#also what age are we considering gen z

[kakiastro]

The Numerology and Astrology of 1997

Numerology is my 2nd favorite thing to study besides Astrology. They go hand in hand in my mind. They’re interconnected with each other. You’ll see when I break it down for y’all in this post.

I specifically chose this year because well, I realized 1997 and 2024 are both 8 years. Let me break it down…

Add up the numbers

1 + 9 + 9 + 7 = 26

2 + 6 = 8

2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 8

So if you were born in 1997, then you was born during an 8 year. 2024 is an 8 year as well. So this year is like a rebirth of some sorts or a karmic cleansing.

Keep in mind. This is different from life path numbers because you add your birth month, day and year. It’s a lot lol but we’re only focusing on your birth year only

8

-ruled by Saturn and Capricorn in numerology. These born natives may have had a tough or not easy upbringing. They may have had to grow up or learn some harsher lessons early in life than most. They were born during a karmic year so if you’re the type who believes in reincarnation, then you can say these native “have been here before” could be an ancestor that’s come back, I think a lot of kids born this year are “old souls” as well.

-these natives life lesson needs to learn how to balance the spiritual world with the material world. They have a strong belief in a higher power(s) and believe that no matter what challenges they go through, they will succeed and flourish. These natives are the hard knocks kids. These are the first group of Gen-Z but they relate more to their older Millennials siblings. They remember what the world was like right before we entered into today’s digital world. They remember blockbuster and flip phones, hell, most of them probably had one themselves as preteens before smart phones took off😅

-another lesson these natives need to learn is to help out when they can. It doesn’t always have to be financially either, helping someone with bags of groceries, complimenting someone (helps their self worth), donating old clothes or money to a charity, giving out advice or encouraging words to people are also good. Do this out of the kindness of your soul and heart, not because you expect a reward. I will tell you this, 8 is a loop so what you put out will come back around one way or another. I know that cliche but that’s the energy 8 has. 8 is connected to the spirit realm and earthly remember that.

-ambitious and powerful individuals. They enter a room and you notice them immediately. If these natives do succeed materially, just know, it was through hard work, sweat, blood and tears literally and figuratively lol

- August is the 8th month of the year. This is one of the Summer months. August is late Leo and Early Virgo seasons. These natives exhibit warm energy which means theyre kind, and have a welcoming personality. They may be popular in their friend group or just well liked by people. They may constantly go through health issues in their life but these people are warriors, they can get through some tough situations. August is a late summer month, these people are considered late bloomers (not a bad thing!) and since they’re a Capricorn group, their life can become more lighter and easy going as they get older. They work hard in their early years to relax in there older years. Usually after their First Saturn Return and around 35 is when life can start to improve.

Astrology

-since this is a Saturn ruled year group, we need to look at what sign Saturn was in, in 1997.

-Saturn was in Aries during this year. Which means this group has Martian energy. They are warriors like I said earlier. Harsh upbringings but they push through. I wonder how many people born this year had to have surgery or suffered any burns growing up. Scars may be heavily present in these individuals during this year.

-identity and finding who they are outside off what they were taught to be will be a theme for them. They may struggle with self confidence during younger years but they find it as they age. I know I talk about age a lot but it is significant for this group since Saturn rules Age and time.

-since Saturn is in Aries, these folks 1h and Mars are the most important.

In 1997, Mars was in Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn.

-Mars Libra natives will learn the lesson how to balance the most. Working with others and being diplomatic will be lessons on what to learn. Marriage and partnerships. Family such as their grandmothers will important to these natives. They need to learn the balance when to pick up their sword and when they need to lay it down to negotiate. Aries oppose Libra. There’s always going to be a push-pull with these natives. I can’t stress enough, find that balance.

-Mars Scorpio natives will learn the lesson of vulnerability and intimacy. Aries is an independent and solo sign but Scorpio is how we connect on a deeper level with each other. Sex may be something they struggle with and will need to learn understand beyond societal conditions on it. Financials and paying off debt.

-Mars Sagittarius natives will learn the lesson of philosophy and beliefs. You may be the type to fight for them and don’t like to be challenged on them. Now you will need to learn others beliefs and this doesn’t mean you have to agree with them but it’s best to get well rounded on different viewpoints for your spiritual benefit.

-Mars Capricorn natives will be the main ones learning about hard work and ambition. I feel like this group may have it the hardest because you got that double Saturn energy in you that you have to learn. People may not respect you or you don’t get the recognition you feel you deserve. I promise once you learn theses old cycles, it will get better. Aries Sq Capricorn as well so this is not an easy but necessary lesson. Y’all got this!

8 is also ruled by Pluto. So this group will always be going through extreme transformation, this doesn’t always have to be a bad thing either. Their Pluto is in Sagittarius so their beliefs and world view will go through different phases. They have deep thirst for knowledge and truth. 8 is also co ruled by Mars so there’s that warrior energy again lol

These Natives are turning 27 this year!

2 + 7 = 9

9 represents endings and cycles. 9 is also ruled by Mars and in astrology is ruled by Jupiter.

Saturn is currently in Pisces. Pisces also rules over endings since it’s the last sign of the zodiac. They are also going through their pre-Saturn Return shadow period.

The Current NN Aries is conj their Saturn and numerology planet ruler. A small few is going through their Reverse Nodal return as well

This is also their 4h profection year. The 4h isn’t just about family, it’s connected to your soul and soul family.

-these natives are going to feel like they’re going through Deja vu while also going through new experiences. There’s a level of uncertainty thats filled with hope. My advice is to just go with the flow and take each day at a time. You guys are wrapping up 8 year another cycle. They are discovering who they are under in depth. They are exploring there faith and ideals and what feels right to them.

-This current cycle lasted from 2016-2024. Think back on those years, while still learning this one.

-This cycle will be from 2024-2033. 2033 is the next 8 year

Fun facts

When you all were born, Titanic, Jurassic Park, Men in Black were the biggest movies of that year!

The first Harry Potter was also released that year. It’s funny that there’s a tv show in the making during its return😅

[woman-respecter]

https://www.tumblr.com/woman-respecter/766978675093700608/its-so-weird-most-of-the-internet-is-acting-like?source=share

i find this comforting honestly. especally going on here on fandom blogs and people arguing about antis and proshippers like there's no change in the world. it's been easy to doom about dystopian 1984 or handmaid's tale in my mind but you need to consider that you're still going to have good things in life, most likely, in order to find the motivation to fight for the things that matter. i bring up 1984 and handmaid's tale specifically because the point of those two particular dystopian books is about how extreme authoritarianism is also about crushing the human spirit, grinding you down into nothing but nihilism and boredom. so it's good to see that a lot of life goes on, and fight to preserve that it stays that way. and like, look. you don't know that the people posting about shipping or tv shows or cooking or whatever aren't freaking out about politics elsewhere. i think one of the issues we've had is the loss of the compartmentalized internet - like, it used to be possible for young men to talk about games and sports somewhere without it coming with a side dish of right-wing radicalization. politics was something you had to seek out. and i believe we should go back to that. it's not the ONLY thing at fault and obviously those men still took initiative in sliding down those rabbit holes, but it's one thing that really stands out to me as the difference between the internet millennials came of age with and the one that gen z has

yeah you know what ur right. it is kind of heartening to watch my mutuals fight about the firefighter show, despite everything

[myneodream]

Have you noticed how unfair the existence of Cale Henituse and Choi Han is in Earth 1?

