Dunk Neos and Mediocrity Hell

"what am i gonna do in a submarine"

Addison Rae is the face of Lucky Brand’s new aughts-inspired campaign; “America’s heartthrob” Rob Rausch is partnering with audio erotica startup Quinn; Bhavitha Mandava, the engineering student who opened for Chanel, was profiled by Iva Dixit for i-D; and speaking of i-D, I joined EIC Thom Bettridge for a Substack Live yesterday — we talked about Gen Beta, Hedi Boys, and the weirdest corners of TikTok (has anyone else found themselves on Phoenix and BlaecTok…?), and you can watch it here if you missed it!

THE MACBOOK NEO IS APPLE’S TAKE ON THE NIKE DUNK, fastcompany
Apple’s new $599 MacBook Neo seems explicitly designed to win back young people. The machine runs on the A18 Pro — the same chip powering the iPhone — letting Apple price aggressively at a moment when AI-driven memory shortages are pushing PC prices up. Mac ownership among college students has dropped from nearly 50% in 2022 to 37.3% in 2025, even as overall laptop ownership in that group holds steady at 96.3%, according to UC Davis data, meaning students aren’t buying fewer laptops, but they aren’t buying Macs. The Neo’s colorful anodized aluminum design, a callback to iPod minis and nanos, smartly leans on Gen Z and Alpha nostalgia — “less a design innovation than a play for cash-strapped young consumers,” FastCo writes, though I think that’s fine: Young consumers are indeed cash-strapped, but they still want cool computers. My FYP is obsessed with it:

@audreyatienzanew #macbookneo and it’s only $599?! AND IN PINKKK #apple

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MEET THE FINEST BOYS IN FINANCE, interviewmagazine
Of course, not all young consumers are cash-strapped: Four young finance professionals in New York — ages 23 to 25, with roles ranging from FX trading at Barclays to AI consulting at PwC; the group was, amazingly enough, cast from LinkedIn — talked to Interview about working 50–55 hours a week, sleeping six hours a night, and spending heavily on luxury goods (a $3k Moncler jacket, a $1,400 abstract painting, multiple Hermès ties). Their after-work routines converge on a tight circuit of West Village and SoHo bars, plus a healthy dose of Equinox and Barry’s workouts. One analyst’s idea of hell is “mediocrity”; another’s idea of heaven is “an art gallery with top-shelf wine, strawberry matcha, live jazz, and landscape portraits inside an all-you-can eat sushi buffet with all my kinfolk.” When that girl sang about wanting a “man in finance,” I can’t imagine this is what she was talking about.

DUBAI INFLUENCERS’ LIVES OF LUXURY INTERRUPTED BY IRAN STRIKES: ‘THE IMAGE OF SAFETY HAS BEEN SHATTERED’, theguardian
Dubai’s influencer class — made up of content creators who are legally required to “respect” the state in their posts — found themselves documenting Iranian missile strikes in real time, flooding feeds with a disorienting mix of beach club footage and war commentary. Mike Babayan, 23, a day-trader with 150,000 TikTok followers who lives in the Burj Khalifa, reported hearing explosions every 20 minutes while “everyone is just having coffees, walking around like there’s no care in the world.” American University of Sharjah professor Zoe Hurley told The Guardian that the UAE has “very strategically used the idea of creators and influencers to promote the country” as an alternative to the American dream, but believes the strikes have “shattered” Dubai’s “safe oasis” reputation. That didn’t stop Babayan from telling his followers that “Dubai remained safer than New York, Los Angeles. and London, even amid the war.”

“WHAT AM I GONNA DO IN A SUBMARINE?”: YOUNG AMERICANS JOKE ABOUT A POTENTIAL DRAFT WITH VILLAGE PEOPLE’S “IN THE NAVY”, thedailydot
As the U.S. moved toward military conflict in the Middle East, Gen Z on TikTok turned Village People’s “In the Navy” into a trending lip-sync sound, using campy dance clips and sailor costumes to process war anxiety and mock pro-war sentiment. A counter-current happened, too, with one creator warning that even ironic engagement with the sound could be a form of propaganda: “If you let it…You will think the outfit is fun. You will think the word ‘navy’ and a funky song will play in your head.” A widely copied and pasted block of text also spread across videos, arguing that “the Male Loneliness Epidemic, Gym Bro Culture, and Alpha Male Propaganda have all been tools to craft young men into physically fit, isolated, and obedient soldiers.”

THE TIKTOKERS READING THE EPSTEIN FILES SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO, vanityfair
I was excited to see a Taylor Lorenz byline for Vanity Fair, and this one did not disappoint: The DOJ’s January 30 release of more than 3 million pages of Epstein documents has led to a massive TikTok crowdsourcing phenomenon, with creators amassing huge followings by painstakingly trawling the files. The audience for this content skews heavily female, much like the existing true crime demographic. And young people, in particular, are rapt: Halina Newland, a 22-year-old content creator who posts about Epstein on TikTok, told Lorenz that the files resonate with her generation because of what they grew up seeing online: “There were all these conspiracies that were super prevalent when I was online in middle and high school,” she said. “Everybody who said this stuff at the time was called crazy. Now we’re seeing the files confirm what a lot of people have been saying for years was true.”

One last thought:

@avaluvgmm @avaluvgmm ♬ original sound - ava

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