economic, and environmental systems, leading to challenges like resource scarcity, unemployment, and inequality. While often viewed negatively, it also brings opportunities such as increased labor and innovation. To address population issues effectively, education must move beyond traditional methods—using interactive, practical tools like field trips and digital learning to engage students meaningfully. A smart, informed society requires investment in data-driven planning, frugal innovation, and sustainable urban development. Governments must also create open feedback systems to ensure policies meet people’s real needs and foster inclusive decision-making.

Pravash Pandey, 29

Nepal’s population is growing at its slowest rate in 80 years—just 0.92 percent annually—but the effects remain significant. Cities are overcrowded, rural areas see a decline in population, and many youth are migrating abroad. With a fertility rate below replacement level (1.9), Nepal is heading toward population aging, which could strain healthcare, social support, and the economy.
Education—especially for women and rural communities—has helped lower birth rates and can empower people to make informed choices. However, more needs to be done. Education should include life skills, reproductive health, financial literacy, and climate awareness.
Nepal is currently in a ‘demographic window,’ with a high working-age population. This is a crucial time to invest in education, healthcare, job creation, and infrastructure. Migration shouldn’t be the only option. Opportunities must be created at home. Sustainable development must balance growth with environmental protection. Clean energy, sustainable farming, and inclusive policies are essential for lasting progress.

Anup Jung Pandey, 33

Population growth is changing our lives by making cities denser, increasing competition for jobs and resources. It is creating new demands and also driving innovation to meet new demands.

Education is key, it empowers individuals to make wise choices and teaches them to face challenges like resource scarcity, and cultivates the innovation needed for social welfare. Developing nations can grow sustainably by investing in people’s health and education, managing resources wisely, diversifying their economies, strengthening transparent governance, and ensuring that the economy benefits all citizens fairly.

The sweltering heat is getting to us. And that’s an understatement. Many people we know have suffered from heat strokes in the past couple of weeks while stepping out during the day time. If we were to be honest, the heat is also making us irritable. As much as we would like to stay indoors and chill when the weather is hot, it’s not always practical or possible. So, what can you do to make your office commute or grocery shopping trip more comfortable? We have compiled a list of essential items that can come to your rescue during this time.

A sun hat or UV protection umbrella

It probably goes without saying that you shouldn’t step out without a hat or an umbrella. But it’s appalling how many people are just out and about without one. Most people forget to carry one or consider it to be a bulky item to keep in their bags. However, sun hats and umbrellas protect you from the harmful rays of the sun and are thus a necessity. These days, you get really compact hats and umbrellas that don’t take up much space or weigh a lot. Invest in a good one and make it your summer buddy.

A chic water bottle

It’s imperative to stay hydrated during the summer but we forget to keep sipping on water mostly because we don’t have water with us all the time. Change that by buying a chic water bottle that you can take everywhere with you. Just get it refilled whenever you go—the restaurant or office. You can also add ice to your bottle if it’s a thermal insulated one and have access to chilled water if that’s what you fancy. Add a few slices of lime or cucumber or even a few sprigs of fresh mint if regular water is too boring for you. This is one of the simplest yet best ways to stay cool during hot summer days. We recommend you buy a water bottle holder. These are basically small bags that fit just your water bottle. It’s such a handy accessory to have as you won’t have to hold your bottle in your hand or risk spilling water in your bag and damaging everything you have inside it. 

A great pair of sunnies 

Sunglasses are a must have for summer. Not only will they protect your eyes from the sun but they will also make you look stylish and sleek. The sun also instantly feels more bearable when you have on a pair of sunglasses. While choosing sunglasses for summer, prioritize UV protection and look for lenses with 100% UV protection. Ensure a comfortable fit and choose the right frames for your face shape. We recommend sunglasses from Anthropose. They are stylish and made of recycled materials. What’s more, a small percentage of every sale goes towards providing free cataract surgeries to people in need in rural Nepal. 

Wet wipes

A packet of these and you are sorted for all kinds of hot conditions. You can use this to wipe your face or your hands and have an instantly cooling effect. They are great for maintaining hygiene on the go while removing sweat and dirt from your face, neck, and hands. They are also useful for quick cleanups after eating or to remove makeup when you are done with that meeting and would like to freshen up but still have a few hours of work left. A great alternative to wipes is a few drops of essential oil in water in a spray bottle. You can spray this directly onto your face, arms, or legs and use a handkerchief or some tissues to wipe off the dampness. 

Portable fan

A few years ago, you would have to go to select stores or places to find a nice portable fan. But these days, you get them everywhere. Every other store has started to stock up on these because the rising temperature means that the demand for these nifty items have gone up as well. Gone are the days of handheld paper fans that you would have to manually work. Battery powered fans are all the rage these days. You even get neck fans that go around your neck, much like a pair of bluetooth headphones. Just charge them overnight and the battery will last you a couple of days. A portable fan is a must have for everyone but especially for those who walk or take the local transport to work. 

Other important stuff

Besides the five important things we have mentioned, there are some other random things that are good to have during the summer (as well as other times of the year but especially during the summer). Invest in a good sunscreen and make sure you keep reapplying it throughout the day. This will prevent sunburn and rashes. A comfortable pair of shoes that don’t make your feet sweat is another important summer essential. Good footwear that allows your feet to breathe will make you feel more at ease. For women, claw clips are a must have as they will keep your hair out of your neck and face as well as help you achieve a stylish 90s style updo. Sweat absorbing pads that can go on your clothes under the arms are also handy to avoid sweat stains as are oil-blotting sheets that you can use to wipe excess oil from your face without ruining your makeup. 

Sitting me down, my father passionately recounts the story of his childhood—how he walked an hour up a steep-rugged road just to reach school. For him, receiving education at that time was a distant dream fraught with all sorts of hardships; an idea of a sense of fulfillment. Alien to such an experience, his story gives me a layered understanding of his world of the yore.  

Reflecting on his story, I am contrasted between his experiences of thought and mine. The world is shaped by the instant world of information bombarding today. The world we live in is “participatory culture” Henry Jenkins states in Convergence Culture: where old and new media collide (2006). Stalder (2006) writes about unlimited accessibility to information materials achieved with just one finger tip by referencing Manuel Castell, adding that youth culture develops in the spaces of flow.  

To read and write is no longer a confined dream now, but a hand to hand willing-reality that all of us can tap on anytime with virtual classrooms, webinars, youtube channels, podcasts and content creations awaiting us, eager to deliver information and knowledge.   

The digital space has brought everyone closer to reality and altered our lives. The more advanced technologies have become, the more of our identity sharing and building connections. Social media apps such as Tik Toks, Facebook, Instagram provide us with an opportunity to show and to be seen. Smartphones use advances more for our comfort. The sharing culture has made the world a global village (Easa, 2019) as we can connect with friends by sitting in opposite corners of the world and discussing similar contents. Yuval Noah Harari points out in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2015): For the first time in history, young people all over the world listen to the same music, watch the same movies and idolize the same celebrities. This reinforces the idea of a sharing culture that, according to Anthony Giddens  (Runaway World, 1999) fosters similar values that bind us with a single framework of aspiration.  

As people moved to online spaces, the concept of global consumer culture widened and things that were brands in the 60s or 70s remained no longer a brand. As many changes occurred including the choices and tastes of people, certain names like Nike, Apple, Netflix, k-pop became a global brand that established themselves with an identity. This “identity” as identified by Zygmunt Bauman in Liquid Modernity (2000) is constructed more from shared consumer cultures than inherited traditions.
Today’s youths are shaped more by smartphones, which makes them more inclusive, individualistic and anxious (Schmitt, 2023). They have started to become more vocal about contemporary issues as movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo have shown. 

At the same time, the Arab Spring is a testament showcasing the power of a globalized culture to come together for a purpose with social media acting as a fundamental tool for protests and advocacy.  

Moreover, this distinct psychological nature shaped by the media among youths has made them approach things in life flexibly. 

On certain aspects of the society such as marriage, gender issues and career choices, youths are more likely seen as liberalists. For them, finding love is important, daughters are not a burden and nor are family business responsibilities as they have the confidence to carve out their own life paths. 

Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology (1973) by Clifford Geertz emphasizes the importance of understanding culture through the lens of local, specific contexts, rather than relying on broad generalizations. The integration, therefore, implies intergenerational beliefs and thoughts. 

When I listen intuitively to my father’s story of what he used to do in the past, I only sense that I was born in a time when the internet was booming. I don’t decline his lived experiences but they don’t resonate with me because they seem distant to me at this time. Hence, I agree to disagree—not in the act of defiance but in the act of forging a networked co-existing path shaped by a dialogue, respect and discussion. Our world lenses are not much different but it’s just that we see the world differently.