Keep scrolling for the $59 million wedding taking over TikTok.
People get their news from TikTok. This doesn't mean we're screwed
As political news and commentary blend into viral culture, everything's beginning to feel a little bit dystopian. But, in a recent article for Rolling Stone, CT Jones says that it isn’t all bad.
Data from the Pew Research Center shows that a "growing share" of American adults regularly get their news from TikTok— a stark difference from other social media platforms where news consumption has declined in recent years.
However, consuming news from TikTok has a downside. Misinformation can quickly spread, journalistic ethics are not enforced, and the app's preference for short-form content limits the inclusion of critical contextual details.
But in conversations with content creators like Dave Jorgenson, Sophia Smith Galer, and Kelsey Russell, Jones points out that many journalists are working to make TikTok a reliable source for all kinds of news.
Dave, for example, shares that TikTok has already introduced new rules that help news creators produce better content—specifically, the app is starting to prioritise videos over one minute.
The emergence of news creators also elevates perspectives frequently overlooked in mainstream media publications.
“The people who are often best placed to make informative content about what's going on in the world tend not to be journalists," Sophia tells Jones. "It's great to see our media space diversify a bit because we all know how journalism and media industries often lack diversity.”
Having creators who aren't professional journalists can make the news more accessible, guiding young people through the often confusing media landscape.
That said, it's crucial to hold platforms like TikTok accountable, ensuring that the algorithm prioritises informative and accurate content.
Read the full story via Rolling Stone.
Spotify Wrapped assigned users cities based on their listening tastes
Spotify Wrapped 2023 has dropped, and internet users are obsessed with a new feature called “Sound Town.”
The streaming company has allocated subscribers to cities based on how their listening history and music taste compare to the residents of each area.
“The Sound Town selected for each eligible user has the most similar taste profile to their own – based on their most streamed artists of the year and how those artists are streamed in other cities across the globe,” Spotify said in a statement to Tech Crunch.
Berkeley, California; Burlington, Vermont; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, have since started trending on X— with a high concentration of users seemingly assigned to these cities.
There are said to be more than 1,300 “Sound Town” locations. Approximately 1% of users were allocated to Burlington (0.6%), Berkeley (0.3%), and Cambridge (0.1%).
Users joked about the large LGBTQIA+ communities that might live in these cities, with Berkeley, Burlington and Cambridge seemingly correlating with queer artists and listeners.
Meanwhile, other X users joked about being assigned to less popular towns, like Flagstaff, Arizona, and Provo, Utah.
While it is not entirely clear how accurate the “Sound Town” feature is, internet users are enjoying speculating about what each city means.
“With ‘Sound Town,’ users are able to relate to each other and analyze their similarities in a way that goes beyond hard data,” internet culture journalist Kelsey Weekman explains. “In this way, the results are similar to that of a personality quiz — technically based on numbers, but not prescriptive.”
Read more about Spotify’s “Sound Towns” via In The Know.
Why is dating advice on TikTok so sexist — and so bleak?
A new piece by Rebecca Jennings for Vox explores the so-called "dating experts" pushing sexist (and honestly incredibly depressing) advice.
Jennings begins by mentioning Shera Seven — a popular creator known for offering advice to single women.
Her content is mostly comedic, explaining how women can use men to get what they want.
Other widely followed “dating experts” tend to promote gender essentialist ideals and share quotes from (outdated) self-help books with their audience. In other words, a lot of this content is explicitly anti-feminist.
With mob mentality running rampant on TikTok, sharing controversial commentary has become a popular way to build an online following.
“These self-proclaimed experts gain views by saying controversial statements in the first few seconds of the video, knowing they’ll drive engagement whether or not their commenters agree,” Jennings writes.
As these creators seek controversy in exchange for clout, some of TikTok’s dating content has veered into rhetoric and messaging reminiscent of the likes of Andrew Tate.
But, as Jennings notes, Gen Z's disillusionment with dating apps is making it easier than ever for young people to follow this type of advice.
“The fact that these videos are gaining so much traction is a pretty clear repudiation of the way most young people date now,” she writes. “Apps have gamified dating, encouraging people to continue looking for someone “better” no matter who they’re seeing”
Many young women are also dealing with "burnout from dead-end jobs, stagnant wages, and the cost-of-living crisis". To cope with these economic and personal pressures, some end up falling back on traditional gender roles throughout their dating journey.
“It’s possible to argue that someone like Shera Seven, who instructs women to do everything they can to attract a wealthy man, is sending empowering messages to women about getting what they want,” Jennings reflects. “But her philosophy ultimately reduces women to sexual objects whose value decreases the less traditionally attractive they become… It speaks to a swath of people who believe that no one will value them beyond what their gender determines they provide in a relationship.”
Read the full piece via Vox.
Madelaine Brockway’s viral wedding & her bid for TikTok fame
But not all relationship-adjacent content on TikTok is cynical; some is just confusing. This week, a woman named Madelaine Brockway has gone viral after organising one of the most extravagant (and costly) weddings the internet has ever seen.
Very little is known about Madelaine and her now-husband, Jacob LaGrone. However, it has been reported that Madelaine is the daughter of the CEO of a chain of Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Florida.
The couple tied the knot at the Château de Villette in France, following an almost week-long bachelorette party at a five-star luxury resort in Utah and an overnight stay at the Palace of Versailles in Paris.
There has been extensive speculation over how much the nuptials cost, with many TikTok users believing it was around 59 million dollars.
Before her wedding, Madelaine didn't have a significant presence on social media. Many internet users believe she planned an extravagant ceremony as a launchpad for her influencer career.
“Typically, with weddings like this, if you look at the bride and groom on Instagram, they’re almost always on private… unless they are trying to catapult themselves in high society,” TikTok creator and former celebrity event planner, @corabreilein says. “In my opinion, I think that is the strategy here. I think this girl saw Sofia Richie and Nicola Peltz and said I want that to be me.”
While many brands and people have manufactured viral moments in the past, other internet users are not so sure that this is the case with Madelaine.
Trend forecaster and creator economist @meridithvaliandor, notes that significant life events have become “a way to broadcast our lives” online. Rather than kickstarting an influencer career, Madelaine could simply be seeking a dynamic way to share a milestone with the people in her life.
Though TikTok users are unsure about Madelaine's intentions, it doesn't seem to matter. Her videos are gaining millions of views, showing that TikTok users are captivated by the spectacle of her wedding—a change of pace from an app that is often critical of the rich and privileged.
Read the full piece via Centennial World.
Kylie Jenner opens up about her friendship with Jordyn Woods
In a recent conversation with Jennifer Lawrence for Interview Magazine, Kylie Jenner spoke candidly about her relationship with her former(?) best friend, Jordyn Woods.
Kylie and Jordyn had been close since 2012, after meeting through Jaden Smith. The pair were practically inseparable, with the best friends living together and Jordyn appearing as a series regular in ‘Life Of Kylie.’
However, in 2019, the two experienced a very public falling out after Jordyn reportedly hooked up with Khloe Kardashian's then-boyfriend, Tristan Thompson.
This led to Khloe ending her relationship with Tristan (they later got back together), and the family publicly distancing themselves from Jordyn.
Jordyn addressed the situation on Red Table Talk and denied sleeping with Tristan.
Since the scandal, Kylie and Jordyn have led very separate lives. The two were not spotted together until this past July when they went out for a sushi dinner in Beverley Hills.
In the recent interview, Kylie revealed that the two had “never fully cut each other off.”
“Jordyn and I, we always stayed in touch throughout the years and we would meet up at my house and catch up and just talk through everything,“ Kylie tells the actress. “One day, naturally, we were like, we want to get sushi and we don’t want to hide anymore.”
Kylie also acknowledged that taking some time apart contributed to her personal growth and helped her build confidence.
“There’s a learning lesson in everything, and I think that in a weird way, everything happens how it’s supposed to happen,” she goes on to say. “We were so attached at the hip that we needed space to grow into the people that we were supposed to be. I needed that independence and that confidence because she was like my security blanket for so long.”
Read the full conversation via Interview Magazine.
The Rise & Demise of Mikayla Nogueira ft. Coco Mocoe
This week’s infinite scroll explores Mikayla Nogueira’s astronomical rise to success and why she resonated so strongly with audiences. We then look at the controversies and backlash she has faced during her tenure as a top creator, including the most recent controversy surrounding her P. Louise product collaboration. We finish by exploring what has gone wrong for Mikayla, where she goes from here, if her circumstances are simply symptomatic of the TikTok era of creators, and if she can regain audience trust online to move forward with her career.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.