Lifestyle

Interest in Home Elevators Continues to Rise

Published

5 years ago

April 14, 2021

If you take a tour of a new housing development, you might be surprised to see home elevators. Plus, many older homes have been upgraded with the devices for all sorts of reasons. In fact, it’s fair to say that the ultimate American home elevator has finally arrived as a valued feature of new and old residential abodes.

As recently as two decades ago, elevators in private homes were a rarity. Today, they are far from that. In fact, you find them in both upscale and modest structures, in urban and suburban neighborhoods, in houses owned by single people and by large families. Some of the devices are newly installed, or add-ons to existing residences while others arrived in a newly built house in a fresh development. Why are so many homeowners opting to have access to a personal elevator? Here are some of the key factors driving the trend.

Safety

No one like to navigate through long staircases, rickety steps, or winding flights of stairs. Particularly for little children and the elderly, steps pose a supreme hazard. Just losing your footing for a split second can mean a serious injury or even worse. Elevators offer a way around the danger of steps. Older homeowners and couple who have very young children often want a way to eliminate the multiple problems that come with having to use stairs to move between floors. Anyone with a disability can attest to the value of having a safe, non-step option for moving about their home. Whether it’s a case of mile, semi-limited mobility or people who use wheelchairs as their main mode of transportation, stairs are often simply out of the question.

Home Value

You can do some research for yourself the next time you’re engaged in shopping or browsing for homes. Notice that the properties that include elevators often sell faster and for higher prices than those that don’t include this sleek, safe, and super-convenient mode of in-home transport. But for many folks who have been in the same location for a decade or more, adding an elevator makes good economic sense. When the day finally arrives that they choose to put their property on the market, they’ll be able to justify a higher asking price and can expect a quicker sale. With each passing year, there are more people over the age of 70 in the population, as a percentage and in raw numbers. That means demand for this kind of safe, stylish, value-adding transport will only continue to increase.

Style and Price

One of the advantages of adding an alternative to traditional staircases is that consumers have so many choices. Modern residential elevators come in dozens of sizes, shapes, configurations, styles, and designs. Some are one-person conveyances while others are built to accommodate multiple riders. Now that so many people are choosing to include these most modern forms of conveyance in their homes, prices are coming down. Elevators look great in any home, but can become the centerpiece of a room if that’s what the owner wants. They’re truly the utmost in modernity when it comes to the overall look and feel of a room.

Lifestyle

Confronting Propaganda: Street Smart Documents Honest Reactions to Gaza Indoctrination Footage

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2025

Michelle Langton

Photo Courtesy of: Street Smart

Byline: Michelle Langton

In a recent project, the Street Smart team gathered 20 strangers and presented them with propaganda footage from Gaza that has circulated widely online but remains largely unfamiliar to many audiences. The aim wasn’t to provoke outrage or test media literacy in a classroom setting. It was to capture raw, unfiltered emotional reactions to material that reveals how narratives are formed at the source. The resulting video offers a candid look at how people process shocking content and how their perceptions shift when they see what is rarely shown on mainstream platforms.

The Structure of the Experiment

The format was simple. Participants were seated and shown a series of clips from Gaza, including children’s programming and broadcasts containing intense ideological messaging. No background information was provided, and viewers were not instructed on how to interpret what they were seeing. After watching, they were asked for immediate reactions.

The footage elicited a wide range of emotions. Some viewers were stunned by the content, admitting they had never seen anything like it before. Others expressed disbelief, questioning why this kind of material isn’t more widely discussed. A few were visibly shaken, saying the experience fundamentally altered their understanding of the situation.

By presenting the footage without narration or added commentary, Street Smart allowed participants’ genuine responses to emerge. The experiment revealed how propaganda can affect an entire generation. It can shock, unsettle, and force people to reconsider their assumptions.

Why This Project Matters

Sage Fox and Dorani aligned the purpose of this experiment with Street Smart’s broader mission of challenging prevailing narratives and encouraging critical thought among younger audiences. In an environment where footage spreads rapidly across digital platforms, propaganda can shape public opinion long before context catches up.

By showing the Gaza Indoctrination footage in a controlled setting and recording uncoached responses, the team aimed to expose the emotional and cognitive impact of this type of content.

“The first reaction is often the most revealing, because it shows how powerful images can be without context.”

The Range of Reactions

While each participant brought their own perspective, several themes emerged. Some expressed sympathy with the imagery itself, saying it was emotionally powerful.

One participant said, “It makes me question what I see online every day. How much of it is shaped this way?”

Their comments highlight how propaganda resonates differently depending on prior knowledge and exposure. Many viewers have simply never encountered such footage directly.

Street Smart’s Approach

This project continues a pattern established by Sage Fox & Dorani’s earlier videos. Rather than relying on experts or lengthy analysis, Street Smart focuses on real people and their honest reactions. The approach is simple but effective. Present potent material, listen to what people say, and share those moments with a wider audience.

The Gaza Indoctrination footage experiment fits this model. It doesn’t attempt to draw final conclusions or offer political commentary. Instead, it documents how people respond when they’re exposed to narratives that are usually filtered through intermediaries.

Implications for Media Literacy

Beyond its viral potential, the video raises broader questions about how people interact with powerful imagery online. Propaganda operates on emotional reflexes. As this experiment shows, those reflexes are often unexamined until they’re brought to the surface.

Sage Fox & Dorani hope that projects like this push audiences to think more critically about what they see and share.

“The purpose is not to tell people what to believe. It is to remind them that every image comes from somewhere, and that source matters,” they said.

Next Steps for Street Smart

As Street Smart’s platform grows, Sage Fox & Dorani plan to conduct similar experiments in different contexts. They intend to use their direct, street-level approach to highlight how people react when presented with challenging material.

The Gaza footage project is one piece of a larger mission. The team uses simple methods to shed light on complex issues. By focusing on authentic reactions, they continue to build a unique space in online media that blends cultural investigation with raw human response.

A Window into Unfiltered Thought

“We showed 20 strangers real propaganda footage from Gaza — and filmed their unfiltered reactions” is not a dramatic exposé or academic study. It is a clear, unmediated record of how individuals respond when confronted with material designed to persuade. In that restraint lies its strength.

By documenting these moments, Street Smart shows how awareness can begin with a pause. A brief space between seeing and believing.