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    Privacy˙Terms˙
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    latch on

    US /lætʃ ɑn/

    ・

    UK /lætʃ ɔn/

    A1
    phr. v.Phrasal VerbTo understand something, often after a period of confusion or delay.
    He was very slow to latch on to what I was saying.
    phr. v.Phrasal VerbTo become very attached to someone.
    The kitten latched on to me as soon as I picked it up.

    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

    9 Ways to Feel More Comfortable in Groups

    13:249 Ways to Feel More Comfortable in Groups
    • and there'd be a group of people, I'm like, "Oh, I don't want to talk to anyone." What I do is I latch on to one person.

      and there'd be a group of people, I'm like, "Oh, I don't want to talk to anyone." What I do is I latch on to one person.

    • So, latch on to one person means that you're like, "Hi, will you be my friend?" Yes, perfect.

      So, latch on to one person means that you're like, "Hi, will you be my friend?" Yes, perfect.

    A2

    8 Signs You're With The Wrong Friends

    04:398 Signs You're With The Wrong Friends
    • Old friends often latch on to an outdated image of you.

      Old friends often latch on to an outdated image of you.

    B1

    Quince Front Pocket Carry-On Suitcase 21" Review + What We Pack

    11:24Quince Front Pocket Carry-On Suitcase 21" Review + What We Pack
    • Yeah, the original version had like this really skinny kind of wavy type of tabs and I think um, they listened to Everyone's critiques because that was one thing that we didn't like about the last suitcase was that was the only thing actually that we didn't Like was that it would always get stuck within the zipper or it wouldn't latch on correctly Now they've actually made these tabs thicker So they're a lot more easier to handle and doesn't get stuck within the zipper anymore.

      Yeah, the original version had like this really skinny kind of wavy type of tabs and I think um, they listened to Everyone's critiques because that was one thing that we didn't like about the last suitcase was that was the only thing actually that we didn't Like was that it would always get stuck within the zipper or it wouldn't latch on correctly Now they've actually made these tabs thicker So they're a lot more easier to handle and doesn't get stuck within the zipper anymore.

    • The original version had, like, this really skinny kind of wavy type of tabs, and I think, um, they listened to everyone's critiques because that was one thing that we didn't like about the last suitcase, was that was the only thing, actually, that we didn't like was that it would always get stuck within the zipper or it wouldn't latch on correctly.

      The original version had, like, this really skinny kind of wavy type of tabs, and I think, um, they listened to everyone's critiques because that was one thing that we didn't like about the last suitcase, was that was the only thing, actually, that we didn't like was that it would always get stuck within the zipper or it wouldn't latch on correctly.

    B1

    Top 20 Facts About Superman

    18:00Top 20 Facts About Superman
    • The books were quick to latch on to the radio's Kryptonite as a challenge for the powerful Man of Tomorrow.

      The books were quick to latch on to the radio's Kryptonite as a challenge for the powerful Man of Tomorrow.

    • The books were quick to latch on to the radio's Kryptonite as a challenge for the increasingly powerful Man of Tomorrow.

      The books were quick to latch on to the radio's Kryptonite as a challenge for the increasingly powerful Man of Tomorrow.

    B2

    A Simple Mixed Voice Exercise - Try This!

    15:02A Simple Mixed Voice Exercise - Try This!
    • But when I'm giving you these information, these exercises, these information, I'm trying to get you to latch on to certain movements and certain things that work so that you can recognize how to kind of build all of this on top of each other, because it's definitely not one thing and then you're like, I got it, and then you're moving around or whatever.

      But when I'm giving you these information, these exercises, these information, I'm trying to get you to latch on to certain movements and certain things that work so that you can recognize how to kind of build all of this on top of each other, because it's definitely not one thing and then you're like, I got it, and then you're moving around or whatever.

    C1

    Kevin Systrom: From Stanford to Startup [Entire Talk]

    54:47Kevin Systrom: From Stanford to Startup [Entire Talk]
    • you want to latch on to things that you've seen before.

      you want to latch on to things that you've seen before.

    A2

    Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop PARODY!! Key of Awesome #74

    03:12Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop PARODY!! Key of Awesome #74
    • I'll just latch on to her hit song.

      I'll just latch on to her hit song.

    • I'll just latch on

      I'll just latch on

    B2

    HBO's "Silicon Valley" | Talks at Google

    39:06HBO's "Silicon Valley" | Talks at Google
    • And as a result, I would say over the season, there's kind of a little bit more emotional anchor points to kind of latch on to, not to say that the show's going to become girls or anything like that.

      And as a result, I would say over the season, there's kind of a little bit more emotional anchor points to kind of latch on to, not to say that the show's going to become girls or anything like that.

    • It's something just from a character point and also comedically that you can kind of really latch on to.

      It's something just from a character point and also comedically that you can kind of really latch on to.

    A2

    Are People Born Evil? Criminologist Answers Questions | Honesty Box

    28:03Are People Born Evil? Criminologist Answers Questions | Honesty Box
    • They just simply latch on to an individual.

      They just simply latch on to an individual.

    • They just simply latch on to, um, an individual.

      They just simply latch on to, um, an individual.

    B1