And no, I am not talking about how Cale knew what was going to happen or how they both have the main character syndrome.

Summarizing: They are Disney actors in a world of nosy auts!

Did I just got out of shower? Yes.

Should I go eat, because it's one in the morning and I have class at 8 A.M.? Also yes.

Is this my first post to this fandom, that I haven't interacted with in a year? Yup.

BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT.

Like, think about it.

Also, I'm focusing more on Cale, but Choi Han also fits.

I don't know how it is now, but to Millennials and Gen Z, we grew up watching Disney movies and, most of them, like High School Musical, showed lies, like that High School was fun.

But the point I want to say is regarding the visual. We grew up, watching how people were supposed to be in High school, having a pattern to follow. Disregarding the fact that the actors were in their twenties!

That caused a bunch of self esteem issues, because the ideal model was someone who already went through puberty, not one that is going through it. And the comparison was the worst, because it wasn't a realistic pattern to follow.

That made me think about how the world perceives the two. I haven't read the second part yet and haven't touched anything related in almost a year, but, if I am not mistaken, Cale ends that part with 20 years and Choi Han with the appearance of 18.

BUT we all know that they are way older than that. Cale was in his thirties and Choi Han between 60's and 150's (yes, I saw both options and I don't remember which was true).

The fact that everyone at first looks down on Cale is not only because of his physic. It's because he is technically a teenager! (Regarding the Korean age, they become adults at 20. Ps: I heard it had a change, so I don't know how it is now, but this novel was written before that). That is probably why the kids also tend to hear Cale. We always hear the older cooler kids and not the adults.

And then we have two teenagers fighting a war. Multiple wars. And they won. Because, in reality, they are mostly functional adults. They had time to learn, they had experience. But to everyone, they are only geniuses. Not that they aren't, but it is more like "the trash became responsible overnight and is taking strategies from the air."

And then we consider that Cale is also a nobleman. And you know what nobles do? Always want to be the best, always comparing to others. Imagine the pressure of growing in a family like this, in a society like this. And I can say I have an idea, I'm Latina and half my family is Asian. We always have that nosy aunt that compares us to anyone that is better. Sometimes the aunt is your own mother, but there is always someone.

But get the perspective. All the next generation will have Cale and Choi Han as the ideal model. In a society that comparison and nitpicking everything is the tradition. And it will be hell for them. Because there is no way that a "new Cale" or a "new Choi Han" can be born. They are the product of a bunch of factors. So, they will be searching for the impossible.

Hence, the existence of Cale and Choi Han is unfair the same way that Disney placing adults playing teenagers is unfair to the kids watching them.

[castlebyersafterdark]

Your post about will wanting mike physically made me wonder if many of the puritan bylers used to be milevens (statistics would suggest yes) who are still struggling to come to terms with what it means for a man to be gay. 

There seems to be a lack of understanding about how boys actually relate to each other in both platonic and romantic contexts. After all, lots of gay media that caters to young teen girls, like heartstopper, is cutesy if not totally sanitised, and if they are basing what byler could be off of what they thought mileven WAS, then it tracks - because mileven was never physical or sexual either. The reasons for this are all to do with mike’s sexuality, but perhaps many people think that mileven WAS real and no longer is, and therefore when mike and will get together it’ll just be another version of that heterosexual romance. 

Ofc this is wrong, not least because mike and el were so young when they were exploring each other even if it was entirely performed rather than genuinely exploratory. but even if mike was exploring a relationship with el for the first time as a 16/17 yr old, it would still manifest differently to one with will because they are both boys. Not to say that love itself or the butterflies you feel are different, but the way that two men will express their love + the fact that mike and will are friends, would obviously change their dynamic. 

Do you think that if mike and el had been shown to check each other out, that people would have a different opinion (not about mike being gay or bi, but about how his and will’s attraction will express itself?) Because you’re right - people do forget that will being gay means he wants to be intimate with men. Is that because they think his attraction is never physically expressed in the show? But then what exactly would that physical attraction look like? Has he not been ogling mike enough for you? Or painting his body in a very intricate ritual of dedication and love? Or is it because Will is just so gosh darn adorable, and they think that someone who has a baby face cannot experience sexual attraction? 

Intriguing premise on multiple fronts!

Re: the former Milevnn scenario - never considered that but at least for some folks in fandom? Maybe! That's an interesting idea, but I do kind of lean towards a lot of the 'puritan' ideas just being a product of today's internet/fandom culture, via this agenda from how gen z seems to have grown up entirely online. And you can't fully blame it on this generation! Those under that mindset didn't inflict it on themselves! (Same vein as "no one is born racist - you are taught to hate"). It's a reaction to a deeper conversation of social media and surveillance culture and this pervasive mindset of thought-crime, etc. I'm toeing the line between genZ/millennial but my fandom experience in the early years was a bit different, where there wasn't as strong of a backlash and negative reaction to sexuality and sex in regards to fandom (people were writing fic about high school age characters doing alllll sorts of stuff and, thinking back, getting a call-out about that content kinda seems unfathomable in retrospect). I genuinely feel it's mostly a culture clash in fandom spaces. But with kindness and re-education and conversation, I think we can either come to agreements and find common ground rather than fighting and call-outs and witch-hunts and all that negativity. I find it more helpful to ask the puritan-mind set folks "why do you feel this way? what about this is so upsetting to you? Have you never really examined your judgement and why it makes you upset?" Learning moments! Kindness and compassion goes a long way in fighting repression and bigotry, and I know that's a hard pill to swallow sometimes in the face of contentiousness.

Re: not understanding the teenage boy experience - another verrrrrrry big factor that I also think simultaneously plays into what's going on, even with those well-intentioned and supportive, just hesitant. It's just the honest truth. Without getting too far into gender politics et. al - yeah, unless you yourself are or were a teenage boy, especially a gay teenage boy - there's a lot of presumption and inference and while mileage does very much vary in personal experience, there are tenets that will factor into an accurate portrayal. Yes - not every teenager is going to have sex. Not every teenager is even interested in sex and many will grow into adults who aren't interested either and that's totally valid and fine. But I do not think that is the case for these specific characters, personally. It's a disservice to sanitize queer sexuality. To put it bluntly, if two teenage boys are dating/have feelings for each other - they're going to want to have sex. Are you kidding me? Teenagerdom? The horniest time of our lives??? Yall. It's going to be awkward and fumbling and exploratory and they won't fully know what they're doing, but these boys will want to experiment and get it on. That's nature, that's biology. It honestly cracks me up when I read some sfw byler fics with heavy make-out scenes and the next moment it's like 'oh we better stop before we get carried away' and I'm like, oh honey. That's not how dicks work. They're already hard and they both know it. They're sixteen. You get hard at a strong breeze sometimes. The love of your young little life has his hands up your shirt and his tongue in your mouth? Boner central. Sorry!!!

Re: a different portrayal of Mike and El - interesting as well. There are so many factors here to consider. Showing Mike and El in more 'intimate' scenarios I don't think really would have that big of a factor in regards to the anti-sex brigade in general. A big portion of the same people who spout off about 'they're minors! we don't need to see sex in media!' would say it whether it's mike and el or mike and will... but there's def a layer of homophobia inherent with mike and will in conjunction with that mindset, even by people who claim to like and support gay ships. The Will dilemma tho. I've been puzzling over the Will dilemma since I stepped into the Byler fandom. And why he, despite being literally "the gay character" - his sexuality is less explored in regard to the most baseline aspects of being gay. Is it infantilizing because he's our cute sweet little victim? Is it because he has yet to actually pursue his love interest in the narrative? I'm still working on pondering this myself!! Because it isn't at all how I viewed his situation or character. But, very interesting points...

[dangerousyako]

the thing that keeps bugging me about tmagp 16 isnt the overuse of gen z slang. it's that it's internet online slang used wrong. It's not just a matter of vocabulary. If we consider that internet online slang among the youth is a sociolect, then we must admit that it comes with its own rules of usage and grammar, just like other dialects.

It was very egregious with its use of "no cap". Because as far as i can tell from a cursory textual search, "No cap" works pretty much exclusively as a final or starter particle, the way we would use "on god" or "man" as is "Don't do it, man", or "for real" except that "for real" is a bit more flexible about being used in the middle of a sentence. Essentially, "no cap" is always used either at the very beginning or at the very end of the sentence, in a situation where it would be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma (or, orally, an inhale or a pause) and it is always used as a qualifier that applies to the whole of the sentence and not just one word. It is never used as a qualifying adverb for an adjective, the way "really", as in "i was really tired", can work

You can get:

No cap, I was shook

or

I was shook, no cap.

but you cannot get:

I was no cap shook

[someone] no cap robbing graves

Specifically "[someone] no cap robbing graves" is so weird because "No cap" is used to qualify a statement that you, the speaker, are saying. It means "I swear I'm not lying to you on this". So it's extra weird that she's using it, not only grammatically wrong, but also to qualify reported speech. It makes no sense that she's saying "On the news, there's this whole thing about someone robbing graves, I'm not lying about this" when the news is saying the thing, not her.

There are a lot of other specific issues, like the misuse of "y'all" when talking to a single person or the perplexing use of "finna" for the immediate future instead of the near future or the fact that i can't find any occurrence of "thick and perky" as a locution or just how plain dated "sliding into their dms" is, and i'm not sure "ya [adjective] girl" is in use much with "ya" as possessive adjective ("ya girl" is common, but with an adjective? not so much), but i don't have time to do a corpus analysis on every word in that statement

(also whatever is "Gothdam central". Because i'm a batman fan first and a linguistics enjoyer second, and if A.J. Newall miswrote "Gotham" i may need to have words)

(im not going to talk on the appropriation discourse about the overlap of youth slang and AAVE because that's a issue that's so much bigger)

I KNOW that AJ Newall said that Madam E is a try-hard and that she talks like that as an affectation for her online persona, but she has 1,6 MILLION LIKES. she has 137k followers just on that platform. No one gets that kind of numbers by speaking the local dialect wrong. Her misusing teen slang for clout every other word shouldn't make her popular, it should make her a laughingstock. Madam E is clearly very young (kindergoth indicates young age) and extremely online: even if she wasn't codeswitching seamlessly, she should at least be moderately fluent in internet youth talk, not butchering it constantly

Anyway. This felt much more like an older adult coming across a list of internet teen slang and not bothering to do any further research writing a strawman story to complain about Those Damn Kids Amiright.

It's lazy and it's mean and it's punching down and it's frankly insulting to anyone who speaks a distinct social dialect, because what it means is that AJ Newall, like some sort of boomer parent, thinks that internet (and AAVE) talk, usage, register, grammar, etiquette and inflexion can be boiled down to a simple list of funky vocabulary.

[mariacallous]

In August, a swarm of hopeless and horny romantics on Reddit disputed the pros and cons of Bumble, the dating app that requires women to make the first move.

“Besides barren wastelands like [Plenty of Fish] crawling with bots, scammers, hookers, and psychos, this app has to be the worst,” one user posted.

Said another, “Lots of fun conversations but ghost city when trying to get a number or plan a date.”

Other Redditors openly shared how they met their partners on the app, but the consensus was unequivocally clear: Bumble, like the majority of dating apps currently on the market, is bad. “If Bumble is the worst dating app, then what’s the best alternative—Tinder, Hinge?” asked one user. “They all suck so which one sucks the least?”

After a decade of swiping left and sliding into DMs, many people are now longing for a simplification of the dating pool. As with so much about the internet, online dating made everything accessible all at once and turned socializing into something of a competitive sport. Waves, swipes, likes, and roses embodied the desires of a generation of users ravenous to find connection however they could.

But the glow has worn off, and there is growing sentiment among young people that dating apps, once considered the future of romantic connection, are broken.

Facebook Dating is all old people. Raya is full of posturing. Hinge, which bills itself as the “dating app designed to be deleted,” conceals its most attractive daters behind a $50 monthly subscription (or, at least, that’s the theory according to a handful of TikTok users). As for Tinder, the app that revolutionized online dating when it launched in 2012, it “has become the dating air, or maybe the pollution, we all breathe,” writer Allison P. Davis observed last year, reflecting on the Olympian level of difficulty modern dating presents for many people thirsty for connection.

Dating app disillusionment is felt most strongly among college students, according to a new study from Axios and research firm Generation Lab. Most are forgoing regular app usage (79 percent) in favor of in-person connection, a fact that seems at odds with Gen Z’s innate gift for virtual expression on platforms like Snapchat and Twitch.

“Dating apps promised a quick fix to the messiness of love,” says Carolina Bandinelli, a professor at the University of Warwick whose research focuses on the digital culture of love. “Their promotional narratives spoke about reducing love to a simple procedure. Dating apps promised a love that ‘works.’ But they do not ‘work’ as they are supposed to, yet they create the expectation of love as an efficient business. Users get frustrated with this.”

That young people in college are choosing to forgo digital connection is not as shocking as the study suggests, says Paul Eastwick, a psychologist at UC Davis who specializes in the nature of attraction. “College students are in the fortunate position of being surrounded by many similarly aged peers, and their social networks are in a constant state of flux. Online dating sites and apps are typically going to be especially useful for folks whose networks feel frozen and who don’t have as many opportunities to meet new people through friends of friends,” he tells me. “So it makes sense.”

The culture of online dating will continue to evolve, as it has over the past decade. Although many young people are taking a more traditional alternative to apps—while also relying on options like Date Me docs—that has not stopped Gen Z from being vocal about the culture that surrounds modern relationships.

Since the publication of her 2008 book, Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus, Kathleen Bogle, a sociologist at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, says the biggest evolution in dating culture was prompted by women, who have brought more transparency to the dating process. “Platforms like TikTok have created space for women to upload videos talking about their issues with the hookup culture, such as not getting what they want relationally, feeling used, the double standard, and, in some cases, the lack of sexual pleasure for women,” Bogle says. “In previous decades, women may have felt this way but only talked about it with their own friendship circle, not online to thousands of followers.”

Online dating is now a multibillion-dollar industry. From 2016 to 2021, global subscription rates for apps increased by 81 percent. Analysts predict that despite market saturation and a current decline in user growth, companies will pivot to monetization by any means, a move that could further spoil what people believe is an already poor user experience.

The current techlash is a byproduct of the environment dating apps have contributed to over the past decade. We are inching toward what Bandinelli refers to as a period of post-romantic love in our digital society, where conveniences such as dating apps play a hand in rewriting “the ethical codes of love with the objective of building a notion of love deprived of pain, loss, and negative emotions.” In this new notion of love, if it should even be called that, the human experience that characterizes dating, its highs and lows, is flattened through machined exchanges.

In a quest to streamline romantic connection, it seems we are losing all that makes it worthy of pursuit. “With new technologies, there is always a period in which they seem to take over what was in place before,” Bandinelli says of then and now. “Then there is a counterforce, and people want to retrieve what seems to have been lost.”

[kaptainandy]

okay okay everyone always talks about how a medieval peasant wouldn't survive seeing/knowing about [insert modern day thing] BUT have we considered the following: would horror movie actors survive scrolling through the tumblr tag of the movie(s) they were in?

this is not only testable with many of the subjects in question being alive, but also put any horror movie into the search bar (if it was made in the 80s or 90s the following is even more likely to be the case) and i guarantee you the first 15 posts will include murder man either as a cat boy or in a maid outfit (or both), the most passionate gay lovemaking between either two very queer-coded characters or the most queerphobic characters to ever exist, a 100k fanfic that is actually really good (and really gay and horny amen), a meme that is incomprehensible to anyone above the age of 45 y/o, someone having a mental breakdown over the grainiest behind the scenes photo you've ever seen, grotesque (affectionate) monster girls having brunch, and/or someone having a religious experience over the most gremlin little guy to ever live.

i say all of this with the utmost love and respect as part of the community. no villain is safe from uwu-ification and we will reach knee-deep into the plot to pull out queer subtext like we are mining for rare ores to trade at the market that will save our village from starving. and i think that's lovely.

the "[insert youtuber here] reacts to their tumblr tag" was a popular trend about 10 years ago but they're already living in-tandem with fandom/online culture so there was little to shock or awe them. give me 65 y/o joe actorman sitting in front of a computer and facing what millenials/gen z have crafted in reverence through a sleep deprived-induced haze. this test will separate the blorbos from the glupshitos.

anyway i think i accidentally took 2 of my adhd meds today uwu

[sherlynnxy]

 ‘Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram?’

MDA 20009 Digital Communities

Hello and welcome to my blog, I hope you all had a great weekend :)

In today's “gen-z” era, media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram are becoming a frequent trend. As new forms of content such as videos, podcasts and social media platforms continue to dominate, some believe that the era of the traditional blog is coming to an end. One of the questions that is constantly being explored is, “In the age of TikToks and Instagram, is there still a point to blogging? However, based on my observations, I don't think blogging is dead, there is still a market for blogging, rather it has evolved and adapted to the changing digital landscape and can be differentiated from the audience of social media platforms. A closer look reveals that blogging will still have considerable value in 2024, for both individuals and businesses.

Before we dive into this topic, let's define Blog, Tiktok and Instagram.

Background: What is Blog, TikTok and Instagram?

According to Dennis, M.A. (2024), blog is an online journal in which an individual, group, or company presents a record of activities, thoughts, or beliefs. A blog consists of more than just words and pictures, and it can't be just words. Instead, it's a sum of text, layout, connections and links, and posting speed (Blogging, n.d.). Examples include blogger.com and wordpress.com, as well as Tumblr, which is the application you are now using to view this post :3

In addition, Herring et al.'s 2004 study showed that not only did personal blogs reveal their feelings and experiences, but that the mainstream media considered blogs to be newsworthy or relevant to current events, calling them “a new genre of journalism” (Filloux, 2009; Hermida, 2010), and that professional journalists were adopting the blog format as well.

Social media has been defined by Obar and Wildman (2015) that it is a mobile and internet-based platforms used to facilitate various forms of communication, social interaction, marketing and knowledge sharing (Hovestadt et al., 2021). Also, others define the term as ‘a web-based service or platform based on web 2.0 technology that enables sharing, co-creation, discussion and modification of user-generated content’ (Werder et al. 2014). Famous social media include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.  

TikTok is a relatively new social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos of up to 15 seconds in length. As a user-generated content (UGC) platform, it has become a popular application for sharing videos (Feldkamp, 2021)

While research by Larson & Draper (2017), Instagram is a mobile application that allows users to instantly transform mobile phone snapshots into visually appealing images that can then be shared with others on the web Van Dijck (2013). TikTok and Instagram have become popular platforms for marketing campaigns because the content shared on these platforms is short, fun, trendy, creative and interactive (Zhang, 2020).

Do Blogging still holds significant value?

There is a perception that blogging may be seen as a dying industry.

Source: HubSpot

The data shows that 73% of respondents admit to skimming blog posts, while 27% read them carefully. Teicher (2020) has stated that 75% of the public prefers reading articles under 1,000 words. Teicher (2020) states that 75% of the public prefers to read articles of less than 1000 words.

Due to shifting consumption patterns and a culture of ‘instant gratification’ - in this age of instant information and short attention spans - a comprehensive and detailed approach to blog writing may seem somewhat outdated and unnecessary. Infographics and visualizations are designed to be visually appealing and interactive, which helps to capture the attention of the target audience more effectively than a lot of text (Blogging, n.d.).

However, in my opinion, blogging is not a dying industry. Even in the age of TikTok and Instagram, blogging is still relevant because of its unique capabilities, especially when it comes to deep content, personal expression, and fostering community engagement. Here are some statistics that prove that blogging is still significant.

Source: Statista

Source: Social Media Today

Evidently, there are 1.8 billion websites in the digital ecosystem and more than 600 million blogs worldwide (Armstrong 2021). Accordingly, 77% of internet users still read blogs. (Walker-Ford, 2017) which reveals that blogging is still incredibly valuable. 

Source: HubSpot

On top of that, this survey results that show that blogging is still alive and well. The findings show that people enjoy reading blogs that teach them how to do new things, solve problems, and learn about new trends related to their career or industry.

Personally, I also like to use blogs when I'm learning something new, as it's perfect for providing in-depth tutorials, comprehensive guides or sharing personal experiences rather than short descriptions.

