This humiliation economy, where “shame is a currency,” has made authenticity risky and deepened gender mistrust: boys retreat into defensive postures or online echo chambers that reinforce resentment toward girls.

Gen Zers are doing something called “caveman storytime” on TikTok. Using primitive phrasing like “Me gay. Him straight. Him had girlfriend,” creators are sharing personal stories under a hashtag that’s amassed millions of likes since debuting in early October. “Clearly a lot of it is satirical and getting in on the joke, but what does it say that... See more

Some Gen Z men are so scared of getting filmed they’ve stopped dating altogether. Rolling Stone reports a growing “dating paranoia” among young men who fear being filmed, mocked, or posted online. High schoolers describe freezing before sending texts or asking someone out, worried a rejection could become a viral “fail” on Snapchat or TikTok... See more

“Catch a cheater” apps are on the rise, exploiting users’ curiosity and insecurities under the guise of relationship vigilance. As The Verge reports, platforms like Cheaterbuster and CheatEye use facial recognition to locate people’s Tinder profiles for as little as $18, scraping biometric data without consent.

“The most insidious aspect is how

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The “bird theory” has reemerged on TikTok as a viral relationship litmus test. People — mostly women, fwiw — point out something mundane like a bird to gauge whether their partner engages or ignores them. The trend, which first went viral in 2023 and has recently resurfaced, is just one of many (many!) examples of Gen Z’s fixation with... See more