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    aspiration

    US /ˌæspəˈreʃən/

    ・

    UK /ˌæspəˈreɪʃn/

    B2
    n.NounGreat desire to achieve something
    Julia has had a great aspiration for fame and wealth since she was a child

    Video subtitles

    How can you spot a TikTok wellness scam? - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service

    15:15How can you spot a TikTok wellness scam? - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service
    • So it's kind of easy to say like, oh drink more water or eat a more balanced meal, but a lot of people have kind of tried this before or are already doing it in their life, so it doesn't kind of seem like something you can really easily latch on to. Whereas when you say cut out all carbs, that's like a new thing that you can bring into your life that feels like you're really changing something. So trends tend to be something that's new, kind of strange sounding, and something that you can easily latch on to that people think may improve their life. Now we should point out that in terms of the wellness industry, not everything is a scam. As you said up top, it's a massive industry and there are indeed products that are backed by scientific evidence. My question for you is this though, where is the line? When does it become problematic? It's really tough to draw that line sometimes because you've got most of the trends that I see tend to be kind of in this middle area where they don't work, but they don't cost you money, so it's not really an issue if people want to try them. It may lead to something, it may make you happier in some way, but it kind of is this middle ground where, oh it is a lie, but at least there's no direct harm being caused. And then you have the next step, which is selling a product that may not have any harms, costs a lot of money, but also doesn't work. So that's actually ripping people off. Then you've got the next step where someone tries a wellness trend or believes in these products so much that they don't then seek mainstream medical care. That's really problematic because it delays treatment, it can delay prevention, which is really the most important point in medical care, and it can cause people to have a bit of distrust in mainstream medicine and think that this maybe natural solution that an influence is selling is better than a pharmaceutical or doctor recommended treatment. And then there's the last step where influencers recommend products or regimes that are actively harmful. So this is when they recommend disordered eating habits or a product that has a high concentration of some chemical or some, I don't know, byproducts that can actually cause harm. Now I think it's easy for people to watch this and say, oh how could people fall for these scams? But the fact is there are a lot of vulnerable people. Perhaps they have consulted a doctor, they haven't found a solution, and they sincerely want that solution. Do you think that plays in to this becoming so popular, this trend taking off? It's so easy to be swept up when you're seeing video after video after video from these beautiful influencers who've changed their lives and look at that and be like, wow, I want to feel like, I want my gut to be healthy, I want my hormones to be balanced. These terms are meaningless and gut health, for example, is so complex. An influencer on TikTok is not going to know how to solve it. We talked about aspiration, we talked about people seeking a solution. Are there any other reasons that these online trends go viral, that they're so effective for the influencer in promoting themselves? I think one thing that these viral trends tend to do really well for influencers is to be a successful influencer, you need to have a story, you need to have a character arc. These wellness trends are a really easy way to create a character arc for yourself. You could say, come with me on my journey to heal my cortisol levels. It's one of those things where, okay, well now I'm going to tune in and see if this influencer does heal their cortisol. Even if they're doing completely separate things. One trend that people may have seen is cortisol face, which is when there's just like a bit of fat in your face.

      So it's kind of easy to say like, oh drink more water or eat a more balanced meal, but a lot of people have kind of tried this before or are already doing it in their life, so it doesn't kind of seem like something you can really easily latch on to. Whereas when you say cut out all carbs, that's like a new thing that you can bring into your life that feels like you're really changing something. So trends tend to be something that's new, kind of strange sounding, and something that you can easily latch on to that people think may improve their life. Now we should point out that in terms of the wellness industry, not everything is a scam. As you said up top, it's a massive industry and there are indeed products that are backed by scientific evidence. My question for you is this though, where is the line? When does it become problematic? It's really tough to draw that line sometimes because you've got most of the trends that I see tend to be kind of in this middle area where they don't work, but they don't cost you money, so it's not really an issue if people want to try them. It may lead to something, it may make you happier in some way, but it kind of is this middle ground where, oh it is a lie, but at least there's no direct harm being caused. And then you have the next step, which is selling a product that may not have any harms, costs a lot of money, but also doesn't work. So that's actually ripping people off. Then you've got the next step where someone tries a wellness trend or believes in these products so much that they don't then seek mainstream medical care. That's really problematic because it delays treatment, it can delay prevention, which is really the most important point in medical care, and it can cause people to have a bit of distrust in mainstream medicine and think that this maybe natural solution that an influence is selling is better than a pharmaceutical or doctor recommended treatment. And then there's the last step where influencers recommend products or regimes that are actively harmful. So this is when they recommend disordered eating habits or a product that has a high concentration of some chemical or some, I don't know, byproducts that can actually cause harm. Now I think it's easy for people to watch this and say, oh how could people fall for these scams? But the fact is there are a lot of vulnerable people. Perhaps they have consulted a doctor, they haven't found a solution, and they sincerely want that solution. Do you think that plays in to this becoming so popular, this trend taking off? It's so easy to be swept up when you're seeing video after video after video from these beautiful influencers who've changed their lives and look at that and be like, wow, I want to feel like, I want my gut to be healthy, I want my hormones to be balanced. These terms are meaningless and gut health, for example, is so complex. An influencer on TikTok is not going to know how to solve it. We talked about aspiration, we talked about people seeking a solution. Are there any other reasons that these online trends go viral, that they're so effective for the influencer in promoting themselves? I think one thing that these viral trends tend to do really well for influencers is to be a successful influencer, you need to have a story, you need to have a character arc. These wellness trends are a really easy way to create a character arc for yourself. You could say, come with me on my journey to heal my cortisol levels. It's one of those things where, okay, well now I'm going to tune in and see if this influencer does heal their cortisol. Even if they're doing completely separate things. One trend that people may have seen is cortisol face, which is when there's just like a bit of fat in your face.

    B1

    The Appeal of Rescuing Other People

    03:33The Appeal of Rescuing Other People
    • But this is to ignore just how strong there is in some of us a diametrically opposed aspiration, a wish to find someone who is in a lot of pain and trouble, who is confused and sad, unhappy and overwhelmed and who therefore cannot possibly do very much for us, but who we, on the other hand, have every opportunity to hold, appease, calm and heal.

      But this is to ignore just how strong there is in some of us a diametrically opposed aspiration, a wish to find someone who is in a lot of pain and trouble, who is confused and sad, unhappy and overwhelmed and who therefore cannot possibly do very much for us, but who we, on the other hand, have every opportunity to hold, appease, calm and heal.

    B1

    How Bad is the Gap Between Rich and Poor in India? | Street Interview

    17:39How Bad is the Gap Between Rich and Poor in India? | Street Interview
    • So I think that the majority of the Indian population can take aspiration, inspiration from the greats or the wealthy people.

      So I think that the majority of the Indian population can take aspiration, inspiration from the greats or the wealthy people.

    • So, I think that majority of Indian population can take aspiration, inspiration from the greats or the wealthy people.

      So, I think that majority of Indian population can take aspiration, inspiration from the greats or the wealthy people.

    A2

    How to Introduce Yourself | Improve Your English | English Listening Skills - Speaking Skills

    18:11How to Introduce Yourself | Improve Your English | English Listening Skills - Speaking Skills
    • Aspiration.

      Aspiration.

    • Aspiration

      Aspiration

    A2

    HCC 1475-4 - Stomach - Pathology Endoscopy Findings

    13:44HCC 1475-4 -  Stomach - Pathology Endoscopy Findings
    • So here the endoscope has gone into the stomach that is the cardiac and as soon as the endoscopist enters the cardiac what he does is he tries to turn his handle to the left so that the body of the stomach and the fundus of the stomach and the purpose is this is where all the secretions pull, the gastric acid or if there is any residue that pulls down here and the first thing that an endoscopist does is to suction these secretions and empty the stomach so that it avoids the risk of aspiration if the patient coughs or has a retching episode.

      So here the endoscope has gone into the stomach that is the cardiac and as soon as the endoscopist enters the cardiac what he does is he tries to turn his handle to the left so that the body of the stomach and the fundus of the stomach and the purpose is this is where all the secretions pull, the gastric acid or if there is any residue that pulls down here and the first thing that an endoscopist does is to suction these secretions and empty the stomach so that it avoids the risk of aspiration if the patient coughs or has a retching episode.

    • In patients who have diabetes for a long period of time or patients who have obstruction of the stomach for example pancreatic cancer causing duodenal obstruction or obstruction of the outlet of the stomach sometimes the food may not be able to go down and it is retained and that is the food basal that you see this and whenever you see a lot amount of food or fluid in the stomach it is a good idea to come out rather than risk continuing to do the procedure and the risk is aspiration.

      In patients who have diabetes for a long period of time or patients who have obstruction of the stomach for example pancreatic cancer causing duodenal obstruction or obstruction of the outlet of the stomach sometimes the food may not be able to go down and it is retained and that is the food basal that you see this and whenever you see a lot amount of food or fluid in the stomach it is a good idea to come out rather than risk continuing to do the procedure and the risk is aspiration.

    B2

    HOW TO DEAL WITH A BAD GRADE

    04:27HOW TO DEAL WITH A BAD GRADE
    • coming down every dream aspiration you've had for yourself the whole

      coming down every dream aspiration you've had for yourself the whole

    A2

    President Zelensky attends Ukraine peace talks in Berlin | BBC News

    07:22President Zelensky attends Ukraine peace talks in Berlin | BBC News
    • He's talked about dropping Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO in return for an Article 5 style guarantee.

      He's talked about dropping Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO in return for an Article 5 style guarantee.

    B1

    How do we pronounce words from other languages?

    25:20How do we pronounce words from other languages?
    • One difference is that we aspirate that q, we say quinoa, but in Spanish and Quechua, there's no aspiration on the q sound.

      One difference is that we aspirate that q, we say quinoa, but in Spanish and Quechua, there's no aspiration on the q sound.

    B1

    Why We Work with Barry Schwartz - Opportunity, Good Fortune, and Happiness

    44:17Why We Work with Barry Schwartz - Opportunity, Good Fortune, and Happiness
    • enough. My aspiration still was to be a writer. And I took another course that used to be

      enough. My aspiration still was to be a writer. And I took another course that used to be

    • My aspiration still was to be a writer,

      My aspiration still was to be a writer,

    B1

    You Can Fix Your DNA... Starting Now (feat. Nobel Prize Winner)

    53:46You Can Fix Your DNA... Starting Now (feat. Nobel Prize Winner)
    • And so I think until we have a good handle on how it works and then how to do it safely, it will remain a future aspiration, but not something that I think should be done today.

      And so I think until we have a good handle on how it works and then how to do it safely, it will remain a future aspiration, but not something that I think should be done today.

    B1