A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Pentagon: Journalists from every major news outlet turned in their press badges after refusing to sign a new policy that obstructs national security reporting.
#VSFashionShow: Last night’s 2025 Victoria’s Secret fashion show featured new and original Angels.
Argentina: The Trump admin has doubled its $20 billion bailout of Argentina to $40 billion.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
The Performative Generation
What It Is: “Performative yearning” is the new term for Gen Z’s stylized sadness that’s not done for catharsis, but for the algorithm. Instead of privately processing feelings, Gen Z packages longing into cinematic, scroll-stopping content designed to fit a certain vibe. Think of this year’s trend of “performative male” contests as a lighthearted example, but emotional vulnerability is also being aestheticized for potential virality. The goal isn’t to feel deeply, but to be “seen feeling” so that melancholy becomes a mood board. This reflects a broader shift in how younger people post on social: identity is increasingly shaped by what performs well online, not what’s authentic offline. Gen Z’s desire to fit an algorithm aesthetic causes their emotional expression to become more about optics than introspection.
The Brand Takeaway: Gen Z is highly tapped into stylized storytelling, where emotion is evoked through aesthetically curated content. To emotionally connect with this generation, brands need to reflect their emotional landscape in a way that is visually pleasing and vibe-driven. By tapping into this “vibe economy,” where aesthetics and a feeling often outweigh substance in content, you can provide scroll-stopping material built for the algorithm and build relevance with this generation. Ultimately, you have to meet Gen Z where they are online, a space that is highly curated, yet still full of real emotions.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Threads has added a group chat feature and is expanding to Europe.
King Kylie is BACK, launching her new collection on October 18th and making music??
ICYMI: Nike’s billboard advertising for the Chicago Marathon was a major win.
Instagram has implemented new automatic restriction for teens — here’s what they won’t see.
Good Fortune - theaters, 10.17
After the Hunt - theaters, 10.17
Frankenstein - theaters, 10.17
Kiss of the Spider Woman - theaters, 10.17
Deadbeat: Tame Impala
Smoochies: Ashnikko
Emotion (10th Anniversary Edition): Carly Rae Jepsen
Tycoon: Ty Dolla $ign
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