Additionally, blogs can be used not only for the purpose of sharing one's thoughts, but also as an educational tool. Oravec states that blogging is appropriate for students and helps to encourage participation in the classroom. According to Alsareef (2013), students are generally satisfied with taking courses online through social networks because it is easy to use, classes become more interesting, it provides more flexibility for extracurricular activities, and they are able to feel well educated.

Here's the end...

In short, blogging is still relevant in the age of TikTok and Instagram, and both platforms clearly have their own unique strengths and nuances. Blogging allows for in-depth content creation, while Instagram focuses on visual storytelling. However, blogs can continue to fulfill different social and informational needs, making them adaptable and relevant in the broader digital landscape. For example, blogs can also embrace the power of multimedia, and bloggers can consider incorporating images, infographics, and GIFs to enhance the visual appeal of their content and help segment text. According to a survey by Bump (2024), 32% of respondents said that videos, images, or other multimedia are the elements that interest them most when reading blog content.

Thank you for reading! See ya in next post ;)

Reference:

Alshareef, M. A. (2013). Evaluate student satisfaction for social learning network at King Abdulaziz University. Advances in Internet of Things, 03(03), 41–44. https://doi.org/10.4236/ait.2013.33006

Armstrong, M. (2021, August 6). How many websites are there? Statista Daily Data. https://www.statista.com/chart/19058/number-of-websites-online/

Blogging. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VrhvqxjhSaEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP5&dq=blog&ots=JCUTMzaBSN&sig=aHWVbBua_dTSGpcZFQ4ctnfubOA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=blog&f=false

Bump, P. (2024, January 2). The Top 3 Reasons consumers read blogs & How to attract them in 2024 [New data]. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-do-people-read-blogs#:~:text=In%20this%20blog%20post,%20I%E2%80%98ll%20walk%20you%20through#:~:text=In%20this%20blog%20post,%20I%E2%80%98ll%20walk%20you%20through

Dennis, M. Aaron (2024, September 17). blog. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/blog

Feldkamp, J. (2021). The rise of TikTok: the evolution of a social media platform during COVID-19. In SpringerBriefs in information systems (pp. 73–85). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66611-8_6

Hovestadt, C., Recker, J., Richter, J., & Werder, K. (2021). Digital responses to COvid-19. In SpringerBriefs in information systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66611-8

Teicher, J. (2020, August 19). The lost art of the Mid-Range blog post. Contently. https://contently.com/2019/01/14/mid-range-blog-post/

Walker-Ford, M. (2017, December 4). The benefits of Blogging: 20+ stats Business owners need to know [Infographic]. Social Media Today. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-benefits-of-blogging-20-stats-business-owners-need-to-know-infograph/511816/

Van Dijck, J. (2013). Social media platforms as producers. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263565270_Social_Media_Platforms_as_Producers#:~:text=With%20the%20prolific%20use%20of%20social%20media%20platforms,

Zhang, J. (2020). Study on social media marketing campaign strategy -- TikTok and Instagram. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/127010

[autumnaaltonen]

What if Alucard’s S/O was not afraid of his restriction level 1 form but instead felt comforted by it like they were being fully embraced by him maybe they even give Baskerville some pets

Alucard's S/O Reacting to Restriction Level 1

Warnings: none

You'd have to be in a pretty shitty situation to witness Alucard let go to Restriction Level 1

There's a reason Abraham Van Hellsing had the Control Art Restriction system created, and that's because there is so much power packed into Alucard, having it all out at once would create city-wide destruction (gee where have we seen that before)

So for Level 1 to make an appearance, Alucard must be very desperate to keep you safe

Each of the Six control restrictions have a different form associate with them, Level 1 being what I like to call "Leathercard", due to the leather buckle strait-jacket suit he wears

And of course, as seen with his fight with Luke Valentine, Level 1 also allows Alucard to access some of his more powerful familiars, including the Black Hound of Baskerville

I think Alucard's S/O's reaction would really depend on the era they were born in, considering how desensitized Millennials and Gen Z have become to horror, violence and general creepiness

So going by today's standards, when his S/O finally sees Alucard in all of his Level 1 glory, their first thought would probably be around the lines of "haha, cool"

"My lover is so amazing, AND his ass looks great in leather"

Let's be honest with ourselves here, if you're being courted by Alucard, there's a monster-fucker somewhere inside of you

So Level 1 will definitely turn you on, if just a little 👹

I only watch Hellsing for that one hot guy

Oh yeah, Vladcard, right?

—Yes. The age appropriate, conventionally attractive man. Definitely not leather bdsm daddycard

Alucard would initially be uncomfortable with showing you this side of him, he knows what he is, and that's the monster of all monsters, bloodthirsty, merciless, and violent

As he prepares himself to console you, imagining screams of horror and tears falling down your cheeks, he's quite surprised to see how unfazed you are

But honestly, he shouldn't be

You fell in love with him, after all, knowing of the piles of bloody laundry he carries on his back

"I like your dog," you smile, making grabby hands towards Baskerville. He allows you to caress the black hound's shadowy fur, enjoying how it tickles your hands and face

"You look good in black," you smirk, "though I can't imagine you getting all those belts off in time for dinner. Need any help 😏 ?"

After this incident, Alucard takes this time to educate you a little more about himself, and the Control Art Restrictions that bind him to the Hellsing family

If you ever ask to see his other forms, it would need to be in a safe and open environment where he could make sure you won't get hurt

He just hopes to God or Satan that you'll never have to see Level 0

[dramionediscussion]

Okay but also the idea of a Strong Female Character(TM) who doesn't want kids or motherhood sends the same kind of message but in the opposite direction or upside down. We have a lot of Gen Z swearing off parenthood and calling it womens' rights and, while they're correct on women having a choice in their bodies and lives, it also reinforces a stereotype that a woman can only be badass and truly fulfilled if she vehemently rejects "traditional" femininity... and it kind of feels like the author is projecting their own desires and life choices onto the character. call it a bad take but I'm seeing something I don't think enough people are talking about or have even noticed. A balanced and healthy female character doesn't have to be anti motherhood to be the best version of herself or well rounded. I know right now in the real world, we have a whole cultural backlash against these things but maybe that's what the character wants and that's worthy of respect too.

I agree, we should have both and the author should make it clear that they are not bashing a woman's choice to have kids or not have them.

But in this fandom, there are quite a few fics where the author's message is that she needs to have kids to be whole, and it's not common to read fics where she considered adoption. It's always some magical magic that "heals" her.

In my specific example, it was just that. You have a character who comes to terms with not being able to have a child but loves the idea of being a stepmom, she had a serious discussion about the child's biological mother and emphasized that she will not let the kid forget his birth mom, and raise the kid to know that he has both. But in the end, you have a short sentence about them finding a cure and her being pregnant. No more explanation than that. I felt wrong and it felt like the author was pandering to the many comments that wanted the character to have a child. So much care was put into the plot about a woman finding family and happiness after a personal tragedy, and then in the end "oh btw she is pregnant, magic fixed her". There was nothing to fix, she was perfect as is.

You mentioned Gen Z, so I must ask, are you American? Because the young people where I live, which is not in America, are getting married and having children. The major shift where I live is Millianias getting married at a later age and having children later than the previous generation, Gen Z is following that same trend, but only the college-educated Gen Z and Millennials. The statistics show that those who didn't go into a tertiary educational institute are getting married young (20s) like the previous generations. So maybe where you are, the Gen Z are like that, but not by me, and we can't say what is happening in other countries. So maybe we shouldn't generalize that Gen Z is rejecting parenthood.

At the end of the day, we should indeed have a variety of characters who live different lives. The important thing is that the authors need to be careful as to how their character's choices come across to the readers. You cannot have your main character or secondary characters who are not in a "villainous" role bash someone's choices concerning parenthood.

-Lisa

[ironwoman359]

Weird question- did you have to get a masters degree to work at a library where you're at?

Because I would love to work at a library but where I am at currently you're not allowed to work there without a masters degree in "Library Science."

So at my library, the majority of us on staff are part-time clerks, and we do not have degrees in library science, some of us I know don't have degrees at all. There's two gen-z adults, two middle aged moms, and then like, four or five ladies in their sixties who are supplementing their retirement. Our two reference librarians also don't have library science degrees, I think a BA in English is what they both have? Though one of them just started a masters program for library science. The staff members who have actual library training are the 5 department heads/supervisors.

So the answer to your question is technically, you only have to have a library science degree to be a librarian, and a lot of work at a library is done by clerks, pages, etc. However, we're a relatively small library system in a rural area, so we can't ask every single clerk to have that kind of degree. At larger libraries, I know they require even clerks to have library training of some kind, because they have the applicant pool to do so.

I am considering going to grad school for library science, I've been at this about a year now and I enjoy it, but I don't want to be too hasty with that decision. While I don't regret my music ed degree per say, I don't want to make another super expensive decision to try and start a career that I end up unable to stand long-term.

[thilsworld]

[October 11th 2024]

Once again I forgot to post for a few days so... Yeah...

Yesterday was my sister's birthday though! Since her apartment is really small she decided to visit me and my mom instead of us visiting her. My mom made homemade Belgian waffles and we decorated them with whipped cream and sweet sauces (meant for ice cream but whatever) and chocolate sprinkles.

Here's a picture, featuring Storm

Unfortunately my birthday gift for her got delayed and it ended up arriving literally 2 hours after she went back home. So I'll give it to her next time I see her. Which might actually be my own birthday since that's 11 days from now...

We also played cards against humanity again since that's her favorite game. To make it a little more interesting, we also always add 1 random white card, so the person picking has to choose between 3 instead of 2. But sometimes the randomly selected card from the top of the pile is a little TOO good. At the end of our long playing round I had 19 points, my sister 15, my mom 21 and the randomly selected card 9. Which... 9 too many to be honest...

Here's a nice example of the random card fitting TOO well. Cause the first white card was my mom's, second was random, 3rd was my sister's

Now as for something about today instead of yesterday:

I'm trying out something new. For the past week I had been struggling to make my day to day life more meaningful and feel like I am productive, considering I am disabled, don't work, and due to anxiety also don't go out often. I'm basically in a bubble with just my mom and cat, and occasionally my sister, my best friend, or my therapist.

So I went looking for someone who had documented their daily life routines down to it's VERY basics. I wanted to find some habits that work for me to make my life feel functional.

I found this blog from a husband and wife, very conservative Christians so definitely not my type of people, but the wife had basically written down EVERYTHING she does from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep. Brush teeth, pray, put clothes on, open curtains, EVERYTHING. And one thing it said was that she starts her day with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. Which, is very normal I know. But I decided to give it a try today for the first time. But in my own way cause I don't like coffee and we don't have a newspaper subscription at our house.

So I made my breakfast, and went through the news app, taking small notes of anything that seemed noteworthy. Most is quite depressing, but one thing I loved seeing that according to a research they did among millennials and gen z, about 48% of people in that age group identify as lgbtq in some way, and another 30% is an ally. How amazing is that! I love how with time we're slowly becoming more progressive, and because of that younger generations are able to identify themselves more safely from earlier ages.

It's currently 21:32 as I type this so I guess I'm gonna stop typing and just go to bed now. Maybe I'll write down my (very short) routine tomorrow, kind of like that blog I found, so I can see in the future what stuck and what improved.

3 positive things about today:

We had pizza for dinner

Mom and I played monopoly again, and for the first time in AGES i actually won

I felt more fulfilment today than the past few days. Idk why cause I didn't do much more than usual. I guess I got out of bed on the right foot

[melancholiaenthroned]

ok its been a few hours here r my absolute batman thoughts...

starting off with what immediately stood out: that man is not blond. we have spent weeks either bemoaning or defending blond bruce wayne, only for him to appear, not blond. when was the choice to unblond him made? neither of his parents are blond, perhaps then? he also doesnt appear to have his gay little dog, but he havent seen much of his home life so im still holding out hope.

the first thing i will say that jumped out to me, and something ive already commented on, is how much of a scott snyder batman book this feels like. which it is, but god i missed this feeling. snyder writes batman a bit more lone wolfy than other writers, but with a very well defined ensemble cast when the need arises. snyders alfred is one of the only ones ive ever actually had, like, any opinions or feelings on, and so having him (even a very different version of him) star in the opening issue feels right. speaking of snyders alfred -- julia! julia mention, julia graduation photo! julia:-) seeing alfred call her in one of the first pages was my first sigh of relief like oh were gonna be okay... theyre estranged, which makes sense considering any alfred but especially this one, but i do wonder why/for how long considering alfred does appear to have been at her college graduation, and i assume shes around the same age as bruce.

bruce who, speaking of, is 24 and born in... 2004. setting this comic in 2028 but also! thats fucked up! what do you mean batman is the same age as me? that gives me four years to bulk up and learn how to do. whatever bruce did with that massive gun to make it "non lethal" (comic books....). its very weird to have a gen z batman but also makes sense considering snyder said this book represents more his thoughts on the mindsets of his children rather than his own (as was the case for his original batman run). bruce is an idealistic young person now! with young person friends... also weird to think that in this universe, killer croc, the penguin, two face, and catwoman were probably also born in the 2003-2005 range (they appear to have been childhood friends, i assume they went to the same school and were maybe also at the zoo that day?).

this is disorganized and i dont have a transition into this section but: the main "twist" of the issue, which i was not expecting at all. martha is alive. bruce lost his father, but he never lost his mother. it makes sense why he seems a little more idealistic (or maybe thats just Alfred's pov skewing events), he really does have like. a whole life. he has friends and a mother and a job, hes not a sad boy left alone in a manor. really not much to say about this considering its only the first issue, but im really excited to see where it goes. it does make this batman feel a little like superman in an interesting way. hes a lot more ingrained in the city by working a job that actually touches its core, hes a mamas boy, he (or at least his social circle) is involved enough in local politics to be going to town hall meetings. and of course. his main villain appears to be this weird ultra rich guy...

which leads me to other main snyder-ism of the issue: we gotta get the joker in here, and he is NOT funny. in classic snyder fashion the joker is SERIOUS now. he wears muted colors and never laughs and is a brunette (which could all change when/if he gets dumped in acid).i really wasnt sure if he was gonna do it, after all snyder has already pretty extensively covered the joker in his old run, and while i think hes literally the best joker writer ever, i wasnt sure if hed been interested in tackling the character in what is essentially a new batman origin. but here he is! and the tables are turned -- bruce is friends with all the jokers old compatriots, and the joker is alone and insanely rich. i honestly really have no idea what to expect from this plot going forward, obviously the current focus is black mask and his gang, but its clear the joker is going to have some part to play. im excited about it, im not one of the people who dislikes joker stories on principle and i was really hoping for snyder to introduce him into this world so its a win for me if nothing else.

anyway! not sure how to conclude this, but these are my thoughts! its been a while since ive been this excited for a bat run, and this will probably be the only thing keeping me going for a while considering weve got tom taylor on tec now. but god. im just so happy. remember being excited about batman comics? if any of u guys read absolute batman plsss lmk what u thought...

[welostutopia]

so here’s the thing. rebooting the original 1980s teen wolf film as a series worked because they weren’t trying to be the the 1980s film. the film was a silly comedy, the series was darker (both thematically and aesthetically and seriously the lighting needed serious work but i digress) and the only real connections was a teen called scott turning into a werewolf and his friend stiles, everything else about the show established it as an thing in its own right, unconnected to the film.

this teen wolf the movie as a follow up to the series didn’t work and that’s for a number of reasons.

1. it relies way to heavily on nostalgia, the amount of throw backs and hints to the series would have worked, been endearing even, if we weren’t in the age of streaming when people could go back and rewatch the series whenever the want, and if there had been a longer gap between the series and the film. season 6 ended in 2017, my first year of university, it is now 2023, i graduated in 2020. september 2017-january 2023 isn’t even 6 years, the show is still fresh for so many people, and so many people are still discovering the series that it makes the nostalgia grabs feel cheap

2. the nogitsune is an iconic teen wolf villain, season 3 is many peoples favourite season for a reason, and while a large part of that is because of dylan and his impeccable acting as void stiles, another huge part of that is the nogitsune itself, this film does not do the nogitsune justice in the slightest. it’s another nostalgia grab, the writers basically went ‘remember your favourite season and favourite villain? well we bought the villain back’ and it sucks. flip side of that, the heavy reliability on nostalgia requires fans to remember every single detail of the series to piece things together, i spent part of the film confused until i remembered something from the series and then everything made sense.

3. none of the characters seemed to mature, every single character was making mistakes they made as teenagers, and should have learnt from, while they are now in their 30s, it felt like character development wasn’t even something the writers considered and i was so annoyed

4. fan favourites were missing. sure we’ve known for a while that dylan, arden, daniel and cody weren’t returning, but stiles is the reason that so many people got into teen wolf, isaac was a fan favourite and his exit from the show, and everyone seemingly forgetting about him, was something that the fandom never excepted. kira had the fandom divided on opinions, but that was down to the writers, kira deserved a better ending, and arden deserved better than how she was treated (100% support her decision not to come back). theo again had people divided, but by the end a lot of people had warmed to him, i think having him back would have helped at least a little bit, his snark and overall attitude contrasted perfectly with the righteousness of so many of the characters

5. the writing sucked, i’m sorry but so many of the lines felt like they were written by middle ages writers for a gen z teen show and y’all know exactly what i mean by that. teen show dialogue is so uncomfortable for people in their teens and just out of their teens to hear because it’s so unrepresentative and this had the same feel. the plot also felt simultaneously rushed and also drawn out, which is a talent in its own right, but not a good one.

6. eli. listen, eli as a character is fine but his existence creates a multitude of plot holes. he’s been alive the same amount of time that allison has been dead, who is his mother? who was derek romantically involved with in season 2/3, they discuss eli as a young child, toddler age really, but it was never seen in the show, when exactly did derek find out about his son, when did this happen?

7. stydia. 6 seasons it took for them to develop stydia. 6b was weird enough with lydia being more excited over seeing jackson than her own boyfriend and then the film we find out they broke up over a potential premonition. i get that dylan not coming back probably changed things, but to have a 6 season long slow burn to end like that, it’s disappointing and honestly lazy writing.

8. bringing characters back from the dead, at this point it’s boring. teen wolf had already done that in the series, if you’re a fan of supernatural you saw it happen basically every season. bringing dead characters back to life no longer has the affect it once had on audiences

9. derek’s death. listen, the idea of derek dying isn’t a bad plot device, and at this point not enough main or key characters have died when you think about how high stakes the plot was, however the way it was done annoyed me. having him die the same way his family did, and having is son watch it happen, it was unnecessary trauma porn.

10. off the back of point 9, the allusion to sterek with the jeep analogy. i’m a sterek shipper, always been a fan of that pairing (also a stydia shipper so frankly either way the plot went i would have been happy but no one ends happily here so fuck your jeff) it’s become a thing with long running shows that have a popular queer ship among fans to allude to a one sided love in the finale/film special and then kill the character with the one sided love. this sucks on multiple levels. it’s the worst kind of fan service, if you’re going to give me queer characters then give them to me openly, i don’t want allusions or subtext, it also plays off as writers and producers realising they weren’t inclusive enough and trying to remedy it in the worst possible way.

11. allison. listen, we love allison, she’s great. she didn’t need to be resurrected but we move on. my biggest issue is, she died when she was 17, she was then resurrected 15 years later, surely that suggests that she is still 17 while everyone around her has aged by 15 years, to then bring back scallison made me slightly uncomfortable (might just be me though)

12. harris. not only do they bring someone back from the dead. but it’s a basically forgettable character, he was only around for a few episodes and it’s frustrating that there’s zero explanation as to how he’s alive, nor is there any reason for his knowledge of the nogitsune, let alone his desire to release him despite some flimsy revenge plot

13. hikari. i get that with bringing back the nogitsune they felt that they needed a kitsune and with arden (rightfully) not coming back they needed a new kitsune, but they ruined her character basically immediately. there wasn’t time in a film to introduce or get to know her, she was a plot device necessary only for the fact they were bringing the nogitsune back, and keeping scott alive.

14. continuity? season 6 ended with the pack basically running for their lives as the existence of supernatural creatures became widely known and helping other supernatural creatures find safety. the film didn’t address that, the film made out that the existence of supernatural creatures was once again not widely known. what happened in that time? the continuity issues led to so many plot holes it’ll take multiple rewatches for me to find them all and i am not putting myself through that again.

basically this film was unnecessary, it was a badly executed cash grab banking on nostalgia to bring people back. i’m a firm believer that when it’s time you should let things go, teen wolf should have ended with 6a, 6b was the worst instalment in the series and then less than 6 years later they followed with an even worse film. it honestly felt like fanfiction and not in a good way, but what’s worse is it worked, teen wolf fans (including myself) tuned in, sure mine was from morbid curiosity but i am now still a viewer, sure reviews are bad and fans are annoyed, but they’re getting views and in the entertainment industry that’s all that matters.

anyway, can streaming services and hollywood stop remaking/rebooting/making follow ups and sequels stop. so few are done well, and frankly it’s unnecessary.

