Payday Routines and AI Time Machines
Discover more from After School by Casey Lewis
Payday Routines and AI Time Machines
snacktime
Beyoncé teases new hair-care venture on Instagram; Bad Bunny shared a snippet of an upcoming Jersey club-infused single; and the new, NFT-focused version of LimeWire has raised $17.5 million through a token sale.
FOR GEN Z, PLAYING AN INFLUENCER ON TIKTOK COMES NATURALLY, nyt
Gen Z is increasingly posting on social media in the manner of professional influencers, regardless of their follower counts; “these videos are often viewed as cool and entrepreneurial by peers (and sometimes by bemused parents).” I was recently talking to a friend about the comfort level of Gen Z vs millennials (and, really, any other generation) when it comes to engaging with TikTok. For a long time, I had the POV that TikTok culture — green screen hot takes, viral sounds — was just a trend, but now I’m increasingly feeling like it’s a larger societal shift and other generations need to adapt. Curious to hear your thoughts.
YOUTUBE CONTRIBUTED $35 BILLION TO THE U.S. ECONOMY IN 2022, tubefilter
The platform’s creator ecosystem contributed more than $35 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product and supported the equivalent of over 390,000 full-time jobs.
TO STOP LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, THEY SPILL ABOUT IT ON TIKTOK, wsj
Under the hashtag #paydayroutine, which has 52.9 million views to date, people begin by revealing their take-home pay, and in under 60 seconds whittle it down to near zero by enumerating the bills for food, rent, credit cards, utilities, saving, and streaming. Described as “payday routines,” they go into minute detail on spending on groceries, dining out, drinks, car payments, and travel.
GEN Z IS WAY BEHIND ON CREDIT-CARD PAYMENTS. IT COULD GET EVEN WORSE WHEN STUDENT-DEBT PAYMENTS RESTART., insider
According to a new New York Fed report, 8.31% of credit-card debt among U.S. 18 to 29-year-olds transitioned to serious delinquency between January and March of this year, up from 5.12% over the prior year period. When student-debt payments resume later this year after a three-year pause, things are going to get even more challenging. As of last summer, 36% of Gen Zers had student debt, holding an average balance of $20,900.
MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z’S REBELLION AGAINST THEIR PARENTS’ RULES IS SPAWNING A $181 BILLION INDUSTRY THAT MAKES EVERYTHING INTO A SNACK, fortune
For some consumers (especially young ones), snacks have now become entire meals — despite decades of health advice. Now, almost half of U.S. consumers have three or more snacks daily — up 8% in the last two years. Nick Graham, global head of insights and analytics for Mondelez, told the Journal that millennials and Gen Z consumers typically eat about 10% more snacks daily compared to other generations. I’m extremely pro-snack — despite decades of health advice! — and I think it’s unfair to position eating between meals as bad, so I’m glad to see snacks prevail.
TIKTOK CREATORS USE AI TO REWRITE HISTORY, restofworld
“What if India ruled Great Britain?” reads the caption of a TikTok video, now viewed over 1.7 million times. Since the launch of image generators like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, a new wave of generative AI-focused creators is playing into a decolonial curiosity with its content — one that seems to ask, what if Western imperial nations never came to power?
P.S. I realized yesterday that Victoria Paris and Victoria Monet are two very different people; the former, pictured in yesterday’s letter, is a TikTok creator, while the latter, pictured in today’s letter, has the contender for the song of the summer. Thank you to a kind reader who pointed this out, and sorry for my confusion!
One last thought:
