Millennial Mercilessness and Midsummer Love

“i go in there with my hermès bag"

BBC is developing an “anarchic Y2K” drama based on Paris Lees’ memoir; here’s the trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s “sexy tennis love triangle” starring Zendaya; and a quick dispatch from Cannes — I saw Emma Chamberlain in the flesh and she is even better IRL. (I also separately saw Jack Harlow; here’s hoping they reunite).

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Today’s letter is brought to you by Day One Agency: Jumpstart your morning — and get the scoop on Cannes Lions from Gen Zers perspective — with “Breakfast Epiphanies,” a mini podcast series from my friends at Day One Agency serving up need-to-know happenings every morning from the Croisette. Tap in here. 

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DESPITE THREATS OF A BAN, MOST U.S. USERS AREN’T CHANGING THEIR TIKTOK HABITS, modernretail
According to a recent survey from Modern Retail and Attest, when asked if their TikTok usage has changed over the last six months in light of the proposed ban, half of consumers said not at all while 32% said that their usage has increased over that period. It certainly doesn’t help that other platforms (Twitter, Instagram) have gotten worse in the last few months.

TIKTOK HAS IDENTIFIED 'MILLENNIAL HUMOR' AND IS MOCKING IT MERCILESSLY, insider
Millennials are being mocked for continuing to use jokes and references that Gen Z now widely considers "cringe," such as "adulting" and "weird flex but OK”; one millennial user offered an explanation for why his generation is "so corny," saying millennials grew up before memes and social media was widespread, and that a lot of humor they absorbed was highly manufactured. 

ONE-PERCENTERS KEEP SHOPPING AT THE DOLLAR STORE, wsj
Driven by social media (and, obviously, inflation), dollar and discount stores are cool now. Videos tagged #dollartree have a combined 7.6 billion views on TikTok, with influencers sharing dupes and boasting about deals. “I go in there with my Hermès bag,” says Bethenny Frankel, the former Real Housewife whose TikTok videos shopping at dollar stores routinely go viral.

SHEIN WANTS TO SELL EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE, sourcingjournal
The Amazon-ification of Shein is upon us. The Chinese retailer is expanding its product offerings to include everything from home appliances to electronics to kitchenware; shoes by Skechers will soon sit alongside $4.10 BBQ skewers, and $3.10 banana-shaped hamster hammocks. Plans are underway with “prominent” global multi-label boutiques to bring an “extensive” range of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands to its platform. The Bezos playbook in action.

GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS' SURPRISING MIDSUMMER OBSESSION, bbc
The Folklore effect? There’s a new folk movement taking over from a culture traditionally dominated by boomers, blossoming among young people on stages at Glastonbury and on platforms like TikTok.

THE GEN Z SLIPKNOT FANS OF DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL, i-D
Last weekend, around 100,000 people dressed in black made their way to a field in rural Leicestershire, UK — and many of them were Gen Z. Photographer Jody Evans documents a new generation of "maggots.” I can’t get enough.

One last thought: