Collections
She’s seen firsthand how the festival has evolved from being “solely about the music” to “a full lifestyle weekend made for social media.”
“we’re in a global and culturewide crisis of meaning, in which manufactured realities exert pressure on the real world and we’re being manipulated mor
A Facebook group called Baddies in AI, geared toward women who are using A.I. to either augment their own social-media presence or create entirely new
“Not living my full potential” — this one (or versions of it) came up the most! “Working a 9-5” — they certainly do not yearn to have office jobs“Sold
We’re wired for small, close-knit communities, but instead we’re lost in the chaos of a massive, impersonal society. It’s no wonder we’re struggling—t
However, when a profit-driven, materially-oriented, and hyper-individualistic society finds itself incompatible with our inherent psychological makeup
Americans are talking — out loud, to other humans — significantly less than they used to, with the steepest drop among people under 25. A recent study
“whether I should or shouldn’t be eating in a given moment, whether I’ve completed my nutritional goals for the day, whether I’ve had enough vitamins,
Spiritual chatbot apps have garnered millions of downloads. These AI-powered religious apps, like Bible Chat and Hallow, mimic conversations with cler
The trend tracks with Gen Z’s broader interest in astrology, Saturn returns, and angel numbers as ways to make sense of their lives.
“I hear so much as a therapist that we don’t have community anymore. We don’t have gathering spaces anymore. We don’t have spirituality and religion a
“we’re in a global and culturewide crisis of meaning, in which manufactured realities exert pressure on the real world and we’re being manipulated mor
Two possible paths begin to emerge.In the first, a generation emotionally numbed at work becomes equally numb in their private lives. Interactions rem
Everyone’s good at everything, and I kind of don’t care. Show me what it looks like when you are bad. Show me how it looks when you get it wrong.When
Sam Altman’s iris-scanning World project announced that Tinder users globally can now display a digital badge on their profiles verifying they’re a re
Try a tool that intentionally messes up your writing. It’s a response to A.I. making email sound less human.
I wish I could say the delusional thinking changed my mindset instantly, but in reality it was months of doing things in spite of how I felt. Sitting
I found that in my self loathing, what I was really doing was protecting myself from actual self reflection that I could improve from. The idea that I
I’ve read that when you feel a connection with a narcissist, what you’re really feeling is a connection with the version of yourself they’re mirroring
Drawing on his experiences as a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, Frankl articulated the concept of tragic optimism: the human capacity to remain
Everyone deep in their own individual loop. Getting more productive. Getting more fluent. And getting, incrementally, more disconnected from the peopl
We have invested heavily - decades, centuries if you follow it far enough back - in the idea of the singular creative genius. The lone figure in the s
Andrew Reeves, head of Strategy at The Royals, built a site featuring an AI chatbot based on the information within the PDF.
Everyone wants to _______, but nobody wants to ___________. e.g. “Everyone wants to be strong, but nobody wants to lift heavy ass weights.”or my own r
9 Frameworks Every Brand Builder Needs
a recent study found that TikTok is the only platform where left-leaning news influencers outnumber right-leaning ones.
TikTok also has more than double the concentration of news content creators who identify as LGBTQ+ or advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and 73% of teens who
“The reason for the tariffs is the same reason Clavicular hits his face with a hammer,” Aidan Walker, an online-culture researcher, told me recently.
Our culture hasn’t yet been fully subsumed by nihilism, but you can also see it everywhere in different forms: in the mass shooters who seem to care a
Prescriptions for S.S.R.I.s among young people are on the rise, with two million 12-to-17-year-olds in the U.S. currently on the drugs, and researcher
Competency p*rn: is there any greater escapism than watching a capable person on TV? (The Guardian)Watching people calmly and expertly do their jobs h
The “stimming beauty” trend is turning cosmetics and accessories into sensory soothers, with products featuring raised textures, dangling charms, clic
‘Like an electrical gong bath!’ The Sheffield supermarket going viral for the symphonic sound of its freezers (The Guardian)
TikTok is rebranding ice hockey rinks as ‘boy aquariums’ (Fast Company)TikTok has rebranded ice hockey arenas as “boy aquariums,” with women filming p
It’s no surprise that Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations, not (only) because of surveillance or puritanism or disinterest: As one 17-y
Speaking of, GQ reported on the mainstreaming of teratophilia this week. The sexual attraction to monsters has migrated from niche internet forums lik
Horny yearning is the season’s hottest beauty trend, Allure proclaimed this week. They tie a surge in romance consumption — it was one of the top audi
But, if their inaction is a betrayal, it’s most likely not a malicious one; it’s just that our current pleasures and predicaments are much more salien
Others complain that we are too focussed on the past, or with the sentimental reconstruction of it. Past, present, future; history, this year, the dec
For Sullivan, all of these time biases are mistakes. She advocates for temporal neutrality—a habit of mind that gives the past, the present, and the f
Meghan Sullivan, a philosopher at the University of Notre Dame, contemplates these questions in her book “Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning a
My 2026 Macrotrend Report is different from most other ones. It does not include snappy hot takes, mention of “predictions,” consumer data, or cool gr
A prediction can be based on research, too, but it can also be an entirely unfounded hot take, like we often see from Tiktok Oracles. That’s why I bri
Yet, despite this abundance of enthusiasm for cultural research, it often feels like it’s easier than ever to slip into the gravity well of banality.
Or is it that beneath it all, there is no substance? There is nothing to offer up only a never-ending desire to tear down? Nothing to actually stand b
The Anxiety LoopOn one hand, rituals provide structure, control and the satisfaction of “doing something” about perceived flaws. They create agency in
Self-optimization as status symbols: As you can see from the prevalence of Oura Rings, Hatch alarm clocks, Bala Bangles, self-tanning products, and el
For some Western adopters, TCM feels like an antidote to demanding wellness culture: “Traditional Chinese practices are a lot more accessible than wha
What saved me wasn’t becoming prettier. It was learning to live in my body without hatred. I was lucky. My father guided me toward health—not aestheti
This thought is neither insane nor original. Back in 1998, Andy Clark and David Chalmers introduced their “extended mind hypothesis,” the idea that ex
The term “phone addiction” has wiggled its way into the common vernacular and has become a near-universal self-diagnosis among my cohort. But that doe
pre-brief, do this:What’s being asked?Ok but what’s the actual problem?Is it a problem advertising can solve?If yes, how? —> That is the foundation of
I think about this a lot when creative teams get feedback about the tone or message present in the work. REMEMBER – it’s not what is said, but what is
as much as I hate the word insight, this feels like one that would make for a strong creative brief:
Amialivecore: Kids film themselves dropping increasingly heavy objects on their feet and rating the pain, a sort of “proof of life” posting in an incr
Algorithmic blandness: A perceived sameness across social feeds caused by optimization and trend recycling. (I, II, III, IV)Slop life: Acceptance of o
“He is real”: TikTokers swear “mimics” are copying their ringtones in a creepy new trend (Daily Dot)TikTok is buzzing with videos claiming to be haunt
Every now and then, someone asks me what my goal is with After School, and my genuine answer is: you’re looking at it! I don’t want to be a girlboss,
I was walking a confusing line of self loathing but also somehow thinking I was better than those around me, they were just luckier than me. The unive
I wish I could say the delusional thinking changed my mindset instantly, but in reality it was months of doing things in spite of how I felt. Sitting
I found that in my self loathing, what I was really doing was protecting myself from actual self reflection that I could improve from. The idea that I
Or more recently, Charli XCX in her “Brat” era, whose lo-fi aesthetic and collaborations with young artists like Billie Eilish and Addison Rae spoke t
The writer Anne Helen Petersen rightly says that our generation should be alert to avoiding the cardinal sin of our boomer forebears, in which we “cli
Millennial optimism: A reframing of millennial cringe as a lost freedom Gen Z never had. (I, II, III)
The 2010s, once dismissed as the “cringe era,” are being reclaimed by Gen Z, who view it as a representation of the “fleeting freedom” they’d never ex
Gen Z-ers might wince at our earnestness, but they also value authenticity. Millennial cringe is somewhat synonymous with millennial optimism, that ea
Much of his early campaign — a 33-year-old dude, standing on a street corner with less than 1 percent in the polls, asking random people why they vote
Millennial optimism: A reframing of millennial cringe as a lost freedom Gen Z never had. (I, II, III)
The 2010s, once dismissed as the “cringe era,” are being reclaimed by Gen Z, who view it as a representation of the “fleeting freedom” they’d never ex
I remind myself that I am living a life that my great-grandmother (and before) could only dream of — I am financially independent; I have a career; I
Every year I gain, I feel closer to my "real" age. Numbers and birthdays don't scare me, like they do my mom, who would prefer we never mention it at
The best advice I received this year was from my friend Lori, who, when I was expressing anxiety about some far-off worry, advised, “Move the horizon
If the product can’t back up the price, young consumers will seek one out (and often, for cheaper) that does.
Shopping has become a drag. A bore. An obligation. A thing you do alone on your phone, not out in the world, which is where you want to be in your new
Shopping should be about lust. Instead, shopping has become a slog. How did this happen? I don’t think it’s just me. I should still love to shop, yet
Shopping was once a feast of possibilities and has instead become a test of patience. Line up for a limited edition sneaker drop. Camp out to get into
What is the Elyse Myers book drama? Reader spaces controversy explained amid online backlash (Primetimer)Elyse Myers sparked backlash after responding
Parasocial named Cambridge’s 2025 Word of the Year (Dexerto)The Cambridge Dictionary has chosen “parasocial” as its Word of the Year for 2025 due to i
That same logic now powers everything from AI companions to parasocial influencer relationships, where intimacy is offered without reciprocity and lon
Is getting a little coffee embarrassing now?When everything is branding, life becomes a performance.
“Girl, the boycott” has become such a common comment underneath videos of people who happen to have a Starbucks cup in the background of their shot th
personal brand anxiety is something that’s starting to affect more than just the chronically online
Either way, the consequences are what people think of you. While that used to be none of our business, now we have numerical, public-facing proof. As
The fear of online exposure doesn’t just stop certain young men from asking girls out — it can plant seeds of resentment that threaten to fracture gen
This creates an unchecked culture of humiliation, and makes the social media world for Gen Z a place where accountability is absent and cruelty is rew
the idea of “humiliation rituals” becomes less about grand conspiracies and more about structural inevitabilities. It’s not that anyone is forcing us
Even small mistakes can bring heavy costs in a viral world where content can live forever and everyone can see it. Mistakes can be met with intense cr
They’ve never known life without “the algorithm” curating their media or without instant access to collaborative digital spaces. Even the youngest of
To be human is to yearn for a Sky Daddy. Something that explains the unexplainable, someone to blame. No wonder, then, that in the ZIRP-fueled 2010s,
The “bird theory” has reemerged on TikTok as a viral relationship litmus test. People — mostly women, fwiw — point out something mundane like a bird t
The “Rage Bait” Relationship Questions Going Viral on TikTok (InsideHook)A new trend on TikTok involves women asking their partners a series of four q
The “bird theory” has reemerged on TikTok as a viral relationship litmus test. People — mostly women, fwiw — point out something mundane like a bird t
Hybristophilia: Study links TikTok to women’s sexual attraction to criminals (PsyPost)A new study links TikTok engagement with hybristophilia (sexual
The “Rage Bait” Relationship Questions Going Viral on TikTok (InsideHook)A new trend on TikTok involves women asking their partners a series of four q
This is part of a bigger trend—the financialization of everything—that we’ve seen power similar areas like retail investing, web3 / NFTs, and sports b
16) Betting on everything goes mainstream. We see a new unicorn minted around the financialization of everything. A common theme that we write about i
In 2025, everything gets financialized. Sports betting is on a tear, particularly with new sweepstakes models that circumvent regulations in states li
If work isn’t going to make people money, people will find other ways to try to make money; this powers a “financialization of everything” that’s one
Bodegas are the new ‘It’ restaurants as dining out costs spiral: ‘It’s not just mozzarella sticks anymore’ (NY Post)NYC's corner markets are becoming
Before we get into the math on why this valuation is ridiculous, let's acknowledge what we're actually talking about here - they've built a business m
In his first press briefing back in the White House, President Trump, who has long been criticized for an “empathy gap,” quickly moves from mourning t
But the secondary problem is American individualism, which compels bourgeois Americans to focus what small amount of energy we have either on optimizi
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 wh
Hybristophilia: Study links TikTok to women’s sexual attraction to criminals (PsyPost)A new study links TikTok engagement with hybristophilia (sexual
The Pink Cardigan TikTok trend involves people sticking their tongues out and filming others' reactions, inspired by a video posted by TikToker @jayyb
California MAC Employee Fired After Detailing Her Entire Workday on Social Media, ‘You’re So Sweet But This Should’ve Been a Lesson’ (The Nerd Stash)A
“Catch a cheater” apps are on the rise, exploiting users’ curiosity and insecurities under the guise of relationship vigilance. As The Verge reports,
Parks officials said protocols differ depending on the consistency of the excrement. For solid poop, all swimmers are kicked out, and a net is used to
In a recent Dazed piece, Serena Smith calls on young Brits to stop behaving like “overgrown, perpetually drunk babies” abroad. The essay responds to g
Tech should have made invites seamless. But there's no consensus on a straightforward, non-cringe, anxiety-quelling way to earnestly ask people to sho
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 wh
We're trying to make content that feels native to social, but that draws you in and makes you feel like you're smart and in on the joke. Another thing
But it is deeply wounding to feel your industry get squeezed into a misshapen lump of clay. Something could be rebuilt from this material, but it’s go
Intellectualizing Memes Mama a phd behind you Decline in education Distrust in facts Online PHD Academia is struggling, lack of funding
Gen Zers are doing something called “caveman storytime” on TikTok. Using primitive phrasing like “Me gay. Him straight. Him had girlfriend,” creators
Informed by economic volatility, the pandemic, and rounds of recent layoffs in the tech world—the class of 2024 is prioritizing consistency. Job stabi
Joel has said that the song reminds listeners that “you don’t have to squeeze your whole life into your 20s and 30s trying to make it, trying to achie
Instead, they will be faced with the challenge of finding meaningful work in a world set up to exploit their labor. They’ll need all the help we can g
The fact that it is hard to do everything: It’s hard to be in a relationship, it’s hard not to be in one. It’s hard to have to perform at a job you lo
After all, the analog version of almost everything is what’s cool in many corners of adolescent life. But the braces trend may come as a particular su
For Madison and her peers, metal braces are a look to be celebrated, personalized and, of course, documented online. Spend a few minutes scrolling the
I have talked a lot this week about a perplexing experience I had last Saturday night at the Perfectly Imperfect 5th anniversary party [SIC] homie Tyl
What is a ‘Swag Gap Relationship’ and Should You Avoid It? (Life & Style Mag)TikTok users are discussing “swag gap relationships,” where one partner i
Gen Z has abandoned the “bases” system in favor of an entire glossary: sneaky links, zombies, breadcrumbing, flirtationships, etc. Many Gen Zers descr
Gen Z has abandoned the “bases” system in favor of an entire glossary: sneaky links, zombies, breadcrumbing, flirtationships, etc. Many Gen Zers descr
A viral tweet showing a small basket of groceries and the caption “One day you’ll be buying groceries to cook dinner in the small apartment you rent”
As our economy grows steadily more unequal and unforgiving, many of us have doubled down on our fantasies, hoping that in ceaseless toil, we will find
In an era in which public health authorities have declared loneliness an epidemic, it stands to reason that many Americans have invested these one-way
Many find that audience interaction strengthens the parasocial bond. Twitch streamers like Hasan Piker spend hours responding live to fans; Kai Cenat,
What all of these stunts provide, too, is the chance for a member of the crowd to best an internet celebrity, to prove that he is just as good as the
“But then you get used to it all, is the problem,” she continued. “I feel like I’m not trying as hard anymore. When I had the flip phone, I had to put
When TikTok was briefly shut down last month, the app’s more than 150 million American users had the same sudden realization. The platform’s centralit
Content creator, yes. Influencer, no. I mean, all these terms are being defined in real time. I love consuming content—short form, long form. I love p
Brides-to-be (Taylor, almost certainly, excluded) are treating their bachelorette parties like influencer campaigns, flooding small brands with reques
Rejection is becoming part of Gen Z’s narrative. Digital culture has made young people’s access to new possibilities infinite; with a few clicks or sw
The cost of job hunting is soaring, with searches now averaging 24 weeks — nearly a month longer than last year. Desperate for an edge, candidates are
Things are even more dire in China, where youth unemployment sits at 14.5% and Gen Z job-seekers are paying 30 to 50 yuan a day ($4–$7) to sit in faux
Rejection has become a defining feature of young adulthood. Gen Z is facing it across dating apps, job hunts, and even algorithm-driven platforms that
You want to find a piece of light in a very dark world, and it’s hard to fault you for that, but then why do you need so many? Why do you need limited
Speaking of kidults: There’s a new status item among Disney superfans — something called a Shoulder Plush, which is a five-inch magnetized stuffed ani
Millennial commenters express a desire to rewind to that era of their lives; younger posters wish that they could have lived through it in the first p
Then, out of the blue this year, “5 Years Time” made a comeback as the soundtrack to a climactic moment in the new “Superman.” The seventeen-year-old
Sincerity: It’s 2008 and you beg your mom to take you to the mall so you can buy skinny jeans. Your family makes fun of your too-tight jeans. Saturati
Irony is already a hallmark of Gen Z’s cultural expression and a coping mechanism honed in the hyper-visibility of the internet. When you’ve grown up
As stock prices rise, consumer confidence grows, and people are more inclined to embrace risk and experimentation. This is reflected not only in the l
What’s worse is the deep capitalism poisoning that confuses consumerism with culture: a new water bottle despite having water bottles, simping for and
Her concept has more depth than those theories. I would characterize economic vibes as collective feelings in the digital age. Almost all previous ver
A viral tweet showing a small basket of groceries and the caption “One day you’ll be buying groceries to cook dinner in the small apartment you rent”
Microtrends are finally losing their grip. In a shift away from fast, flashy content, fashion lovers are leaning into slower, deeper engagement. We’re
There is a growing inability to cope with, or unwillingness to deal with, the friction that is inherent to most real-life social interactions (i.e. di
"Real-time conversations are exhausting. You can't edit what you say, you can't take time to craft the perfect response, you can't just ghost if it ge
Everyone’s good at everything, and I kind of don’t care. Show me what it looks like when you are bad. Show me how it looks when you get it wrong.When
Hailey and her team took a page out of the well-trodden Trippin’ with Tarte-style brand trip playbook: create desire by limiting access. That strategy
According to Temple University’s Dr. Jay Sinha, Gen Z, in particular, places more trust in micro-influencers than celebrities or even “professional” i
Matilda Djerf is a prime example of an influencer-turned-business-owner-turned-human. As Ethan Price writes, “The role of the influencer today is to n
Influencers are the physical embodiment of capitalism in human form; merely a vessel for consumerism to feel friendlier, girlier, and more bubble-wrap
She also intentionally dictates how her community should engage—for example, by suggesting “themes” for different tour dates to bring the fanbase toge
But the secondary problem is American individualism, which compels bourgeois Americans to focus what small amount of energy we have either on optimizi
Culture has become about earning attention by any means necessary. A good reminder that the thing you earn attention for matters.
Boredom, for example, has become a collateral victim. It hasn’t disappeared — we’ve simply made it illegitimate. We erase it, fill it, scroll it away.
Insects, birds and trees just are what they are. But people can’t seem to look at anything in nature without trying to read it. Which is, inevitably,
My friends Will Mannon and Dan Sleeman just launched Act Two, a live program and community to help you execute a creative project of your choice. Will
But how we get out of this mess is by getting out of a compliance mindset. We need people to look at history and look beyond social media.2 We despera
Industry veterans attribute the drop to a mix of economic pressures, production constraints, and Gen Z’s (alleged) disinterest in on-screen sex. As Ma
I hate that this take can be considered "controversial". Controversy shouldn't always be something to avoid. The fear of having "bad opinions" is one
The lack of nuance between the two main camps—“yas kween!” and “stone her to death!”—was dispiriting. It reveals a worrying decline in media literacy
In reality, though, with the exception of those who are slut-shaming Carpenter for blatantly misogynistic reasons, it is possible to have a nuanced de
worry that the persecution complex that drives so much social-media discourse is robbing us of the ability to have productive discussions—about what i
As Parrish shows, we may imagine we are the protagonists in the story of our lives. But the sad truth is, most of us run on autopilot. Our behavioral
we’re so wrapped up in our own story that we don’t see how we’re supporting characters in someone else’s.
Never before in history have so many people been under the gaze of so many strangers. Humans evolved in small groups, defined by kinship: those we kne
Kirke’s motto resonated with young women enough that it has become a meme, frequently reappearing on X when someone is too obviously positioning thems
Newport Institute, a young adult mental health inpatient treatment center, has recently begun recruiting people suffering from “brainrot.” On its webs
I love social media (obviously, I write this newsletter). But there are days when I blast through my TikTok time limit and am left feeling exhausted.
It’s self promotion on steroids. I don’t want to do it anymore. But can we afford not to?
The rise reflects what behavioral scientists call the “privacy paradox”: people fiercely guard screen visibility in public, even as they hand over vas
Douglas Rushkoff argues (in an essay that could be three) that instead of being overwhelmed by fast-changing news and events, we should focus on real
Welcome to 'What's the point?' syndrome: a collective exhaustion, a cross-generational yawning nihilism in the face of what feels like an insurmountab
The “We Do Not Care” club, founded by influencer Melani Sanders, celebrates women who have stopped trying to please everyone.
The idea isn’t to stop caring about everything, she emphasized. Instead, “it’s more about taking the pressure off” when it comes to things that don’t
Mamdani proved attention is the path to institutional override. Just like Trump, but from the other side.
People speculate on ideas, personalities, etc. Why wouldn’t they? But when this happens, you end up with a system optimized for speed and virality rat
Information abundance creates attention scarcity! By 1997 (!) Michael Goldhaber was pushed this further with The Attention Economy and the Net arguing
It was never an all-you-can-eat-buffet that left you nauseous; it was an excellent, satisfying meal.
I started wondering, who's offering a compelling alternative ideal of masculinity? I texted my friend Thomas Page McBee, who has written two books abo
Right now, too many young men are being fed the junk food variety of masculinity. The magic bullet, use steroids, dominate others, get rich quick on C
We have a clique of powerful middle-aged men who want nothing more than to be boys.
The “cut them off” theory is (coincidentally?) trending on TikTok, with young people ending relationships over small perceived slights, like not texti
Cultural works aren’t hedonic appliances dispensing experiences with greater and greater efficiency for audiences to passively consume. Creators and a
We begin by discussing the loss of agency in the age of AI—people using AI to flirt for them, solve arguments, even write birthday cards, and slowly l
In our present technological era, humans have also needed a new framework to avoid drowning in the daily firehose of entertainment, media, and informa
It has become clear that there is nothing in this world too far-fetched to become a vibe. The vibes are out of control. Anything can become a vibe. Ev
“We started talking about vibes in September 2020,” says Dr Antonia Ward, chief futurist at trends intelligence company Stylus. “We were looking at ho
vibes are a catch-all error term. The way that we are talking about how people feel is like “yeah buddy sorry you’re feeling that way.” Like the vibes
I was then looking at my friends, and there were belly rolls folded over a laptop keyboard. There was cellulite and body hair and razor burn and every
You do you, boo,” when it comes to your face, and “As long as you're happy, everyone's happy” when it comes to filler and cosmetic surgery and body mo
So many women and girls, whilst I was researching for Pixel Flesh, were telling me how empowered they were. When you dig deeper into that, you realize
One of the women in the book, she was a young Black girl in the U.K. She described beauty to me as a negotiation of power, about using the tools that
I've also noticed a trend in not just our space, but more apps requiring a paid element. So a good one that comes to mind is Monarch, the finance app.
A hundred percent agree. What has happened in the last decade is people have been trained to consume an overload of content, and some people are comin
In recent years, many travelers have deliberately slowed down during their trips, tossing out the crammed itineraries to fully immerse themselves in o
Oh! Of course! Impermanence! I always forget. The Buddhist writer Jack Kornfield wrote of his teacher holding up a teacup, saying: “To me this cup is
plato says “death should be viewed as the achievement of life.”
Forgetting is a feature, not a bug. It makes us feel like we’re moving forward through time, rather than standing still or running in circles. My gran
Milk was a respite from the coldness and isolation of the modern age. Newer conveniences such as canned condensed milk and milk delivery could save ti
Volkswagen is bringing back physical buttons
Meanwhile in China, Xiaomi has accessory options for customers to add their own physical controls.
Tech companies are clamoring to re-buttonize their products
I finally saw what this study was talking about when it found scrolling makes you more bored. Once I switched to these more active, “companion” apps,
Downgrading is the radical decision to step backward in an age of dizzying, almost compulsory forward momentum. I have watched many people attempt to
When TikTok was briefly shut down last month, the app’s more than 150 million American users had the same sudden realization. The platform’s centralit
But instead what we’re doing is spending a whole lot of time masturbating, shopping and watching other people do things online. And essentially what’s
It occurs to me, much later than it occurred to the archivists, that we have never possessed such a complete and damning record of our past interactio
I have thousands of photos of my children but few that I’ve set aside to revisit. I have records of virtually every text I’ve sent since I was in coll
Downgrading is the radical decision to step backward in an age of dizzying, almost compulsory forward momentum. I have watched many people attempt to
When TikTok was briefly shut down last month, the app’s more than 150 million American users had the same sudden realization. The platform’s centralit
In Rebecca Jennings’s Vox long read on the necessity of authorly self-promotion, she interviews William Deresiewicz, whose book The Death of the Artis
Kate Dwyer argues that all authors must function like influencers now, which means a fire sale on your “private” life. As internet theorist Kyle Chayk
I didn’t understand that seeking a reader for my story meant handing over my work in the same way I sold my car on Craigslist: it’s gone from me, full
But it is deeply wounding to feel your industry get squeezed into a misshapen lump of clay. Something could be rebuilt from this material, but it’s go
In 2023, people in the UK and Ireland spent more on history books than at any point since Nielsen BookData’s records began in 1998. Ancient history sa
Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson is one of Substack’s most successful authors, with 1.8 million subscribers — and social media.
Other periods of profound technological and political change have been accompanied by a mania for the past. The Victorians, as their society was trans
As fellow journalist Ken Klippenstein posted, "No shit murder is bad. The [commentary and jokes] about the United CEO aren’t really about him; they’re
I think this trend/joke/meme shows how much people love to collectively build figures on the internet and then take their fame away. It reminds me of
There’s a “laugh epidemic” at movie theaters where people can’t stop laughing at parts of movies others don’t find funny, showing generational divides
"Gen Zers will have a favorite influencer or set of influencers who they essentially outsource their trust to, and then they're incredibly loyal to ev
BIBLIOTHERAPY: CAN READING HELP TREAT YOUR DEPRESSION?, dazedBibliotherapy, a form of therapy that uses literature to improve mental health and overal
“Niche creator partnerships will thrive in 2025 as brands prioritize quality, storytelling, and shared values over follower counts,” said Julia Baker,
Two summers ago meolah posted a video prophesying saying she hoped the next generation of influencers would be regular people. Quickly, the back half
Creators are no longer just influencers, reality TV stars, adult entertainers or #fitspo evangelists; they’re your friends, your neighbors, your cowor
Influencers, now a slowly fading cliché in the Internet’s tableau vivant, found success articulating the cult of personality, and marketing themselves
I have my theories about how American understandings of work and the fetishism of restraint intersect with this thinking, but I’d love to hear you unp
Budget culture steps into this environment, defines a “right” set of goals, creates a set of rules, and tells you you can reach those goals if you fol
Restriction is unsustainable personally, and culturally, normalizing this approach causes us to judge others and shame ourselves for not living up to
With everything — but money in particular — our culture trains us to believe we never have what we need, and there’s not enough to go around. Our cult
Vinyl-focused listening bars inspired by ones in Japan are opening across New York, attracting audiophiles and city dwellers looking for a respite fro
Have a Scotch or Macaron While You Try on That Watch?Watches of Switzerland and other luxury brands are using liquor and sweets to keep customers enga
Middle Age Is Sexy NowIn “Babygirl” and other recent movies, popular culture is finally getting comfortable with the sexual lives of 50-something wome
The happily ever after of “Babygirl” doesn’t involve that younger man. It doesn’t really involve a man at all. Or babies. (Romy is the milk-drinker he
it’s hard not to feel pessismistic at a time where fresh food in one of the richest countries in the world, is unaccessible to many and the idea of gr
Brands like Flamingo Estate operate under the slogan “mother nature is the last greatest luxury house” –groceries that for the majority of population