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thredy or not, here we come…
It’s newsletter day and I’ll be honest, this first one has been a little bit of a ride. We’ll be running through some hot news stories (what did Elon do this time?), exploring new tech (your smartphone is now powered by AI), and dipping our toes into some general chat for the hot gals and boys.
🔥 🗞️ Hot off the press
Elon’s Starlink satellite service has brought high-speed internet to Brazilian villages, specifically the Marubo tribe. Western netizens are freaking out, stating that the sanctity of an ‘untouched’ culture is now being ruined. What they don’t know is that the community has had mobile phones for years. Not to mention, the desire to shelter a hardly-remote group of people from the widely shared privilege of accessing global digital platforms is slightly edging towards a white saviour complex.
Call Me By Your Name, but make it elephants – Vox
Fresh evidence shows that wild elephants – who live in close-knit herds their entire lives – call each other by name. Given that no other animal is known to use language like we do, further research could see elephants granted personhood, protecting them with rights such as citizenship, equality, and liberty. Scientists believe we could even learn to communicate with them in the near future.
Men are using Facebook Marketplace to sell their sperm – thred.
It was only a matter of time before Facebook Marketplace reached a new level of rogue, but we couldn’t have predicted men would be selling sperm to women priced out of medically regulated sperm banks. This growing (and slightly worrying) trend is indicative of a wider phenomenon where access to safe and legal reproductive health services are a luxury afforded only to the elite.
📱 🤩 Digital trends
iPhone users updating to iOS 18 will soon get a series of new features powered by ‘Apple Intelligence’. It’s the company’s first shot at incorporating Artificial Intelligence into its software. The catch? It doesn’t work on any phone before the iPhone 15. Apple reported a 10% drop in iPhone 15 sales in March, but said it wasn’t worried. Were they banking on AI to lure in customers who’ve been holding off on upgrading?
Newcastle United has made vibrating ‘sound shirts’ for deaf match goers – thred.
Watching football is fun, but the atmosphere inside the stadium is really what makes it. With 1 in 5 people in the UK being deaf or having some level of hearing loss, getting involved in matchday can feel incomplete without being able to hear the crowd’s chants, songs, and euphoric cheers. Newcastle United is changing that with new haptic-fitted jerseys, which vibrate according to different sounds in the stadium. It’s a huge win for accessibility in football, one other clubs could soon replicate.
Nutritionists want us to stop taking diet advice from social media – Bon Appétit
You know what they say: we are what we eat. Food has the power to help or harm our body’s many biological processes, and social media is never short of advice of what we should be adding or omitting from our meals. Fed up with all the toxic misinformation online, Desiree Nielsen tells bon appétit why we should step back from wellness content that seems to vilify a new ingredient every week.
👄💬 Girl talk
If I have to watch another influencer with a skin-smoothing filter boast about their 16-step, £500 skincare routine I might rip my hair out. Despite having found a simple regime that works, I can’t be alone in being tempted to break the bank on the latest trending TikTok product or worrying about the news that brushing my teeth after doing my skincare is likely undoing all my efforts.
Drake stepped out looking strangely scrumptious at son’s football game – Daily Mail
Sorry, couldn’t help myself. While I’m not crazy about this man, I have to say @champagnepapi looked quite dashing standing pitch-side at his son’s football game. He may have lost his lengthy rap battle against K-Dot, but Drake’s winning this fashion round. The only thing missing was a Cuban cigar.
Scientists say our periods make us better at sports – thred.
The last thing most of us want to do when bleeding from our coochies is step onto a field and compete in a sport, but scientists say it might be the best time for it. Research is finding women’s reaction time and cognitive function are actually improved while on our periods, which, come to think of it, might explain why our clapback game is so strong when we’re PMSing.
💝 Recommendations
To wrap things up, I could’ve recommended a book or a podcast. But this week I have to shout out Tems – a 29 year old Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer – for her new album Born in the Wild. It’s been on repeat all weekend and is now playing in the office. Give it a listen, and you’ll get why we’re all jamming along.
🧠 TikTok’s finest
Summer may be on the way, but in case you needed a reminder to avoid SHEIN during your next haul…
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That’s it from me! Thanks for reading and make sure to subscribe for the latest news on Gen Z and youth culture. Also, don’t forget to check out The Gen Zer for a weekly roundup of more trending insights, stories, and discussions.
