This month: A new perfume that fights screen time burnout; it’s a Christmas with Hallmark like no other; greenhindering is the new greenwashing; and finally, the print renaissance continues with the launch of a dating app’s magazine.
Today’s never-grow-older generations
Lifestyle
Whereas millennials’ coming of age experience was defined by diet culture, Gen Z and Alpha are facing a global anti-aging obsession with the average American teen spending $342 annually on beauty products, which is the highest level since Spring 2018. Welcome to the age of not ageing, which sees today’s youth, often dubbed ‘Sephora kids’ or the ‘new age Dorian Gray’ developing premature appearance anxiety. But there seems to be hope on the horizon with a few industry players beginning to make constructive progress in the fight against society’s fixation on eternal beauty and body image. Coralie Fargeat’s much discussed film, The Substance, described by The Verge as ‘a grotesque takedown of our obsession with youth’, indicates a move towards greater self-awareness about Hollywood’s impossible beauty standards. Meanwhile, Dove is leading the way in educating today’s youth on the dangers of anti-ageing products with its #TheFaceOf10 campaign. Initiatives like these highlight the opportunity for brands in the advertising and media space to play a role in reshaping societal norms around self-image and acceptance.
You’re listening to the streets, lock down your aerials
Media & Entertainment
The grassroots music industry has not had much reason for cheer in recent years, with 125 independent venues closing their doors to live music last year alone. However, amp by amp, musicians are bringing their music back to the heart of local communities. DJ AG has been dubbed ‘the most important DJ in the UK’. The 38-year-old live streamer built up almost half a million followers across TikTok and Instagram DJing from home, but really started to gain recognition when he took his decks outside, streaming his sets and interactions with the public live from London’s high streets and train station squares. Why is this important? DJ AG bucks the trend of entertainment being squeezed out of public spaces. Increasingly people are looking for hybrid experiences that straddle the online and offline realms to find fulfilment that online interactions alone cannot satisfy. This act of resistance could pave the way for most content creators to bring online subcultures to the physical realm.
It’s cuffing season… to your bff
Dating & Relationships
We’ve long talked about the Gen Z ‘dating recession’ and the ‘boysober’ movement that took over the internet a while back. Swearing off of romantic experiences, it was only a matter of time until people ended up choosing the partner they have trusted their entire lives, their bestie. Say hello to friendship marriages – a movement pioneered by Sheri Cole and Beth Moore which is as wholesome and sweet as the name suggests, where no romance is involved. In a world trust runs dry and money is a constant worry, this is a step towards stability and happiness in an otherwise shaky environment. The cost of living crisis has impacted how the younger generation spends, dates included, and with prioritising their social lives, those in search of connection are focusing on their friends rather than running a risk with new romantic involvements. As it turns out, friendships can create highly satisfying marriages despite the lack of romantic love, relying on its sturdy, pre-existing foundation. Much like traditional marriages, this one also is reliant on love, it just so happens that it is another type of love.
What’s on your mind?
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