Fyodor Fever and Boy Apartments

“this is the reason the government wants tiktok banned"

Gracie Abrams is on the cover of Nylon; Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco were just cast in a horror Netflix series; Olivia Rodrigo is donating more than $2 million to global women’s charities; and I’m taking a few days off — we’re driving to Missouri for the holidays with two dogs and a cat, wish us luck — but will be back soon!

THE BIGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS OF 2024 AND WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2025, adage
I joined Gillian Follett — who covers the creator beat for AdAge so brilliantly — for the Marketer’s Brief podcast this week! We talked about the social media trends that shaped 2024, from TikTok’s “fully-conscious baby” to SkinCeuticals’ response to the “man in finance” meme, and what we’re looking forward to in 2025.

DON’T CALL IT A BACHELOR PAD. TIKTOK SAYS IT’S A ‘BOY APARTMENT.’, nyt
Grown men on TikTok are going viral for sharing glimpses into their meticulous homes, which they’ve dubbed “boy apartments.” A bit infantilizing — can you imagine dating a man who was famous online for sharing his “boy apartment”? — though it’s admittedly better than the phrase “bachelor pad,” or worse, “man cave.”

In the six-second video, Victor Gerchev, 28, shares the coffee table books and gadgets lining his bookshelves and a closet of neatly folded shirts and pants, among other spaces in his home. Since sharing the video in July, the clip has received more than 350,000 views and spawned numerous imitations. “Very aesthetically pleasing,” one user wrote in the comments section. “I need this apartment,” another user wrote.

KIDS ARE GETTING HOOKED ON MAKEUP WITH ULTA BEAUTY’S NEW LINE OF TOYS, bloomberg
Ulta Beauty debuted a new collection of toy replicas of more than 60 popular beauty products, and tweens on social media are “obsessed.” Produced in collaboration with Zuru Toy's Mini Brands, the launch has been an unequivocal success, with frequent sell-outs in stores — much to the dismay of some parents and at least one Bloomberg reporter. (“The tween skincare trend already has parents and dermatologists alarmed,” they write. “This is a move to go after an even younger demographic.”) I understand the concern, but it seems a little misplaced — shouldn’t parents be more upset about, I don’t know, toy guns?

IN ONLINE DRONE PANIC, CONSPIRACY THINKING HAS GONE MAINSTREAM, wapo
A recent wave of mysterious drone sightings in the U.S. has sparked widespread online anxiety, with people taking to social media to share their own sightings and theorize about the cause. “This is the reason the government wants TikTok banned, so we can’t see what they’re doing,” said one TikTok comment with 20,000 likes.

FYODOR FEVER: HOW DOSTOEVSKY BECAME A SOCIAL MEDIA SENSATION, theguardian
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights, a novella first published in 1848, has become a surprise hit on TikTok and Instagram; this year, a Penguin Classics edition was the fourth most-sold work of literature in translation in the UK. The book's popularity can be attributed to its themes of loneliness, love, and the human desire for connection — and the fact that it’s just 80 pages. (“On BookTok, a short book is often an appealing one, because it allows people to add an easy notch to their annual reading goal.”)

One last thought:

@oliviasara_23🫡 #shoppingtips #emmachamberlain #personalstyle #fashiontiktok

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