A Guide to Children’s Culture for Disconnected Adults: Generation Z Enters Marketing
Our sister site Mashable has identified an interesting trend that’s been going on for the past few years: companies are “letting” Gen Zers do their marketing. While this trend may lead to self-awareness exercises in misused slang, such as Northumberland Zoo: Various TikTok Hits which is currently gaining popularity, it is not always a cheap joke. Gen Z’s marketing savvy can be impressive, or at least lead to something unique.
Generation Z Marketing
Take Nutter Butter’s Instagram and TikTok page for example. Over the past year or so, Nutter Butter’s social media streams have embraced the “analog horror” style that is common among both Gen Z and Gen A. The snack brand has been building its audience by posting increasingly bizarre and disturbing content that seems , contradicts reality. selling junk food. Reports suggest that a sinister organization has wrested control of Nabisco Inc.’s accounts. for some diabolical purpose. Videos like this one about Nutter Butter’s murder house have racked up millions of views on TikTok, and there are active online communities trying to solve the mystery . Not bad for a snack.
Another Gen Z operation that’s much more sophisticated than slang jokes is the group of ” wild 25-year-olds ” who make up Kamala Harris’ social media team. Since her announcement, they’ve flooded the TikTok and Instagram zone with catchy content that regularly attracts hundreds of millions of views and has helped make Harris the clear choice for young people in the next election. Whether this translates into actual votes remains to be seen, but Harris is the winner of the TikTok election .
Nike “Elite Zipper” Trend
Youths are starting to steal zippers from backpacks, especially Nike Elite backpacks. After hacking a bunch of zippers, petty thieves are showing off their collections in TikTok videos. This trend seems to have started in schools (there are a lot of backpacks there), and theft tends to be good-natured, stealing from friends for fun. TikToker @kyrieirvingishimm provided the first online evidence of this trend by posting a video of her collection of stolen zippers . Others followed suit and posted similar videos of their trophy collections or footage of the crime in progress. Soon, members of the trend began responding with poignant videos detailing the pain victims of zipper theft experience , or tips on how to prevent tag theft by carrying your backpack to the front , tying knots , using superglue , or simply removing your zippers .
This is the kind of trend that was localized to one high school before the advent of the Internet, but the free flow of information has led to an explosion internationally. Nike Elite Zipper videos receive millions of views. Thus, this practice spreads to the outside world and becomes harmful. TikTokers are posting videos of store shelves with backpacks completely devoid of zippers, making them unsellable – what’s the point of a Nike Elite backpack without zippers? In other words: this is the moment right before TikTok shuts down this variety of videos, so watch them now if you’re interested.
What is “Boysober”?
More and more young women on TikTok and other online spaces are declaring themselves “sober”—in other words, they’re avoiding sex, relationships, and/or dating. According to comedian Hope Woodward, here are ” the Boysober rules of 2024 : no dating apps, no dates, no exes, no situations, no XOXOXO (aka hugs and kisses), etc. The hashtag #boysober is full of videos illustrating the benefits about boyish sobriety and a discussion of this practice from philosophical and psychological points of view . There is also a rival #girlsober community. Surprisingly, it’s not filled with misogyny (yet), but instead contains some interesting discussions about how trends like these can help young people rethink relationships .
What does “HGS” mean online?
If you see the initials HGS online, the poster is abbreviated to “home girls.”
( For more youthful slang, check out my Gen Z and Gen A slang dictionary. All the good words are there, no limitations. )
Online Dangers of the Week: Horse Electrolytes and Glass Fruit
This is part 6,294 of my 9,312-part “Online Dangers of the Week” series, which discusses things you might see online that you shouldn’t actually do in real life.
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Do not use horse electrolytes to cure a hangover . X/Twitter user @pigshitonballs started the equestrian trend with a post extolling the benefits of human consumption of an “Apple a day” of equine electrolytes. I’m pretty sure they’re joking, but you know someone is actually doing it. This shouldn’t happen; The company that makes this product posts a warning on its website : “In the interest of social responsibility, we remind consumers that this product and all of our equine products are not FDA approved for human use or consumption.”
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Don’t make glass fruit : I don’t like to tell people not to experiment in the kitchen, but the TikTok trend of making “glass fruit” is leading to hospital visits, so caution is advised. Glass fruit, or Tangulu, is made by boiling sugar water and then dipping the fruit in it to create a sweet glass-like glaze. The problem comes when kids try this recipe and spill melted sugar water on their skin. Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston recently released a statement indicating an increase in glass fruit injuries and urging parents to be aware of their children’s interest in the recipe. So stay informed.
Viral video of the week: Dog Man trailer
Last week, the Minecraft trailer was released to almost universal hatred from fans. For comparison, here’s the trailer for the upcoming film Dog Man . It was also inspired by world-famous children’s media – in this case, the Dav Pilkey book series. The reaction on YouTube is the opposite of Minecraft: kids love Dog Man . “For 17 year old me who hasn’t read Dog Man since elementary school, I think it’s an absolute masterpiece and I’m so glad they kept the original books. This is literally a masterpiece,” said one YouTube user. It seems the secret is to keep everything the same as it is in the book or video game.