

Discover more from After School by Casey Lewis
Fans petition to drop Kanye West from Coachella; mask anxiety is haunting teens; and nearly half of millennials “don’t see the point” of saving for retirement.
SECURING THE TIKTOK VOTE, nyt
The quotes in this story alone make it worth reading: “When I post on TikTok, it’s because I’m having fun online and talking with my friends about the things we all care about,” Mr. Markey, 75!!!, (bold/italics/exclamation mine) wrote in an email. “I listen and learn from young people on TikTok. They are leading, they know what’s going on and they know where we are headed, especially online. I’m with them.”
RUSSIA IS LOSING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OUTWARD-LOOKING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, nyt
This is a different kind of exodus — tens of thousands of young, urban, multilingual professionals who are able to work remotely from almost anywhere, many of them in information technology or freelancers in creative industries.
THE DEATH SPIRAL OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY, wapo
A harrowing but powerful look that intergenerational wealth (or lack thereof).
That meant that what Dave Jr. and his two daughters were inheriting during a time of accelerating inequality in the United States was the exact opposite of intergenerational wealth: his father’s end-of-life expenses, thousands of dollars in debts, a leftover bottle of anti-depressants, and the Ramsey family’s continued regression from the middle class into the expanding bottom of the American economy.
AMERICA’S YOUTH HAVE A NEW FAVORITE ACTIVITY. IT’S MORE WHOLESOME THAN YOU THINK, insidehook
28-year-old Sam, who began birding during the pandemic, says his participation was “definitely ironic at first” — but he “started to do it in earnest in January 2021 and never looked back.”
THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLUS-SIZE FASHION BRANDS AREN'T ON THE RUNWAYS — THEY'RE ON TIKTOK, fashionista
Though conversation around body inclusivity appears to be fizzling out, “indie designers who didn't have the funds or connections to court traditional gatekeepers can appeal directly to their target audience (if you can go viral, that is). That includes dynamic young women designing for fat bodies.”
HOW MIU MIU MADE THE WORLD’S SKIMPIEST LUXURY OUTFIT A VIRAL SUCCESS, wsj
I know, I know, you’re tired of hearing about this skirt — hey, likewise! — but this article really digs into how a $995 runway garment has been nearly instantly reduced to a meme.
IS TIKTOK HELPING OR HURTING OUR SKIN?, wsj
Tl;dr: It’s certainly not helpin’! But the most interesting part of this story, imo:
Part of [skincare influencer Hyram Yarbro’s] success may be that his posts hit what Evy Lyons, chief marketing officer of Traackr, an influencer marketing platform, considers the hallmarks of the most clickable content: creativity, emotion and education. But over-the-top content (see the aforementioned bologna facial) seems to do well too.
One last thought: