Why Japan’s government created a state-mandated dating app
In light of the country's low national birth rates and worsening lonely deaths epidemic, a government-mandated dating app has been created for Japanese citizens. Can the state's involvement solve the cultural issues driving these worrying trends? The declining birth rate in Japan has been declared by the country’s former prime...
Current in Culture
The true cost of being single
Free and thriving – or just paying more rent? Let’s break down the economics of singledom. Breathe a sigh of relief, for February is almost over. It’s that special time of year when couples throw cash at overpriced dinners, smugly split the Uber home, and post a well-lit shot of...
New NTIA study shows young people ‘priced out’ of nightlife
Fresh research by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) shows that young people in the UK are going out less than they were a year ago. It seems like Gen Z may be unable to go out in the evenings due to financial pressures. New research conducted by Obsurvant on behalf...
Are Gen Z phasing out the one night stand?
Is the decline in casual sex among Gen Z a sign of conservatism, or are young people simply seeking deeper connections? In the latest attempt to paint young people as far more wholesome (and dare I say boring) than their predecessors, a new report by The Times claims Gen...
Taylor Swift becomes biggest female artist of all time in the UK
Taylor Swift has now become the biggest female artist of all time in the UK, with the most UK No 1 albums ever. The record means she has officially surpassed Madonna. The rise and cultural dominance of Taylor Swift continues with no real end in sight. She has just broken...
We need to talk about ‘Almond Mums’
How the fascination with our mothers’ diets has permeated social media and changed the way we think about food. There are few social trends as pervasive as the ‘almond mum’. She’s slim, she’s usually wearing yoga leggings, she shops at Whole Foods. And according to the thousands of videos featuring...
Google’s Gemini AI advert coughs out incorrect cheese facts
In the first version of its latest advert for AI, Google’s Gemini can be seen providing incorrect information on cheese. It’s an excellent example of why we shouldn’t rely entirely on AI to do the thinking for us. Honey, the Large Language Model (LLM) AI program is hallucinating again! It looks like Google’s own AI model – Gemini 2.0 - has been playing up, and no actual human being within...
Ed Sheeran street concert shut down by police in India
In widely-shared footage online, a police officer can be seen unplugging Ed Sheeran’s microphone at a street performance in India. Ed Sheeran had his street performance in India cut short over the weekend, despite reportedly asking permission before starting. A police offer unplugged his microphone and ushered him away, leaving onlookers disappointed. The incident occurred before Ed was scheduled to play in the city of Bengaluru later that evening. He...
Is Quora on death’s doorstep?
The platform once deemed a barometer for quality responses to user queries has lost its way. AI is largely responsible – in more ways than one. Have you ever heard of ‘Dead Internet Theory?’ It subscribes to the idea that both bots and content created by algorithms will soon overtake the digital presence and volume of human works online. We’ve written about it in detail previously. Apprehension about that prospect has...
Hawk Tuah girl returns after crypto scam controversy
Haliey Welch went viral last year for her ‘hawk tuah’ TikTok interview moment. Since then, she’s amassed over 2 million Instagram followers, launched a podcast, and faced controversy for a pump-and-dump crypto currency scheme. She’s now returned after two months offline. ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl is back, everyone! 22-year-old Haliey Welch went viral last year for a street interview she did with TikTok content creators Tim Dickerson and DeArius Marlow. When...