[peacelykerockets]

Out of Touch Millennials or Boomer Minded Millennials

When I was younger I made a promise to myself to not become like old people who go on and on about "kids these days", it has become a thing that I stay conscious of until this day and I try hard to not become the old man yelling at the clouds. As steeped as my mind was in youth culture in my teens to mid 20s one thing I always hated to hear is how my generation's music, the media we consumed, and our attitudes were all bad or didn't measure up to older generations. As a millennial who could probably be considered a prototype for a lot of what's considered stereotypical Gen Z behavior (weird music, "terminally online", socially awkward behavior, leftist ideals) I was not the common millennial, at the time in my late teens and early 20s I thought I was, but I was probably further from what would be considered an NPC/Normie millennial as possible, and so were a lot of people on Tumblr in the early 2010s. Being on this site back then shaped me in a lot of ways.

What I hate to see though is now a bunch of miserable millennials constantly waxing nostalgic and stuck in the past ready to pass the buck to a new generation for all the problems, scapegoating. As said I remember when boomers and Gen X wouldn't pass up the chance to tell us the music we listened to wasn't real music or paled in comparison to what they grew up with, or how video games were a waste of time despite the fact that these same people were glued to some TV for multiple hours of a day. That were soft, entitled, and had no future, sound familiar? It saddens me that some millennials have decided to pick up that baton and run with it and now we have to constantly hear about how Gen Z's music sucks, how video games these days are worse than the ones we grew up with, how these kids dress weirdly, how it's bad to be on TikTok all day.

What also gets me is just how out of touch some millennials are to a point where it sounds like a lot of us have stepped out of cryosleep from the 2000s like the 2010s never happened. They sound straight up like boomers, sometimes more boomer than boomers. I hear and read so much dumb stuff that I want to roll my eyes back so hard until the damn stalks break. Trash like "MTV DOESN'T PLAY MUSIC VIDEOS ANYMORE!!!" Like we haven't heard that repeated over and over again. What's even the use of MTV playing music videos when we've had YouTube since 2005? And even if MTV started playing music videos again it would be all that Gen Z music that certain millennials love to sit around a complain about. Dumb stuff like bring back TRL (which already happened and flopped in 2017) when if a kid wanted to watch a music video it interact with their favorite artists these days they have YouTube and social media. Yes let's roll the clock back for a self centered nostalgia of a generation that can't give up the ghost.

What's also weird to me is how many of us millennials think we're still the youth, the kids these days despite the fact that older millennials are in their early 40s and the youngest of us in our early 30s or just about to be. I don't see anyone starting new in the music industry now who is my age (35), the most relevant artists are in their 20s, and this is something that seems to be the thing for every generation. Just using the music industry as an example but I don't think the industry is trying to sell to some near middle aged people. Sorry if as a millennial you blew your 20s or something and now living in a world that's on it's way to moving past us ass "the youth".

I read an article that explained that the Kendrick vs Drake thing as the last breath of millennial culture before we end up where Gen X was in the 2000s. I feel like that's true, like grasping at whatever vestiges of relevancy with who are arguably the two biggest most relevant rappers born in the years and are millennials. Try to co-opt Gen Z slang ironically and cheekily and trying to laugh it at the same time.

It's time to let it go, it's time to leave the kids alone and let them take the wheel because it's look like we're hitting the guard rails. I'm not saying you can't still have fun, I'm not saying go have kids settle down and be an adult, I'm not saying you can't still enjoy things from your youth and be youthful, but god damn stuff talking down on these as if the things we enjoyed and did out youth weren't also talked down by older generations. Please get with the times.

DON'T BECOME BOOMERS!

[snow-lavender]

Re-watching OSP's Trope Talk: Those Dang Phones and having Fable Thoughts TM

If you haven't seen the video, go watch it, it's really good. In it, Red breaks down how the technology of a certain time influences what its contemporary writers think of as normal, possible, and impossible. It looks at the sudden popularity of magic smartphones in fantasy and sci-fi and goes from there, looking at a century of stories. Again, go watch it, it's really good and this rant won't make much sense without that background. But I think there's something related that Fable SMP exemplifies that's also really interesting.

So everybody in Fable has a cellphone. They call it a communicator (because it descends from a larger mcyt fanon but that's a whole other rant) but it's a cellphone for all intents and purposes. Every character can communicate through instant text and audio calls. If they need to fly away and retrieve something, continuing a conversation is rationalized in-universe by turning on comms. The whole village is in a group chat, and has some of the same culture around that that exists in real life (mainly, panicking when you send what was supposed to be a DM publicly, or complaining about repetitive pings). Like Red's thesis in the video states, this is a reflection of what technology is normal to the cast.

But something else that carries over is the timeline of technological development that the cast considers normal. Because while every character has a cellphone that they use regularly, none of their parents do.

Whenever part of the previous generation's story is revealed, this technology isn't a part of it. Any communication between the characters is non-digital. Soul and Isla communicate through written letters. Enderian travels to the Nether to talk to Soul in person. All of Wolf's war reports are handwritten and, presumably, delivered by messengers. Even Ven's propaganda, while reproduced on a mass scale, is physical. The previous generation didn't have the same access to digital communication as their children do.

This is reflective of technological development in the real world. We've made leaps and strides in communication in recent decades. What used to be a fantasy of the elite is now accessible to nearly everyone on the planet. We don't communicate the same way our parents did.

People our age witnessed huge changes in communication from early childhood. I think we all grew up hearing grandparents and even parents talk about how bulky, complicated, and limited phones and computers used to be. When I was six, we still had a tape deck in the car and a record player at my Omoe and Opa's. My parents didn't get their first cellphones until well after I was born. Now everybody has Spotify on a touchscreen the size of three large crackers. It's not at the forefront of people's minds, but I think witnessing that in your key developmental years sticks with you.

So this major change was folded into what the writers thought of as normal too. Not only is it "Of course everyone has instant communication over distance," it's "Of course their parents didn't have that."

(And, if I can be cynically critical for a second, it does introduce a kind of crazy timeline of development in-universe. Like, my parents didn't have cells as teens, but they had faxes and landlines and shit. Isla didn't even have a telegraph.

TO BE CLEAR: I'm not saying this is a mark of bad worldbuilding. Haley and Sherbert made a normal low-tech fantasy world for the backstory and pulled from what they were used to for the present story. This sort of reflection of reality that Red talks about is unconscious, that's the whole bit. It's just a little silly if you think about it too hard.)

Anyway, I think it's interesting how fiction mirrors not just our present but our history. I'm interested to see how this sort of carryover develops. Gen-Z storytelling is still pretty relegated to social media and indie projects. I can't wait to see how the mediascape changes as our perspectives make their way into the mainstream. In the meantime though, I'll just sit over here thinking way harder than the cast intended about my beloved little cube people.