Nerd Kids and Video Vixens
Nerd Kids and Video Vixens
“the antithesis of the popularity contest"
TikTok is planning a ‘major push’ into gaming; Bella Hadid introduced her first-ever NFT, “CY-B3LLA”; and Aidy Bryant's final SNL ends on a high note with “Trend Forecasters On Summer Trends” skit.
WHO’S PLAYING DUNGEONS & DRAGONS THESE DAYS? THE USUAL FANS, AND THEN SOME., nyt
The tides of cool are shifting. Now, playing Dungeons & Dragons has become something of a social flex — “the antithesis of the popularity contest that was the 1990s and early 2000s, an antidote to our more basic tendencies and cheugy proclivities.” (It’s worth noting at this was written by Amelia Diamond, one of the former Man Repeller cool-girls. See? D&D really is for everybody.)
WHY TIKTOK SEES MUSIC VIDEO VIXENS AS THE UNSUNG HEROES OF Y2K FASHION, rollingstone
Circa-2000s video vixens have a hold on today’s youth culture who are “hungry for more inclusive media figures.” Currently, the #videovixens hashtag on TikTok is sitting at over 5.8 million views.
The video vixens of the early aughts set the precedent of style and personification for today’s “Instagram baddies,” helping create the landscape of what our culture distinguishes as beautiful, especially by appreciating women with curvier figures.
TEEN BABYSITTERS ARE CHARGING $30 AN HOUR NOW, BECAUSE THEY CAN, wsj
When I was in high school — not, like, yesterday, but also not that long ago — I made $2 an hour per kid.
MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z ARE GETTING SWINDLED BY THE BIGGEST SCAM IN HIGHER EDUCATION, insider
Millennials and Gen Zers have apparently been told that a master's degree is the new bachelor's — i.e. the “minimum level of education needed to land a prestigious, well-paying job” — with more than 3 million students enrolled in a grad program in 2020, a million more than 2000. Unfortunately, in many cases, “despite the fancy degree, you wind up owing more without earning more.” They’d probably be better off babysitting at this rate.
CAN YOU HAVE TOO MUCH THERAPY?, r29
Millennials have long been dubbed 'the therapy generation', with research suggesting that 35% have received therapy; Gen Z are even more invested at 37%. So what happens when a good habit turns into overreliance?
HALSEY CLAIMS LABEL ‘WON’T LET ME’ RELEASE NEW SONG ‘UNLESS THEY CAN FAKE A VIRAL MOMENT ON TIKTOK’, variety
There’s a really interesting artist vs label thing happening re: TikTok right now. “I’ve been in this industry for eight years and I’ve sold over 165 million records and my record company is saying I can’t release [the song] unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.” The irony is that, in making this disclosure, Halsey created a viral TikTok moment…
One last thought:
