
Brits prefer nicknames
Modern Brits have an average of three pet names and 56% of Gen Z admitted they prefer them to their real name, with 42% saying nicknames make them feel happy and 39% more loved when they are called by a different moniker.
And a huge 93% of those surveyed believe nicknames are a way of showing affection.
But the study of under 30s from Coca-Cola found pet name usage has changed over time, with Gen Z insisting they would never use the likes of 'treacle' (38%), 'snookums' (37%) , 'chick' (35%) , 'sugar' (31%), 'old man' (30%), or 'hon' (29%).
Instead, 'bro' (53%), 'mate' (44%), and 'bestie' (35%) are the most popular terms of endearment with the younger generation, while other modern nicknames in the top 20 include "bae" (28%), king (12%0, and shawty (11%).
Charlotte Butt, Senior Marketing Manager from Coca-Cola, said: 'Nicknames are more than just labels; they're a shorthand for shared history, inside jokes and personal connections.
"They reflect the unique relationships between individuals and the evolution of language within friendship groups, that's why we made sure to include terms of affection in our 'Share a Coke' range.'
To mark the findings, Coca-Cola have brought back 'Share a Coke', with the option for customers to create a can with any name of their choice by simply scanning the QR code on pack or instore from May 15th, to create a truly unique Coca-Cola pack.
And for the first time, Brits will be able to choose from a range of other nicknames and phrases around friendship, such as 'My Bestie', 'My Bae', 'My Mate', 'My Fam' and 'My Day One'.
Look for personalised Coca-Cola packs in store now.

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ABC News
18 hours ago
- ABC News
The Facebook effect: How Mark Zuckerberg fashioned a generation in his own image - ABC Religion & Ethics
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Rules that are vague, erratic and inconsistent across contexts, but which carry much weight, nevertheless. For so many young users, these are the de jure limits to free speech and political expression. Therefore, these platforms have effectively become the moral arbiters of a generation — morals that don't promote introspection, or knowledge of self, so much as self-presentation. They tell users what they are by the constant feedback mechanism of the algorithms: honing and honing and honing until you can be optimised online no more. A cookie-cutter production of personas What kind of persona does an online environment such as this produce? Personas that are at once conflict averse and hyper-critical, emotionally dulled yet highly reactive online, socially engaged and attuned to online developments yet personally disconnected. Much like Zuckerberg's own low empathy, high control, distanced life of private jets and subservient employees, ever tinkering with code and obsessing about system performance, the people he's created concern themselves with metrics — likes, follows, shares — and rankings. Zuckerberg's ambition to get everyone into the metaverse by means of digital avatars that can communicate with AI agents and fashion an artificial life, is the antithesis of all that it means to be a human and fulfil human desires. Especially in adolescence, growth and development require friction and real social feedback. It's unclear where this will lead us. Perhaps Australia's social media minimum age regulation will be a positive start. We clearly need more than digital literacy. It seems there's enough focus on the digital as it is. Perhaps we need more focus on the physical, the tangible and material. The person to person. There doesn't always need to be 'an app for that'. Samuel Cornell is a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, researching public health, social media, and digital behaviour.


Perth Now
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David Beckham left with huge bald patch after DIY haircut blunder
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Courier-Mail
4 days ago
- Courier-Mail
Palace has 'meltdown' over leaked Charles funeral plans
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In fact this episode, the Beast's Tom Lachem writes, lays bare the 'iron fist in a velvet glove' of Palace operations. King Charles pictured on July 15, 2025 in London. Picture: Aaron Chown -The whole thing sounds less genteel sorts in a lesser drawing room writing charity press releases while listening to Brahms on the wireless and more North Korean Ministry of Information. The storm broke in late June when the Telegraph ran the piece entitled 'Prince Harry and Meghan at heart of King's funeral plans'. The Sussexes', deputy royal editor Victoria Ward reported, are at 'the heart of [the King's] funeral plans' and Charles 'is adamant that his youngest son take his rightful place at the centre of his family' when the sad day comes. This will see the duke 'walk side-by-side with his brother, by then the King … through the streets of central London' and both Harry and Meghan 'will be invited to … play a prominent role alongside the most senior royals during the funeral service.' 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Andreae 'was very, very, unhappy' and 'multiple sources' told the Beast that Andreae 'had a meltdown' over the report. No other British outlets reported on the King's plans to bring the Sussexes back into the royal family, even if temporarily. Picture: Henry Nicholls/AFP After the Telegraph story came out, 'courtiers began an extraordinary operation,' the Beast reports, to try and stop all the other UK newspapers also covering the leaked Bridge revelations. As the Beast points out, this appears to have worked. No other British outlets reported on the King's plans to bring the Sussexes back into the royal family, even if temporarily. Then, a couple of weeks later, came Andreae's starring moment, finding his face splashed all over the Daily Mail. Somehow the paper managed to have a paparazzo in place to record a 'peace summit' involving the spin doctor and two of the Sussexes' top aides, including their communications head and head of household Meredith Maines. Even though the trio just had 'casual drinks,' per the Mail, this meeting was the biggest step towards patching things up between London and Montecito that we have seen in years. What next? The formal exchange of gift baskets? King Charles with his son Prince Harry in 2019. Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage Between the Bridge details being fed to the media and, you'd have to guess, someone tipping off the Mail (the Sussexes were reportedly 'frustrated' over the secret meeting being made public), Andreae is really not having a crash hot time of it right now. Lips would seem to be decidedly loose right now and all this manoeuvring and planning being splashed all over the internet and the media can hardly be welcomed by the 'iron fisted' Palace now can it? At this rate someone will be blabbing about Queen Camilla's regular Nandos order tout suite. Let me leave you with the most useful but wonderful bit of royal trivia I have ever picked up. If The Marseillaise had ended up as the British national anthem then, handily, the Queen Mother could reportedly play it on the mouth organ. Simply brilliant. Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years' experience working with a number of Australia's leading media titles. Originally published as Palace's 'meltdown' over leaked Charles funeral plans