Instagram Is a Site of Protest for the Chinese Diaspora
[ad_1] Northern Square was not the only account reviving the lo-fi, nostalgic aesthetic from China’s more hopeful and democratic past. Pages like @beijing_silvermine, and @beijing_in_springtime all became popular in the Chinese Instagram…
The Uncanny Valley of Twitter’s 2022 Trends
[ad_1] When it comes to explaining the internet, tech writer Brian Feldman has a singular approach. He’s spent significant time investigating the roots of that one early viral video where…
Virality! What Is It Good For?
[ad_1] Who could’ve guessed that after three pandemic years’ worth of bad PR, the concept of “virality” would enjoy an unexpected glow-up? Twitter’s precipitous fall from grace has occasioned many…
Will Users Replace Twitter or Learn to Live Without It?
[ad_1] Since Elon Musk took over Twitter in late October, there’s been a sense that the ship is sinking, with the platform’s users scurrying offboard to safety. Musk’s actions, from…
A Tweet Before Dying | WIRED
[ad_1] i find it a good philosophical exercise to imagine the last tweet. It could come centuries hence, when a cryptobot offers a wistful adieu to another cryptobot, or in…
Anita Sarkeesian Hates Talking About Gamergate—But She Has To
[ad_1] If you’d like to debate Anita Sarkeesian about whether or not male privilege exists, we’ll make this easy for you: she’s not interested. It’s been a decade since her…
TikTok Turned Lil Yachty’s ‘Poland’ Into a National Anthem
[ad_1] Lil Yachty’s “Poland” is 83 seconds long, jarringly repetitive, and purposefully obtuse. And yet, in the hands of TikTok, it’s become a smash, cracking the top half of the…
The Blue Check Rapture Will Render Verification Meaningless
[ad_1] Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has been chaotic since its slapdash inception, so it’s only fitting that his first change will scramble the platform’s social hierarchy. Last weekend, as Musk’s…
Twitter Writes Twitter’s Requiem | WIRED
[ad_1] Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter is complete. After riding into the company’s headquarters on a terrible “sink” pun earlier this week, the Tesla founder officially took the reins, closing…
The Funny, Sad History of the Best Halloween Memes Ever
[ad_1] Halloween has remained fairly consistent for decades. Chocolates, cobwebs, carvings, and heated debates on the relative deliciousness of candy corn stand as October rituals. But then there are memes,…
TikTok’s ‘Board Parties’ May Have Reached Their Apex
[ad_1] One by one, 10 grinning people walk into a room, elbows bent and forearms outstretched as they curtsy slightly to show the camera what they’re carrying. The first is…
Dunkin’ Donuts Drama Is the Internet at Its Best
[ad_1] The Monitor is a weekly column devoted to everything happening in the WIRED world of culture, from movies to memes, TV to Twitter. If you live on America’s East…
I’m a Good Guy, Like and Subscribe
[ad_1] This kind of covenant remains particularly potent on YouTube, where—for better or worse—people seek out content that reinforces their worldview. “When we are talking about YouTube, we are talking…
The Unlikely Cure for Burnout? A Second Job
[ad_1] Like Murphy, many overemployed individuals are achieving financial milestones that once seemed out of reach—from buying a home to building up sizable savings. In one Discord conversation, a member…
Growing Old Online | WIRED
[ad_1] Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I put the Twitter app back on my phone and scroll aimlessly. I’m trying to hurt my own feelings, and I’m always successful. I…
Why Adam Levine’s Cringe DMs Are Perfect for the Meme Machine
[ad_1] A royal epoch ending in the UK. A war roiling across Europe. A constant drumbeat of inflation creeping up, cutting household budgets. An ever-present worry that the pandemic isn’t…
The Sad Clown Joke That Became a Beloved Meme
[ad_1] “My partner started talking a lot more about her mental health, and I was just becoming aware that my friends and myself had these things that were unspoken,” Colossal…
Queen Elizabeth II Has Died. Her Internet Legacy Will Live On
[ad_1] The death of Queen Elizabeth II was expected for years—and presaged by strong rumors on social media. It’s fitting for a woman of her global stature and recognition that…
This Band Made a $3.44 Music Video. Then They Went Viral
[ad_1] In 2016, when 16-year-old Eamon Sandwith started the Chats with his buddies in the small Australian surf town of Coolum Beach, the goal was simple. “To get free piss…
The Joy of Playing the Same ‘Sims’ Family for Years
[ad_1] One day in 2014, 32-year-old musician AJ Luca texted her friend with some sad and shocking news. “Gina Marie’s mom,” the message began, “just died on the kitchen floor.”…
Inside the World’s Biggest Hacker Rickroll
[ad_1] At 10:55 am on April 30, 2021, all the TV screens and classroom projectors at six schools in Cook County, Illinois, started controlling themselves. Screens that were turned off…
Smiling Dogs? Captcha Has Gone Too Far
[ad_1] However, after several decades, it appears as if captcha’s dominance over the internet could be waning. Apple has decided to give the technology the boot, and its impact on…
‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Is a Slasher Movie for the Extremely Online
[ad_1] When we cast the actors, we really worked with them, asking them every question, taking notes when they were privately speaking, asking them when we could use things they…
BeReal and the Doomed Quest for Online Authenticity
[ad_1] On its ascent to the coveted top spot in app store charts, BeReal—the French photo-sharing app launched in 2020—has been heralded as the antidote to social media fakery. Staving…
TikTok and Twitch Streamers Are Trading Sleep for Cash
[ad_1] Every second Saturday between the hours of midnight and 4:20 am, 26-year-old Mikkel Nielsen is tortured with loud noises, flashing lights, and electric shocks. With a camera pointed at…