23 hours Ago By Shona Hendley
Hitting the gym, watching television, spending time with her boyfriend, and catching up with friends and family ...
27-year-old Sydney woman Stephanie Airey’s interests are typical of most Gen Zers. But Airey has another hobby that’s not quite like the others. “I’m normally watching a new doco or TV show and crocheting,” she says.
“Or I’ll take my crochet to watch my partner play sports, when I’m on holidays. And I also crochet in lunch breaks.” While hobbies such as crocheting, knitting, crafting and gardening are often linked to older generations, younger Australians – specifically Millennials and Gen Z, like Stephanie – are embracing them in record numbers in a trend known as Grandmacore.
Stephanie Airey took up crocheting during the pandemic and has since found it a great way to slow down and disconnect. Credit: Edwina Pickles And they’re enjoying the mental health benefits. Grandmacore began as an aesthetic movement inspired by the home and lifestyle of “a traditional grandma”, with cosiness and nostalgia at its core.
The trend is all over TikTok, boasting more than 44,000 posts, and has infiltrated Gen Z and Millennial hobbies. Loading Many Grandmacore activities inherently possess slow and quiet traits that offer significant therapeutic benefits, says clinical psychologist Dr Rebecca Ray. Traits which younger generations, in particular, find beneficial.
“These generations have grown up in a hyper-digital world. They’re more connected than ever, but also more overwhelmed,” she says. “Hobbies like crocheting and gardening offer a kind of antidote: they’re slow, analogue, and allow for presence without performance.
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