On the eve of the night of the shooting stars, the August 10 Feast of St Lawrence, Italians appear to be at a loss about what to wish for should they see a falling star, according to a new study. Drawn up by a group of 40 psychologists and based on a poll of 500 people between the ages of 14 and 45, the report concluded that Italians have lost urge to express a wish or to dream big.
While in the past Italians would wish for everlasting love, a dream house or a fat bank account, today they would wish for their mortgage or loan to be paid off, something better than their old beat-up car or even a puppy.
The first wish for 55% of Italians today would be for a home which is totally paid off. But not a big villa or a prestigious apartment in some European capital.
Some 40% of Italians would be content with just a few rooms in the city where they work.
Another 29% of Italians said they would like more time off, but not too much because they cannot afford it, while 13% would wish for a few days at a beauty farm.
According to experts involved in the study, this loss of desire to wish or dream "is a clear sign that people have little confidence in the future, a sign that the small and large problems of day-to-day life are becoming overbearing".
In other words, the psychologists observed, "this is a self-defence mechanism in which people do not have big dreams or wishes in order avoid big disappointments".
"A crisis no doubt exists and daily problems are certainly one of the reasons for a lack of fantasy, but they are not the only one," observed psychologist and author Vera Slepoj.
"Today our role models are young showgirls, successful athletes, participants in 'reality' TV shows or people caught up in a scandal, They are all models which reduce life to the banal and superficial, two elements which certainly to not inspire the imagination," she added.
It would thus appear that the shooing stars of August have been overcast by TV starlets.
