Fertility Booms and Cult Fandoms

meet me at the mall

Addison Rae, the TikTok queen who has set her sights on Hollywood, is on the cover of Rolling Stone; Ayo Edebiri is starring in A24’s new “cult fandom” horror movie; MrBeast is reportedly now among those sincerely trying to buy TikTok; and all of the internet’s favorite boys are at Men’s Fashion Week.

HOW MALLS BECAME COOL AGAIN, businessinsider
An honor to be quoted in Aaron Short’s article about the return of the American mall alongside two of my favorite Gen Z Substackers, Claire Lee of

Selleb Sisters

and

Arden Yum

of Ad Hoc. (Also Jenny Duan, who, like Claire, was on my podcast last year!) This, in particular, is interesting to me:

Scottsdale Fashion Square, a mall in suburban Arizona, saw foot traffic jump 144% after it opened five high-end restaurants, including a Nobu, and added more luxury brands for men. "We're trying to deliver something youthful and exciting to the marketplace," says Kim Choukalas, who manages the mall's leasing. "The instant gratification of buying at a brick-and-mortar location will never go away.

MORE TEENS REPORT USING CHATGPT FOR SCHOOLWORK, techcrunch
In a survey of 1,400 U.S. teens between the ages of 13 and 17, 26% said that they had used ChatGPT for homework, double the number two years ago. (I know there’s some persistent skepticism among young people and AI, but at least some of those 74% of teens have got to be lying to Pew.) Further, just over half said they think it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT for researching new subjects, 29% said they thought it was acceptable for math problems, and 18% said it was fine to use ChatGPT to write essays. Going to be interesting to see how these numbers shift as Gen Alpha gets a little older.

YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE LOST ALL TRUST IN THE SYSTEM AND ARE READY TO FIGHT ABOUT IT, vice
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, people have moved beyond polarization to "aggressive advocacy for self-interest," with a growing sense of grievance against elites and institutions. Some 31% of Gen Zers believe that violence to persons or to property can be an “appropriate” way to bring about change, and 55% of 18-34-year-olds approve of violence, property damage, or misinformation as tools for change. On the bright side…wait, sorry, there is no bright side.

‘YOUNG WOMEN CAN FALL PREGNANT VERY EASILY’: INSIDE THE WILD WEST OF SMARTPHONE FERTILITY APPS, theguardian
This is not the first time I’ve mentioned the rise of fertility trackers that position themselves as alternatives to birth control, but as more young women move away from hormonal contraception due to concerns about side effects (not to mention MAHA misinformation), they’re increasingly turning to apps like Natural Cycles, which are marketed as “natural contraception” and sometimes even described as “as effective as condoms.” The lack of regulation and oversight in this space continues to worsen, raising the likelihood of — obviously — unintended pregnancies.

THE WELLNESS FERTILITY BOOM IS JUST GETTING STARTED, glossy
As for intended pregnancies, Gen Z consumers are poised to transform the fertility and conception industry by prioritizing accessible, affordable, and self-managed solutions in a historically clinical and high-cost space, and brands like Frida, Ritual, and Teal Health are responding with at-home products such as insemination kits, fertility supplements, and cervical cancer testing tools.

One last thought:

@princess_milkyyTrump is president, but here’s what we can do #fyp #4u #activism #supremecourt #twerk

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P.S. I’m trying to keep politics out of this newsletter (and, for my own sanity, my brain!) as much as possible, but sometimes when talking about youth culture, it’s impossible. 😶‍🌫️