Danmei is by some measures the most popular genre of fiction for women in China, and its popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Communist party. Danmei fiction draws women into romantic stories that don’t have to confront the realities of being a young woman in China, says Megan Walsh, the author of The Subplot: What China is Reading and Why it Matters. There is no risk of pregnancy, no pressure to marry, and sexual desires can be felt and acted upon without judgment.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/13/chinas-rotten-girls-are-escaping-into-erotic-fiction-about-gay-men
Category Archives: generations
Post-Orgasm: Why this era of sexy beauty is different
The resurgence of sexy beauty is a strong swing of the pendulum, then, back to the ways of Y2K, and comes as somewhat of a surprise seeing as Gen Z are reportedly going through a sex recession. The stats around this so-called celibacy are a little shaky (most are based on a study from 2017), yet the reasoning tracks; experts believe Gen Z are having less sex due to the distractions of social media, a decrease in drinking culture and living with their parents for longer — not to mention the pandemic. Young people are also living in a post-Roe v. Wade society where attitudes towards sex sometimes seem to be becoming more conservative and are far more aware of both sexual violence and the emotional risks of dating, contributing to a more cautious approach to sex. That being said, this all remains generational speculation — for now — and sex-forward apps such as Feeld suggest the appetite for sex is still there after all. So what is actually true?
https://www.thedigitalfairy.co.uk/digiverse/sexy-beauty-new-era
WHAT IS ‘MILLENNIAL GRAY’ OR ‘CORPORATE GRAY’?
Urban Dictionary defines millennial gray as: “The sad depressive hue of the color gray which many millennials coat their life in. The color reflects how millennials went from non-sense happiness, looking at cartoon network and Nickelodeon in the 90’s to Inflation and depression in the early 2020s.”
https://www.intheknow.com/post/millennial-gray-corporate-gray-tiktok/
The Great Boomer Bottleneck
Boomers, who were for a long time the largest generation in global history, are entering their twilight years. And as they ride off into the sunset, they’re leaving behind an economy that isn’t really built to accommodate the demands of the 21st century. Boomers have spent the past few decades shaping the world in such a way that has made the current crunch more painful and sets up future generations for continued deprivation.
https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-greed-ruined-economy-gen-z-millennials-labor-shortage-inflation-2023-3?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=business-sf
Corecore: The Aesthetic Quitting TikTok
Well, there is one growing movement tackling issues concerning technology, social media, and time management – it’s name is “Corecore”. Corecore is an artistic rebellion against the widespread culture of aesthetics on TikTok and beyond. Corecore creators collage together clips from popular culture and documentaries to inspire a particular feeling or highlight concern to the viewer. From gorpcore to ladcore to fairycore to whatever-is-next-core, our generation seems obsessed with aesthetic community categorization. A way of aligning yourself to a high-school clique (the jocks, the nerds, the drama kids) whilst maintaining a sense of unique individuality.
https://www.trillmag.com/life/social-media/corecore-the-aesthetic-quitting-tiktok/
Salomon Advertisement (an intriguing case in the next generation of brand advertising)
Hipster-phobia – It’s Hip To Be Scared
Hipster-phobia refers to a fear of trendy people and an instinctive desire to avoid those who dress in hot-to-trot street styles–mostly found in the wild around China’s hot and happening (shopping) areas, e.g., Beijing’s Sanlitun commercial center or Shanghai’s Jing’an District (oh, the clichés we’re churning out here!). The term reflects the “anxiousness and embarrassment of some Chinese when meeting these fashionistas,” even without the presence of a filter.
https://chinatemper.com/trending/milk-tee-feet-hipster-phobia/amp
‘Teenage dirtbag’ nostalgia catches on in beauty
Founded in 2016 and launched in Sephora in 2018, Good Dye Young saw a sales surge during the hair-dye craze of the pandemic lockdown, said O’Connor. He pinpointed this as a turning point leading to a more rebellious streak in beauty overall. “People realized that they had the freedom to be themselves. There was no job, employer or office work setting; no school administration; no teacher telling you, ‘You can’t do that because it’s distracting,’” he said.
https://www.glossy.co/beauty/teenage-dirtbag-nostalgia-catches-on-in-beauty/
Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars
For Adah Crandall, a high-school student in Portland, Oregon, a daily annoyance is family members asking when she is going to learn to drive. Ms Crandall, who is 16, has spent a quarter of her life arguing against the car-centric planning of her city. At 12 she attended a school next to a major road down which thousands of lorries thundered every day. When a teacher invited a speaker to talk about air pollution, she and her classmates were galvanised. Within a year, she was travelling to Salem, Oregon’s capital, to demand lawmakers pass stricter laws on diesel engines.
https://www.economist.com/international/2023/02/16/throughout-the-rich-world-the-young-are-falling-out-of-love-with-cars
Rise of the machines
Artificial intelligence made headlines in early 2023 following the launch of ChatGPT, the generative AI interface where users enter a text prompt that algorithms then use to generate content. Now AI is increasingly beginning to take on human roles. An AI robot lawyer was set to defend a person in court in California in February 2022, but has since been shut down after the defendant received threats of possible prosecution and prison time. This may well become a reality though in the not too distant future. In September 2022, NetDragon, a Chinese company, announced the appointment of an AI-powered virtual humanoid robot as the CEO of its subsidiary, Fujian NetDragon. Codeword, a US marketing agency, hired the world’s first AI interns, Aiden and Aiko, alongside a team of 106 human employees for a three-month trial period.
https://www.fluxtrends.com/rise-of-the-machines/
Analyzing Trends with Tim Stock 