We all have it in mind, this cliché of the Italian grandmother who makes her own pasta, drinks mineral water from a glass bottle, takes the time to live, and even sips a glass of wine while eating Mediterranean. Well if we believe Newsweek (Source 1) or even social networks (see below), this is what we should aim for to put an end to our fast-paced Western lifestyles, which are stressful and bad for our health in the long term.
An antidote to our stressful and disconnected lives
No more diktats about the perfect body that you have to build up when you get home from work, no more ultra-processed foods that are so maligned, make way for “Nonna Maxxing”, the Italian grandmother’s way of life.
The concept broke through on the Internet at the end of February, after an organic cosmetics brand shared on Instagram a series of photos presenting Nonna Maxxing, as an antidote to contemporary American and Western life.
While there are obviously a lot of clichés and imagination in this vision of the Italian grandmother who leads a peaceful lifestyle in her family home in Tuscany, we must keep in mind that many aspects of the Italian lifestyle are considered good for health and life expectancy.
Starting with food, close to Mediterranean dietor the way of life, promoting social connections. A blue zonea geographic region with a large number of centenariansis also found in Italy, and more precisely in Sardinia.
What this says about Gen Z
It is Gen Z who, on the networks, seems the most attracted by this trend. For Doriel Jacov, psychotherapist specializing in anxiety and burn-out, interviewed by Newsweek, this attraction to “Nonna Maxxing” would be deeply psychological: “ Many Gen Zers and young adults have been deeply marked by years of constant digital stimulation and a culture that values productivity. Conjugated with economic uncertainty that Generation Z is currently facing, a trend like Nonna Maxxing appears to be a relevant psychological response “, he estimated.
Advocating the lifestyle of the Italian grandmother, which is above all an imaginary one, reflects a desire for simplicity and slowing down facing a frightening, stressful world with a loss of values. Pasta, olive oil, and loved ones to share a good meal… What if that was happiness?
