After School by Casey Lewis

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Unapologetically Tacky and Unbothered Ambivalence

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After School: Daily

Unapologetically Tacky and Unbothered Ambivalence

"bunting: is it in or out?"

Casey Lewis
May 19, 2022
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Unapologetically Tacky and Unbothered Ambivalence

afterschool.substack.com

TikTok launched its first tool to help users directly tag and credit other creators; JoJo Siwa is starring in hybrid docuseries on Facebook Watch (ngl, I didn’t know Facebook Watch still existed); Zendaya, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber…why are there suddenly so many redheads?

redheads

MILLENNIAL AND GEN Z WORKERS PLAGUED WITH COST OF LIVING FEARS AS WAGES STRUGGLE TO KEEP PACE WITH INFLATION, fortune
Deloitte’s annual Gen Z and millennial survey was released Wednesday, and it’s a doozy. Over a third of millennials and 29% of Gen Zers report that the cost of living is their biggest concern these days. Further, half of Gen Z and millennials say they live paycheck to paycheck, while 31% of millennials and 26% of Gen Z believe they won’t be able to retire comfortably. Tbh that feels optimistic to me.

WELCOME TO THE ERA OF UNAPOLOGETIC BAD TASTE, time
Have you noticed an uptick in tacky? Get used to it.

What TikTok teens, white-collar workers marooned in home offices, and the gatekept super-rich all have in common is the kind of physical isolation, if not the sense of doom, that makes a person desperate just to feel something. And nothing kills numbness like a sensory onslaught — color, sound, hedonism, melodrama, sleaze.

HOW GEN Z IS HOOKED ON CRYPTOCURRENCY AND NFTS, bbc
According to an addiction clinic in Singapore, there’s “been a jump in young — particularly male — clients getting addicted to the thrill of trading crypto and NFTs.” Bleak stuff.

WE ASKED 50 GEN ZERS ABOUT THEIR FAVORITE APPS. PHOTO SHARING AND ASTROLOGY RATED HIGH, BUT NOT INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK, insider
Gen Z is retreating to platforms that reinforce their most intimate relationships, such as BeReal, Locket, and Snapchat. At the same time, they're gravitating toward apps that help them grapple with big-picture questions, like astrology app Co—Star. (If you don’t subscribe and want this list, email me.)

DESIGNING THE PERFECT ON-SCREEN TEENAGE BEDROOM, i-d
Tim Dickel, the production designer on Netflix’s queer coming-of-ager Heartstopper, begins his search by scouring on Pinterest, and then Instagram. He also works directly with younger people, asking them questions like, “Do teenagers use bedside tables anymore? Bunting: is it in or out?”

TOM CRUISE FANS FLOOD CANNES: ‘HE’S ONE OF THE LAST GREAT ACTION ACTORS’, variety
“While Cruise’s antics – from the Oprah couch-jumping stunt to his association with Scientology – may have turned millennials off the superstar, Generation Z see him purely as an action hero.” Considering some of the other problematic film stars that Gen Z loves (ahem), why am I not surprised!

Asked about the infamous 2005 “couch jump” (when Cruise, appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” randomly jumped up on Winfrey’s couch after she asked him about his relationship with Katie Holmes), [one Gen Zer] replied: “Did he stay on people’s couches?”

One last thought:

Twitter avatar for @elanafishman
Elana Fishman @elanafishman
"I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things. It seems to me that there is a false stigma around eagerness in our culture of 'unbothered ambivalence.' This outlook perpetuates the idea that it’s not cool to 'want it.'" - Dr. Taylor Alison Swift
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8:09 PM ∙ May 18, 2022
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Unapologetically Tacky and Unbothered Ambivalence

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