Hot Vax 2.0 and Lonely Ape Love
i'm turning red
The real Hot Vax Summer is coming; Instagram and TikTok could get sued for addicting kids under California proposal; meet Lonely Ape Dating Club, the world’s first dating app for NFT enthusiasts (so like Raya but much much worse); and the resale industry continues to heat up — Vestaire just bought Tradesy.
THE RISE OF THE MOBILE-FIRST, DIGITAL SHOPPER, wwd
Yes, yes, OK, this study was commissioned by Klarna — and you know how I feel about BNPLs — but a few of the stats are notable imo. “The vast majority (92 percent) of respondents worldwide said they would use their devices in-store to help them secure the best deals or price promotions.” Also, “79 percent of Gen Z and 77 percent of Millennials are mobile shopping more often now as compared to two years ago.” Of course “two years ago” was narrowly pre-pandemic, but still.
THE TIKTOK CRITICS BUILDING GEN-Z’S FASHION LEXICON, bof
“Like the fashion bloggers and YouTube vloggers before them, these TikTok fashion critics occupy a role somewhere between influencer and journalist — and have quickly elbowed their way into the fashion industry’s inner circle.” They’ve managed to proliferate a new type of story: “Someone on TikTok said this,” which is somehow enough of a hook to make headlines these days, even though people on TikTok are literally always saying things. (Ask me how I really feel about it 😈)
WHERE TEEN INFLUENCERS GO TO BECOME ACTORS, vox
Brat, for those unaware, is basically AwesomenessTV 2.0. AwesomenessTV, but for TikTok rather than YouTube. If AwesomenessTV doesn’t ring a bell, Vox helpfully compares it to another platform you’ve maybe heard of: “Quibi isn’t the only platform to which Brat TV has been compared: Every few years, it seems, there is a flurry of studio-slash-incubators combining up-and-coming (read: inexpensive) digital talent with professional film crews and marketing departments.”
TIKTOK HELPED TURN A SKETCHY TELEHEALTH COMPANY INTO AN EMPIRE, input
Cerebral is a VC-backed amphetamine factory is leaning on social media — and influencers like Simone Biles, their “Chief Impact Officer” — in extremely dangerous ways. It’s just Adderall! What’s the worst that could happen! Oh, right.
CULTURE WARRIORS ARE VERY UPSET ABOUT THE SWEET AND INOFFENSIVE ‘TURNING RED’, vice
If you’ve been seeing this movie everywhere and have no idea why — this was me until 5 minutes ago; sometimes when something comes out of nowhere and is instantly omnipresent, blinders just appear on my eyeballs and I just ignore all mentions of That Thing — well, anyway, this piece explains a lot about why Turning Red is a big deal and made me feel bad for ignoring it.
One last thought: