Shein Backlash and Tinder AI

"beekeeping age"

‘Rick and Morty’ accidentally coined Gen Z’s new favorite phrase for hot older guys; Jenna Ortega makes history with an Emmy nomination; and Parade partnered with Ganni for a size-inclusive intimates collection (their best collab yet, IMO!).

RETAILERS BRACE FOR THE RETURN OF STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS, modernretail
Companies like Macy’s, American Eagle Outfitters, and Gap have already cited the economy’s impact on middle- and lower-income customers as factors that led to a decline in sales this year — and the resuming responsibility of paying off college loans will likely add to those woes, retail analysts have warned. Overall, the resumption of loan repayments is projected to have a collective $10 billion monthly impact on retail spending. It’s going to be a tough back-to-school season indeed!

AS SHEIN’S CONTROVERSIES GROW, ITS GEN Z CONSUMER BASE SHRINKS, morningbrew
In June, the brand’s net favorability among Gen Z consumers fell nearly 20 points year over year. Net purchasing consideration for Shein among Gen Z also fell 10 points, with interest in making a purchase from the brand dropping from 49% to 42% year over year. This week’s RICO charges against the brand certainly can’t help.

TIKTOK PLASTIC SURGEON ‘DR. ROXY’ LOSES MEDICAL LICENSE, nyt
The State Medical Board of Ohio voted to permanently revoke Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe’s medical license after investigating her for livestreaming operations on TikTok and surgical complications reported by patients. Known on TikTok as @doctorroxy, she has nearly 15 million likes (though her account is now private, for obvious reasons.

WHY BABY BOOMERS LOVE THE KINDLE—AND MILLENNIALS DON’T, wsj
While older generations have embraced the e-reader, young consumers prefer the anti-tech charm of paperbacks. Devin Smith, 26, a marketing and public relations manager in Brooklyn, N.Y., knows the appeal of print all too well, with more than 100 books crammed into her “tiny” apartment. “I love to collect all the books I have read as a tangible memento of the stories they represent,” she said.

TINDER’S CPO TEASES A ‘FRESH AND NEW’ FEEL, TALKS GENERATIVE AI, fastco
Tinder’s Mark van Ryswyk said generative AI will have an overall “key role” when it comes to helping individuals find connections, pointing to years of data of what works and doesn’t for profiles. AI could assist users who need help choosing photos or writing their bios, says Van Ryswyk, and also help users start conversations once they match with someone.

‘CHATGPT IS DOWN’ IS THE NEW ‘DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK’—OUTAGES OF THE POPULAR A.I. LEAVE STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS ALIKE SCRAMBLING, fortune
Reports of an outage spiked on Tuesday morning, peaking at 10:40 a.m. with about 5,400 reported crashes; the onslaught of tweets and Threads of people scrambling to do their work (and homework) suggests ChatGPT has already proven itself to be indispensable in a lot of day-to-day workflows.

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