Beta Brainrot and Trend Freaks

microtrend final boss

Ella Beatty, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening’s kid, and Levon Hawke, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman’s kid, are starring together in Lincoln Center Theater's Ghosts; Stranger Things’ star Finn Wolfhard announced his debut solo album; and the German boy band (and TikTok sensation) Elevator Boys just signed with CAA.

TOO MANY TRENDS!, nyt
Gen Z is drowning in a relentless wave of microtrends fueled by social media — which, Callie Holtermann writes, was “sold as a playground, but ended up feeling more like a mall.” Callie talked to dozens of Gen Z’s (and to me!) about the online trend ecosystem, where new aesthetics rise and fall in a matter of weeks, leaving young consumers fatigued, disoriented, and increasingly skeptical of the churn. So what happens next?

Perhaps Gen Z is just aging out of the period of their lives ruled by trends, Ms. Lewis said, noting that its eldest members are in their late 20s. But she does not think the online trend madness will slow down anytime soon. Enter Gen Alpha, whose eyes are already racing across screens. “I think they’re going to be trend freaks,” Ms. Lewis said.

A NEW GENERATION IS HERE. ITS NAME IS ALREADY AN INSULT., wsj
Generation Beta, the cohort born starting January 1, 2025, is already facing an image problem, as Gen Z and Alpha have long used “beta” as slang for weak or passive, thanks to internet culture and the manosphere. Jordan Ackerson, a 12-year-old, said words like sigma and beta are starting to become less popular among his friends, but younger kids, like third-graders, are still into it. While he finds Generation Beta a little “cringe,” he doesn’t really care about the name. “At least I am Alpha,” he said.

THE COLLEGE COUNSELOR ROCK STAR DIARIES, townandcountrymag
The independent college counseling industry has exploded into a $3 billion business, with some firms charging up to $200,000 to curate every aspect of a student’s high school experience, from extracurriculars to essay topics, in pursuit of elite admissions. Joy Justus, a mother in Orange County, spent between $30,000 and $40,000 to help her son gain admittance to Boston University. “We were already paying $40,000 a year for private school — it’s ridiculous,” Justus says. “But I’m sorry, a Caucasian kid from a nice zip code that has a 4.3 or whatever…You know what? You don’t get into college with that anymore.”

THE SOBERING NEW STATE OF FEMINISM, ft
A new study from King’s College London and Ipsos shows shifting attitudes toward feminism, with 48% of people worldwide now believing women’s rights efforts have gone far enough, down from 53% last year. Among Gen Z men, though, skepticism about gender equality is growing, with 57% believing feminism has gone too far and now discriminates against men, compared to 36% of Gen Z women. The study also found that 28% of young men think stay-at-home dads are “less of a man,” versus 19% of young women.

YOUNG CONSERVATIVE WOMEN BUILD AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE MANOSPHERE, semafor
A new wave of young conservative women is reshaping right-wing media, filling a space that was historically male-dominated, Max Tani reports. Gen Z influencers like Brett Cooper (1.4 million YouTube subscribers, 17M views in 10 episodes) are “espousing traditional gender and family values that are part nostalgia, part revolt against liberal feminist cultural views.”

“For a long time there has been this conversation on the right that has been very male-centric,”

Rachel Janfaza

, a writer and researcher focused on emergent Gen Z political views, told Semafor. “There are a lot of values that women — young women, in particular — are espousing right now that do align with some of these more right-wing women. And I think a lot of that does stem from this nostalgia for the past, for a time period that many members of Gen Z never actually experienced themselves.”

ICYMI: I wrote about the viral Amish girl, the rise of “restivals,” the Gen Zers revolting against Kayla Itsines in the weekend’s edition of After School, the shoes I think are going viral next, and so much more. Catch up here! 🫶

One last thought:

@kaeslifey @kaeslifey ♬ original sound - sourburn

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