Over the weekend, Apple Martin made her society debut at Le Bal des Débutantes, “the most exclusive debutante ball in the world” previously attended by Lily Collins, Margaret Qualley, Ava Philippe, and Scout Willis; Oxford's word of the year is “brain rot”; Chappell Roan celebrated “Good Luck, Babe!” reaching one billion Spotify streams; and Jack Harlow covered Elvis, for some reason.
WHY GEN Z IS FLOCKING TO A RESTAURANT MOST OF THEM NEVER GREW UP WITH, slate
Though there are only 16 locations remaining in North America, the Rainforest Cafe has undergone a “major cultural reassessment. Its experiential environment — complete with animatronic animals, thunderstorms, and jungle-themed decor — is uniquely suited for the social media age, though it was created decades before TikTok or Instagram existed. It’s now going viral on these platforms, with young people experiencing “the thrill that only a talking tree and canned thunder can bring, oohing and ahhing in mock terror as lights flash amid the faux greenery.” (Much like the ambiance, the menu appears to have not changed since the ‘90s.)



FORGET THE INSTAGRAM HARD LAUNCH: ARE YOU LOCATION-SHARING OFFICIAL?, nyt
Sharing one’s location on Find My, Apple’s decade-old location-sharing app, has recently become a way to signal that your relationship is official, a modern-day version of changing your status on Facebook to “In a Relationship” or hard launching on Instagram. (The publicist doing PR for Find My has been working overtime — this weekend, Vogue published a story with the headline “Hear Me Out: Find My Friends Is Better Than Any Social Media App.”)
GEN Z IS BREAKING UP WITH DATING APPS, OFCOM SAYS, theguardian
The dating app crisis (not to be dramatic!) is a global issue: New research from Ofcom shows the UK’s top four dating apps — Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr — have all seen a decline in usage since 2023. Tinder lost 600,000 users, Hinge lost 131,000, Bumble’s users fell by 368,000 and Grindr lost 11,000. While Ofcom said the overall number of adults using a dating service in May this year was nearly five million, roughly in line with the same period last year, there’s been a noted decline in Gen Z usage. Will 2025 be the year dating apps figure out how to fix themselves…?
HOW PHONE WRISTLETS BECAME A MUST-HAVE ACCESSORY, ft
String Ting founder Rachel Steed-Middleton believes that “an iPhone is a pretty anonymous object these days,” which is driving the desire for device customization. Over the past year, tech accessories brand Casetify has seen “significant double-digit growth” in the sales of phone charms and lanyards, according to founder Wesley Ng. “This movement toward personalised tech accessories isn’t just a trend — it’s a fundamental shift in how people express themselves through their everyday devices,” he says.
CAN YOU STOP A TEEN FROM USING TIKTOK? AUSTRALIA IS ABOUT TO FIND OUT., wapo
This week, Australia is set to pass one of the world’s most restrictive social media laws, banning children under 16 from using online platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. The law creates an enforcement “framework,” but the legislation puts the onus on social media companies, which could be fined up to $33 million for systemic failures to prevent underage access. On TikTok, I’m seeing a lot of this:

