Frida Roy

Is it selfish to choose not to have kids?

My grandmother raised six kids in a two-bedroom apartment and never once described her life as a sacrifice of her potential. Somewhere along the way we started treating the continuation of the family as an imposition on the self, as if every generation before us was a sucker for doing the thing that made our existence possible. I'm not saying everyone must have children. I'm saying the language gives it away: we call kids a "lifestyle choice" now, filed between the Peloton and the dog. When the deepest human bond in history gets demoted to a consumer preference, something in us has gotten smaller, and I think that's worth saying out loud even if it's unfashionable.

Should voting be mandatory in the United States?

I voted for the first time in 2024 and the wildest part was how nobody campaigned to me. Every ad was for homeowners and retirees. Politicians chase likely voters, which means young people and poor people get ignored, which means we do not vote, which means we get ignored more. It is a loop. Mandatory voting breaks the loop by force. [CIRCLE](https://circle.tufts.edu/) research shows youth turnout surging only when campaigns actually invest in young voters. If candidates know 18 to 29 year olds will actually show up, they have to talk about rent and wages instead of just Medicare. I am fine being nudged if it means someone finally has to earn my vote.

Should the standard full-time workweek be cut to four days with no pay cut?

I own a restaurant. My staff cannot serve Friday dinner in four days, and I cannot pay five days of wages for four days of covers without raising prices my customers cannot absorb. The famous trials share a flaw: companies volunteered, which means the ones who suspected it would work signed up, and researchers measured the honeymoon period. Nobody ran a randomized trial on a diner, a daycare, or a plumbing company. Until someone shows this working for businesses that cannot compress hours or go remote, 'the standard workweek' is a slogan for about a third of the economy, and the rest of us get the lecture. The margins are brutal: [the National Restaurant Association found](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/analysis-commentary/elevated-labor-costs-had-a-significant-impact-on-restaurant-profitability-in-2024/) full-service operators spent a median 36.5% of sales on labor in 2024, and those who let it run higher were far more likely to lose money.

Alamo proves enforcement can work when it is the brand. The problem is a generic multiplex adopting the rule without the culture. Maybe the answer is certification: theaters that want the phone-free label have to actually enforce it.

Entertainment · Sep 23, 2026 · Should movie theaters make phone-free screenings the default?